By Gabriel Ewepu, Abuja

As agriculture takes centre stage in transforming the economy, the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, maintained that the Nigerian agricultural sector needs to be digitalized for greater productivity and sustainability.

Speaking during ‘Policy Dialogue: Deepening Partnership for Scale-up of ICT4D for Smallholder Farmers in Nigeria’, the Director General, NITDA, Inuwa Abdullahi made the assertion while pointing out that the country’s agricultural sector has a massive potential to contribute $67 billion annually to the Gross Domestic Product, GDP, if technology can be embraced in the sector.

Inuwa said the digitalization of agric will boost smallholder farmers’ productivity in no distant time, and it will also attract young people and investors to the sector.

He said: “If we use technology in agriculture it can boost productivity by 67 per cent, if we bring it down to how technology can help the Nigerian economy, and today Nigeria GDP is about $477 billion, if agriculture is contributing 21 per cent then that is about $100 million when technology is applied then the figure can increase by 67 per cent.”

He also made it known that President Bola Tinubu has mandated the Ministry of Communications and Innovation to accelerate the growth of the economy by deploying technological innovations to upscale productivity, especially, the agriculture is one of the critical sectors that technology will be deployed to boost food and nutrition security and massively contribute to the GDP.

Also in a remark, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Dr Kingsley Uzoma, pointed out that Nigerian farmers need to be digitally literate, hence the effort of NITDA and others are making to ensure smallholder farmers’ capacity is built for seamless adoption of technology.

Uzoma also said that digital knowledge will improve farmers’ productivity, boost extensive technical upskilling, promotion of best agricultural practices, increase trade competitiveness and market access.

He explained the need for a centrally coordinated agricultural data hub that aggregates, analyses and provides insights on open and targeted data that is relevant for planning, policy direction and essential decision-making.

Earlier, in an opening remarks, the Country Director, International Fund for Agricultural Development, IFAD, Nigeria, Dede Ekoue, said, “IFAD in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security conducted a Nigeria Digital Ecosystem Assessment under the technical leadership of our Global Senior Advisor for ICT4D Mrs. Brenda Gunde.

“This assessment will provide us with some key insights on digital solutions for farmers in Nigeria. We would like to thank Mrs. Brenda Gunde for coming to Nigeria to present a summary of this strategic report and we thank all the key stakeholders in Nigeria who took part in this assessment.

“IFAD is committed to promoting the empowerment of smallholder farmers globally through several solutions and is scaling up its support in digital solutions.

“The evidence has shown ICT4D in Agriculture could contribute to increasing farmers’ productivity and incomes, strengthen resilience to climate change and improve access to and participation in markets – particularly for most marginalized groups such as youth and women. E-marketing solutions can increase smallholder farmers’ income by 37 per cent and their productivity by 73 per cent.

“E-extension services can increase their productivity up to 75 per cent. Digital financial services can increase their income by 18 per cent on average, and their productivity typically receives a boost between 25 and 50 per cent.”