The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has advocated for the application of digital technology to agricultural practices to increase contribution of the sector to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The Director General of NITDA, Inuwa Abdullahi, at a policy dialogue on deepening the Partnership for Scale-up of Information Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) for Smallholder Farmers, noted that the use of technology in agriculture can boost productivity by 67 percent.
Abdullahi pointed out that despite the fact that Nigeria is 22 times bigger than the Netherlands in land size, the output of the Netherlands as the second largest producer of agricultural produce is bigger than that of Nigeria, due to the deployment of technology.
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The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma, remarked that technology adoption by smallholder farmers is essential to improving productivity, promoting best practices, increasing trade competitiveness, and increasing market access.
Also speaking was the Director, Planning and Policy Coordination of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Mrs. Kothum Ibrahim, who described ICT as the key to enabling poverty reduction, addressing inequalities, and propelling the country towards food security.
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She stated that the ministry, alongside key stakeholders, has developed several agricultural development initiatives to achieve food security, and wealth creation, adding that the ministry alongside key stakeholders has developed several agricultural development initiatives to achieve food security, and wealth creation.
“We are scaling up our efforts further to deploy strategic approaches and tools to meet 21st century agriculture techniques, as conceived in the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP), to modernize the agricultural sector in line with the changing global food systems and supply chains,” she stated.
