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Drones, AI, robotics and blockchains will change African agriculture as we know it today, says AfDB 

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With the rapid pace of growth of the use of drones, automated tractors, artificial intelligence, robotics and block chains, agriculture as we know it today will change

The President of the African Development Bank Group (www.afdb.org), Akinwumi Adesina, has made an urgent call to give farmers across the continent new technologies with the potential to transform agricultural production.

Adesina said the technology transfer was needed immediately and that evidence from countries like Nigeria demonstrated that technology plus strong government backing was already yielding positive results.

”Technologies to achieve Africa’s green revolution exist, but are mostly just sitting on the shelves. The challenge is a lack of supportive policies to ensure that they are scaled up to reach millions of farmers,” Adesina said during a keynote speech delivered at the 2018 Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting held in Washington, D.C, during the week.

Adesina cited the case of Nigeria, where policy during his tenure as the country’s Minister of Agriculture, resulted in a rice production revolution in three years.

“All it took was sheer political will, supported by science, technology and pragmatic policies…Just like in the case of rice, the same can be said of a myriad of technologies, including high-yielding water efficient maize, high-yielding cassava varieties, animal and fisheries technologies,” Adesina said.

AfDB is currently working with the World Bank, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to mobilize US$ 1 billion to scale up agricultural technologies across Africa under a new initiative called Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT).

TAAT is taking bold steps to bring down some of the barriers preventing farmers from accessing latest seed varieties and technologies to improve their productivity.

“With the rapid pace of growth of the use of drones, automated tractors, artificial intelligence, robotics and block chains, agriculture as we know it today will change,” the President said.  “It is more likely that the future farmers will be sitting in their homes with computer applications using drone to determine the size of their farms, monitor and guide the applications of farm inputs, and with driverless combine harvesters bringing in the harvest.”

Adesina used the opportunity to advocate for African universities to adapt their curriculum to enable technology-driven farmers and to focus on agribusiness entrepreneurship for young people, emphasizing the need to rise beyond theories to application.

Through its innovative Enable Youth initiative, the African Development Bank has in the past two years committed close to US$ 300 million to develop the next generation of agribusiness and commercial farmers for Africa.

Adesina stressed the Bank’s resolve to change the face of agriculture in Africa to unleash new sources of wealth.

AAEA President Scott Swinton said Adesina and the African Development Bank exemplify the use of economics that makes a difference in people’s lives.

“If applied economics is economics that make a difference, I think that there is no better example of someone who has used that than Akinwumi Adesina,” Swindon said.

Adesina told delegates at the 2018 conference attended by over 1,600 agricultural and applied economists from around the world: “There is no reason why Africa should be spending US$ 35 billion a year importing food. All it needs to do is to harness the available technologies with the right policies and rapidly raise agricultural productivity and incomes for farmers, and assure lower food prices for consumers.”

Adesina, who was the 2017 World Food Prize winner, is advocating for the creation of staple crops processing zones across Africa (SCPZs): vast areas within rural areas set aside and managed for agribusiness and food manufacturing industries and other agro-allied industries, enabled with right policies and infrastructure.

“I am convinced that just like industrial parks helped China, so will the SCPZs help to create new economic zones in rural areas that will help lift hundreds of millions out of poverty through the transformation of agriculture- the main source of their livelihoods- from a way of life into a viable profitable business that will unleash new sources of wealth,” he said.

The African Development Bank has already begun investing in the development of processing zones in a number of African countries, including Ethiopia, Togo, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mozambique, with a plan to reach 15 countries in a few years.

To help Africa transform its agriculture, the Bank is investing US$ 24 billion over the next ten years to implement its Feed Africa Strategy.

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Agriculture

Niger State to End Direct Supply of Live Cows, Launch Meat Processing for Southwest Markets

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Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State
Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago has unveiled a major reform in Niger State’s livestock trade, announcing plans to halt the direct transportation of live cows and goats to markets in Lagos and Ogun states.

Under the new plan, livestock will be slaughtered and processed at Mokwa before being packaged and delivered as frozen products to the Southwest. According to the governor, this will improve hygiene, reduce waste, and ensure farmers capture more value from the livestock chain.

Speaking at the First Bank 2025 Agric and Export Expo in Lagos, Bago explained that value addition was key to reversing losses from exporting raw commodities. He revealed that Niger State had secured a $100 million offtake agreement with the Saudi Export and Import Bank to supply livestock to the Middle East, stressing that every part of the animal—from tripe to hooves—would now be fully utilized.

The governor also disclosed plans to partner with Lagos on LNG-powered cold-chain trucks for modern meat distribution. He emphasized that the initiative would raise meat quality, generate jobs in processing, and contribute to Nigeria’s economic diversification away from oil.

Bago urged banks to back such ventures, warning that nations that continue exporting raw products risk remaining “perpetually broke.”

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Agriculture

Enugu Govt to Establish Food and Nutrition Units

…Commends Tinubu for Ortuanya’s appointment as UNN’s VC

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Enugu State 20,000 Computers to Civil Servants
L-r: Dr. Godwin Anigbo, the head of Service; Dr. Malachy Agbo, commissioner for Information and communication, and Lloyd Ekweremadu, the commissioner for Youth and Sports.

The Enugu State Government has resolved to set up food and nutrition units in select ministries in the state in line with the national food policy.

This was even as the government announced that it would distribute 20,000 units of personal computers to 20,000 civil servants in furtherance of the digitization of process in the state’s public service.

These were made known by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Barr. Lloyd Ekweremadu; Commissioner for Information and Communication, Dr. Malachy Agbo; and the Head of Service, Dr. Godwin Anigbo, while briefing Government House correspondents at the end of the State Executive Council meeting at the weekend.

“The Exco approved the establishment of a Food and Nutrition Unit in select line ministries that will be working together. This an opportunity for us to recommit to the administration’s promise and mandate to eradicate poverty in Enugu State, but in this regard, ensuring food security.

“Part of those Ministeries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that are involved in food programme as approved by the Exco are: The Ministry of Human Development and Poverty Eradication, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Industry, Ministry of Budget and Planing, Ministry of Information and Communication, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro Industrialisation. Those ministries are very key, particularly as they align with the governor’s vision of providing free meals at the Smart Green schools as they come on board,” Ekweremadu said.

Also briefing, the Head of Service said the provision of 20,000 units of computers would bring the digitization of the state’s public service into in full swing.

“This government is so interested in using technology to solve problems. When this digitization process takes full effect, we are going to have increased productivity in the public service, which will also help to track performance. Civil service is very critical in terms of implementation of systematic policies and critical reforms of this administration. The state government is committed,” he stated .

Meanwhile, the state government has equally expressed a heartfelt gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for the appointment of the first University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Vice Chancellor of Enugu North Zone extraction.

“The Enugu Exco extended a profound gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for finding this illustrious son of Enugu, Prof. Simon Ortuanya, worthy to be appointed the VC of the UNN,” Agbo stated.

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Agriculture

We engage in beneficial, community-oriented land acquisition for agricultural purposes – Enugu Govt

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Peter Ndubuisi Mbah
Governor Petr Mbah of Enugu State

The Enugu State Government says it only engages in a win-win land acquisition system for ongoing agricultural initiatives and programmes.

The state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-industrialisation, Mr Patrick Nwabueze Ubru, made this known to newsmen in Enugu, weekend, stating that “we engage in beneficial and community-oriented land acquisition for agricultural purposes only.”

Ubru observed that the state government,, by an executive order issued by the state governor, Dr Peter Mbah, in 2024, committed to international best practices in agricultural land acquisition.

“By the Executive Order No. 001 of 2024 on the Framework for Responsible and Inclusive Land Intensive Agriculture (FRILIA) signed by the state governor, Dr Peter Mbah, the state government

had committed itself to international best practices in land acquisition for agricultural purposes,” he stressed.

It would be recalled that an online medium had published a report falsely accusing Governor Peter Mbah of moves to buy off some ancestral lands in Eha-Amufu community in Isi-Uzo LGA and hand it over to non-indigenous  herders for settlement.

The group also alleged that Governor Mbah had paid the sum of N30 billion to some leaders of Eha-Amufu community to secure the release their communal lands to the said herders for settlement.

Ubru however urged the people of the state to discountenance the report, describing it as “completely fake and mischievous ,” adding that “being a responsible and people-focused government, this administration would not undermine or short-change its people under any guise.”

The commissioner stated that the Executive Order had ensured transparency in land acquisition with the consent of the people and to the benefit of all within the same community.

He noted that the Executive Order is a public document that anyone may read in electronic or hard copy to understand how open and transparent Governor Peter Mbah’s visions and objectives are regarding land acquisition for agricultural purposes..

 “The Executive Order ensures that land acquisition and resettlement for large-scale agribusiness investments are undertaken in line with international best practices and guaranteed shared benefits between private investors and host communities.

“The Government of Enugu State is desirous of deepening the state’s agribusiness reforms including delivering a win-win approach to all the relevant stakeholders on agricultural land matters and investment opportunities.

“The FRILIA Executive Order will enhance access to large-scale investments, gainful employment on large-scale farms, sufficient income, and protection from the volatility of agricultural labour and product markets.

“The Framework will ensure adherence to guiding principles covering overarching investment, recognition and protection of land rights, state land acquisition and resettlement, environmental and social responsibility,” he said.

The commissioner noted that in order to achieve the government’s objective of creating an enabling, responsible and inclusive business operating environment for large-scale agribusiness investments in Enugu State through FRILIA, the state government set up other mechanisms to back it up.

“The state government established the FRILIA Steering and Technical Committees with clearly defined functions and powers.

“Others are the establishment of a grievance redress mechanism; and development and adoption of FRILIA Toolkits/Guidelines/Policies or Equivalent,” he added.

Ubru said that Governor Mbah, being a leader with vision, had clear intentions and programmes to grow the GDP of the state from $4 billion to $30 billion.

He noted that the governor had taken time and opportunities to explain his vision of uplifting the people of the state out of poverty.

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