Technology has ushered unprecedented levels of growth in every industry of the world and although some countries are more impacted than others, no country can afford to be spared in this wave.
We have had to question how we do the things we do; if there is a better way to do it, predict what results to expect, and improve on the results we get each and every time. That is the predicament of technology; always seeking for a better, faster way to achieve the same results.
Although technology has impacted several industries around the world, we are yet to experience and pursue to its full effect, its impact on Nigerian agriculture. The reason agriculture and technology or ‘agritechnology’ piques our interest is not farfetched.
In 1999, agriculture contributed 41 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP and 25.52 per cent in 2018. This is a major decline from the 65.7 per cent it contributed in 1957. Agriculture also employs over 70 per cent of the labour force in Nigeria.
Our negligence and or slow adaptation of agritechnology may also be an indication of where our interests lie, an ignorance of the agriculture industry or our lack of faith in how agriculture can revamp our economy. An average urban-dwelling Nigerian has not been to an actual farm, is not aware of agriculture policies, and does not have top-of-the-mind awareness when it comes to agriculture and agricultural practices.
This behemoth of an industry however is not one to ignore. If agriculture, without the use of advanced technology contributed that much to Nigeria’s economy, then we can do even more with Agritechnology but we need to adapt fast. We need to open our mind to new possibilities, embrace change and where necessary lead the change.
The world is facing a global population expansion and our current methods cannot keep up. According to the United Nations, Nigeria’s population will grow to 398 million by the year 2050. That is twice the current population of about 190 million, that we are already struggling to feed.
As we think of exploring agritechnology to solve hunger and food security, let us not limit it to Nigeria or Africa. Let us aim to be a global player. Like the words of the legendary motivational speaker Les Brown, “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss it, you will land among the stars.”
The good news is agritechnology is making what we once thought was impossible possible. The possibilities arise as a result of the breakthroughs that have been made in Artificial Intelligence, Big data, 3D printing, soil research, cross breeding technology, plant genetics, and more.
With the power of the internet, millions of people can now be connected with a single device, we can spread information and even record actions.
Data: Agritechnology is providing us with important data that will be useful across the agriculture value chain. In the past, it was difficult to calculate how much plants was grown, how much was lost to diseases and even study growth patterns. Entire rows of plants are missed during fertilizers sprays, leading to the loss of these crops, and there was no way to measure just how much was lost to these inefficiencies.
Without accurate data, it is impossible to make calculated improvements, just guesswork. Several African startups are already generating data insights using machine learning, and sensors to capture soil and farm data.
Promoting new trends and occupations: As it stands, so many traditional industries are saturated especially, with the rise of automation, which is leading to so many jobs being threatened. We can choose how to respond to this enormous change – either by being fearful and slow adopters of new technology or to embrace this change and start evolving.
Hannah Edia
Contributed by Hannah Edia, a Content Developer and SEO Strategist at Farmcrowdy. When she is not writing, she enjoys working out. Check her out on Instagram at @trainwithhannah
This article continues next week.
