Nigeria is endowed with vast agricultural potential owing to its fertile land and favourable climate. However, productivity has lagged due to reliance on traditional farming techniques, poor infrastructure, and limited tech adoption. Embracing advanced agricultural technologies can catalyse Nigeria’s farming output and food security.
This article explores key technologies capable of revolutionizing Nigerian agriculture and driving productivity gains.
The need to modernize Nigerian agriculture
With a rapidly rising population, the demand for food in Nigeria continues to intensify. However, domestic production has struggled to keep pace. The country imports over $4 billion of food annually despite having the land resources to feed itself.
Nigeria ranks low on food security indexes due to factors like:
- High post-harvest losses, up to 40%, result from poor storage and transport.
- Low yields are due to reliance on traditional, manual methods.
- decreasing soil fertility and land degradation.
- Limited mechanization with high human drudgery
- Climate change impacts like droughts, floods, and irregular rainfall.
- Low adoption of improved seed varieties and farm technologies
- Poor rural infrastructure, especially access to energy and irrigation,
- Limited access to credit for investing in farms
- Inadequate food testing and traceability
Transforming Nigerian agriculture requires modernizing the entire value chain through advanced technologies.
Key Technologies That Can Revolutionize Nigerian Agriculture
Integrating the following technologies across Nigeria’s farming system can drive immense productivity gains:
Precision Agriculture
Precision agriculture involves using technology like GPS, sensors, satellite imagery, and data analytics to make farming more targeted, accurate, and controlled. Key applications include:
- Variable Rate Technology (VRT): applying inputs like fertilizers and pesticides at varying rates across the field based on soil analysis data for more efficient use.
- Field mapping: using digital field maps to gain insights and make data-driven decisions on irrigation, crop rotations, etc.
- Crop and soil monitoring: deploying real-time sensors to monitor crop growth stages and soil moisture levels
- Autonomous equipment: using GPS-guided tractors, sprayers, and harvesters that practically drive themselves in the field with minimal human intervention.
- Fleet management: tracking the location and diagnostics of farm vehicles to optimize movements and maintenance.
Precision agriculture enables optimal resource use, prevents losses, and maximizes per-hectare productivity.
Agricultural Drones
Agricultural drones equipped with multispectral imaging sensors are transforming farming by collecting aerial data cheaper and faster than satellites or manned aircraft. Applications include:
- Aerial mapping for insights on irrigation, drainage, and natural resource management.
- Early pest and disease detection through crop image analysis
- Assessing plant emergence and growth across fields
- Determining maturity stages for effective harvest planning
- Monitoring livestock and fences over expansive grazing lands
- Precisely targeted spraying of water, fertilizers, and agrochemicals
- Accurately calculating acres planted and predicting yields.
Agricultural drones provide valuable data for making intelligent farm management decisions.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning
AI and machine learning algorithms can analyse troves of data from the field, including weather, soil, crop growth, and machinery performance, to generate real-time recommendations on best practices. Key applications:
- AI crop prediction models that forecast yields well in advance
- Intelligent irrigation systems that integrate data on weather, crop water needs, and soil moisture to minimize wastage
- Detection of weeds, pests, and diseases through learning algorithms trained on plant images
- AI advisory services that provide producers with data-based insights on what, where, and when to plant, spray, fertilize, harvest, etc. for optimal outcomes
- AI-enabled agricultural robots and smart machines that use computer vision and deep learning to select, pick, prune, and weed autonomously
AI and ML will be crucial to unlocking the power of data for boosting farm productivity.
Smart Greenhouses
Smart greenhouses leverage technology for precision environmental control to create optimized growing conditions for higher yields. Solutions include:
- Intelligent temperature, humidity, and ventilation management through sensors, actuators, and climate control systems
- Automated fertigation systems that use IoT sensors to monitor soil and deliver optimal nutrients and water
- Smart lighting, like LED grow lights, provides the required intensity and spectrum for plant growth stages.
- Remote greenhouse monitoring and control via smartphone apps
- Integration of renewable energy sources like solar into power equipment
Smart greenhouses enable off-season produce availability, protect crops from diseases and pests, and deliver substantially higher yields per square meter.
Vertical Farming
Vertical farming refers to growing crops in vertically stacked layers within climate-controlled indoor environments like repurposed warehouses located closer to urban consumption centres. Advantages:
- Maximizes space utilization with significantly higher yields per square meter.
- Less water usage through precision irrigation
- No use of chemical pesticides due to protected environments
- Adjustable LED lighting is optimized for plant growth.
- Higher potential for year-round production.
By locating near cities, vertical farms overcome challenges like long supply chains, cold storage requirements, and spoilage of delicate greens and vegetables.
Hydroponics and aeroponics
Soil-less farming methods like hydroponics and aeroponics are highly productive and can be combined with vertical farms.
- Hydroponics involves growing plants in nutrient-rich water rather than soil. The roots absorb vital nutrients while getting ample oxygen.
- Aeroponics is similar but involves misting the plant roots suspended in air with a nutrient solution delivered via spray nozzles.
These approaches allow greater control over plant growth cycles and factors like light, nutrients, and humidity for optimal yields. They also conserve water and land compared to conventional farming.
Solar-powered Irrigation
Lack of rural electrification has constrained irrigation access for Nigerian farmers, resulting in reliance on rainfall alone. Solar-powered irrigation solutions can overcome this challenge sustainably.
- Solar pumping systems require no electricity connection. Solar panels installed near water sources power water extraction from wells and rivers to irrigate larger areas.
- Smaller solar drip irrigation systems can irrigate greenhouses and homestead gardens.
- Solar-powered water ATMs allow farmers to pay per-use to access irrigation.
Solar energy provides farmers with affordable, renewable irrigation without the environmental costs of diesel pump sets. It can transform arid regions into thriving agricultural zones.
Key Benefits of Adopting Advanced Agricultural Technologies
Implementing the technologies above on Nigerian farms can drive tremendous benefits.
Increased productivity and profitability
Optimizing inputs, monitoring crops in real-time, and creating ideal growing conditions lead to higher per-hectare yields, quality, and income for farmers.
Improved land and water resource management
Technology enables targeted use of land, fertilizers, pesticides, and water tailored to actual requirements, preventing waste.
Enhanced efficiency and reduced waste
Automating manual tasks and leveraging data minimizes waste across production, storage, and distribution. Post-harvest losses can be significantly reduced.
Greater Climate Resilience
Technology-controlled protected farming and AI-powered precision agriculture can mitigate climate change risks like droughts, floods, and heat waves.
Year-Round Production
Indoor vertical farms and greenhouses permit year-round crop cultivation, overcoming seasonal limitations.
Reduced Environmental Impact
Precision input application, protected farming, and renewable energy irrigation reduce the environmental footprint versus intensive conventional practices.
Higher food security
Expanding domestic production through higher-yielding technology-driven farming enhances Nigeria’s food sufficiency and access.
New employment opportunities
Technology adoption in agriculture can create skilled jobs in areas like data analysis, IoT, equipment maintenance, greenhouse management, etc.
The productivity and sustainability benefits make a compelling case for embracing agricultural technology.
Challenges in Deploying Advanced Farming Technologies
Despite the immense potential, Nigerian agriculture continues to underutilize modern technologies due to certain impediments that must be addressed:
High upfront costs
Sophisticated solutions like smart greenhouses, AI software, and precision equipment require significant upfront investment that smallholder farmers cannot afford.
Lack of technical capabilities
Many farmers lack the technical skills and education required to adopt complex new technologies and analyse data for informed decision-making.
Limited Infrastructure
Unreliable power supply, lack of connectivity, and inadequate transportation and cold storage infrastructure pose adoption challenges.
Low Mechanization
Nigeria has an average of 0.27 tractors per 1000 hectares compared to industrialized farming economies, which have 50–100 tractors. This makes deploying equipment-intensive solutions difficult.
Limited Financing Access
Nigerian smallholder farmers have limited access to the credit needed to procure modern technologies and establish hi-tech farms.
Fragmented Land Holdings
The average Nigerian farm size is 1.8 hectares. These small, fragmented holdings present challenges to capital-intensive technology applications.
Limited Research and Development
Agricultural research and innovation ecosystem capacity must improve to develop solutions tailored to Nigerian conditions versus importing foreign technology.
Addressing these barriers through supportive policies, public-private collaboration, and new business models can accelerate tech adoption and productivity.
Models for Deploying Advanced Technologies Across Nigerian Farms
To make technologies scalable for Nigerian smallholder farmers, innovative deployment models must emerge:
Corporate Farmed Estates
Companies can acquire land to develop large high-tech agricultural estates growing crops like tomato, mango, and cassava through solutions like greenhouses, precision techniques, and mechanization to achieve scale.
Contract Farming
Private agribusinesses can enable small farmers to adopt technology cost-effectively by contracting them under out-grower schemes that provide these farmers with tech access, training, inputs, and buyback guarantees.
Technology Leasing
Startups can allow farmers to lease advanced equipment and tools through pay-per-use models. This provides access without high ownership costs.
Development Finance
International agencies like UNDP and development banks should provide low-interest financing to establish technology access centres and extension programs across farming regions.
Customized ‘Made for Africa’ Solutions
Agtech innovators must develop solutions tailored to African small farm conditions versus transplanting Western models. For example, solar-powered, pay-per-use irrigation systems
With supportive policies, investments, capacity building, and grassroots business models, Nigeria can deploy technology to unlock its full farming potential.
Key Takeaways on Leveraging Technology to Boost Nigerian Agricultural Productivity
- Modern farming technologies like precision agriculture, agricultural drones, AI, vertical farming, hydroponics, and solar irrigation can transform Nigerian agriculture.
- Adopting advanced technology can drive major productivity, efficiency, and sustainability benefits like higher yields, lower waste, and climate resilience.
- Significant barriers like costs, infrastructure, skills, access to finance, land fragmentation, and R&D must be addressed.
- Innovative corporate, contract farming, leasing, and financing models can enable smallholder farmer adoption.
- ‘Made for Africa’ solutions customized for local contexts are key for scalability.
- With supportive policies and investments in agricultural technology, Nigeria can ensure food security and export competitiveness.
Technology will be the key driver enabling Nigeria to realize its full potential as a global breadbasket through a 21st-century agricultural revolution.