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About 140 farmers in Ekiti state have completed a smart agriculture empowerment scheme under the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA) promoted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.
The south west state is piloting the scheme in the southern region of the country. The NAVSA programme was first launched in Jigawa state earlier this year to systematically adopt farmers across the 774 local government areas in the country in order to equip them with necessary digital skills that will make the country one of the leading nations for smart agriculture.
Designed as part of the Digital Nigeria agenda to transform the agriculture sector by exposing farmers in Ekiti to digital tools that could boost their annual yields, the programme was carried out in collaboration with the Ekiti state government.
NAVSA targets to support the federal government in its drive to create more jobs for the youthful population and attract them into agriculture, improve food productivity, increase wealth and income of farmers and agric value chain players, improve food security, promote access to international food markets and host of other agricultural products.
“The requirements to succeed in the 4th industrial revolution necessitate digitalization to be at the core of any nation’s developmental policy and strategy. The digital economy is the single most important driver of innovation, competitiveness and growth and there is no doubt that digitization of the economy is one of the most critical issues of our time. Traditional industries are being reshaped by business models that have never existed before,” said Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami at the closing ceremony to end the adoption of the farmer in Ekiti State.
He said digitization has a proven impact on economy and society by reducing unemployment, improving quality of life, and boosting access to knowledge. He added that It is transforming the world in almost every aspect of life during the last few decades. The access to the internet, increase of people using mobile phones, social media and other digital services changed the way people interact, communicate, learn and work in almost every country.
The immense benefits of digitisation “made President Muhammadu Buhari to unveil and launch the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) for a Digital Nigeria on the 28th of November, 2019 with a vision to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy providing quality life and digital economies for all. This administration is building and leading the journey of digitiizing every sector of the economy,” Pantami added. revealed.
He said the potential benefits of digitizing the agrofood sector are convincing but it would require major transformations of farming systems, rural economies, communities and natural resource management.
His words: “This is a challenge which requires a systematic, technology-driven and holistic approach to achieving the full potential and benefits. This Smart Agriculture is part of promoting Digital Innovation and Digital Entrepreneurship. Agriculture has been very significant to our economy as a nation and it continues to remain very relevant in our country.
“However, we discovered that the output we generate from Agriculture compared to our efforts and resources being spent has no justification for that in order to enhance the output from Agriculture to save cost and at the same time to integrate it, we came up with Smart Agric.”
He stated that with the policy directive and in line with Digital Literacy and Skills, Solid Infrastructure, Service Infrastructure, Digital Services Development and Promotion as well as Indigenous Content Promotion and Adoption pillars of NDEPS, he had directed NITDA through NAVSA platform to enable the opportunities in the agricultural sector for sustainable job creation and economic diversification, he said.
“Building a digital platform to connect agriculture ecosystem to deliver services to farmers in a more productive and efficient manner is in the interest of our nurturing digital economy for a digital Nigeria. The Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy and in collaboration with relevant stakeholders will support this initiative to ensure it is implemented in all the States in Nigeria. Implementation will immensely contribute to massive job creation, improvement in the income of farmers and country’s GDP, the minister disclosed.
Dr Pantami however called on private sector, development partners and state governments to support this initiative; partner with Federal Government in the areas of finance, farm inputs, research and development, capacity building, smart solutions & services, green energy among others. “The success of this initiative in the agriculture sector will practically demonstrate the potentials inherent in digital technologies and innovations as the great enabler of the digital economy.”
For the Director General of NITDA, Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, farmers ability to leverage digital tools will bring about positive spinoffs. His words: “We believe leveraging digital technologies and innovations will attract youthful population into agriculture, create new digital business models across the agriculture value chain, enable millions of jobs, increase productivity and contribution of the agriculture to GDP thereby making Nigeria a leading nation in food security and exporter of standard agricultural produce to the rest of the world”.
“This initiative is geared towards supporting Federal Government’s digital economy agenda in order to bring into reality the economic diversification of His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR and ensure attainment of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) two (2) of ending hunger and achieving food security by 2030”, he said.
Adding: “AgricTech is revolutionizing agriculture from promoting indoor vertical farming in the urban areas which use up to 70% less water than traditional farms to farm automation that automates crop or livestock production cycle using Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, autonomous tractors, drones and robotics innovation etc. to livestock farming technology that makes tracking and managing livestock data-driven and much easier to modern greenhouses that are techy and data-driven.
“The target of the programme is to adopt farmers in all 36 States and 774 LGAs in the country, support and equip them with skills and resources that will make Nigeria one of the leading nations in food sufficiency, security and exportation.”
The NITDA’s boss said the empowerment programme will provide Smart Device (tablet); Seed fund of 100,000 naira for enterprise inputs; Digital Agripreneurship training and skill acquisition; Connectivity which includes one-year Internet access & closed user group (CUG) Calls for adopted farmers; NAVSA Platform (Mobile App); Financial Inclusion through Digital Wallets (Open & close wallets for each adopted farmer, input suppliers and off-takers); e-Extension services; Agric as a Business & Agro Business Models’ Opportunities; & Continuous reinvestment model.
“We would start piloting the deployment and integration of smart technologies such as IoT, GIS technologies and geospatial analysis, Artificial Intelligence, Big data analytics, blockchain among other emerging technologies to promote smart agriculture solutions that address different challenges on NAVSA platform base on sustainable business models. Also, we would be introducing modern greenhouses, farm automation, precision agriculture among others. These solutions will be targeted at high performing farmers,” he declared.
Governor of Ekiti state, Dr Kayode Fayemi represented by Dr Olabode Adeoyi, Hon. Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, said “agriculture is the next oil for the country, bringing about the creation of jobs, assuring citizens of food security in the country”.
Adding: “Digital Technology will enable you to do things at ease without stress, bringing about increase in productivity, creating jobs, better performance and increase revenue.”
