NITDA, FG Push Digital Extension Services for Nigerian Farmers
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NITDA, FG Push Digital Extension Services for Nigerian Farmers
By Alabidun Shuaib AbdulRahman
The Federal Government has called for greater use of digital technology and artificial intelligence to bridge gaps in agricultural extension services and provide millions of Nigerian farmers with timely information on weather, markets, crop diseases and other farming challenges.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, made the call at the Africa Agribusiness Extension Summit 2026.
Inuwa, represented by NITDA’s Director of e-Government, Engr. Salisu Kaka, said the country’s growing farming population made it difficult for the traditional face-to-face extension system to adequately meet farmers’ needs.
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He said digital technologies could complement existing extension workers by making agricultural advisory services accessible to farmers regardless of their locations.
The NITDA boss said the government and other stakeholders should focus on building an integrated digital agricultural ecosystem instead of developing separate and disconnected platforms.
He identified interoperability, scalability, security and access to reliable data as critical requirements for the effective deployment of digital agricultural services.
According to him, artificial intelligence could also help farmers and agricultural authorities analyse trends, generate recommendations and develop early-warning systems for emerging agricultural threats.
“Technology, particularly AI, can complement the existing extension workforce by connecting farmers with advisory services regardless of location,” Inuwa said.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, also advocated increased investment in digital extension services as part of efforts to modernise Nigeria’s agricultural sector and improve food production.
Kyari said the country’s conventional extension system had weakened over the years, leaving many farmers without adequate access to extension agents.
He called for the deployment of digital platforms capable of providing farmers with weather forecasts, market information, crop disease alerts and other relevant agricultural advice through mobile phones and other channels.
The minister, however, said technology should not be viewed as a replacement for conventional extension workers but as a tool to strengthen and expand their reach.
He urged state governments to increase their investment in agricultural extension while calling for greater involvement of young people and deliberate measures to ensure that women farmers benefit from digital agricultural services.
Kyari said increasing the productivity of millions of farmers remained essential to meeting Nigeria’s growing food demand and improving the livelihoods of rural communities.
He added that improved access to agricultural knowledge and advisory services would help farmers make better decisions and contribute to national food security.
The Chief Executive Officer of Extension Africa, Tajudeen Yahaya, said the organisation was established to address weaknesses in Africa’s agricultural extension system and improve the delivery of last-mile advisory services.
Yahaya identified people, data, technology and partnerships as the major pillars required to build a stronger extension system.
He called for closer collaboration among government agencies, private-sector organisations, development partners and technology companies to address fragmentation in agricultural extension delivery.
According to him, Extension Africa, established in 2021, has expanded to about 7,000 extension workers across 16 states and reached more than one million farmers.
He said the 2026 summit was aimed at developing practical solutions and measurable benchmarks for strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural extension system through improved human capacity, reliable data, technology and sustainable partnerships.
