By Faridat Salifu
The Federal Government has adopted artificial intelligence and satellite technology to strengthen agricultural data collection and improve food production planning across Nigeria through the launch of the National Agro-Productivity System (NAPS).
The AI-powered platform will provide real-time information on crop production, land use and food security risks, enabling policymakers to make informed decisions on food reserves, imports, exports and agricultural investments.
The initiative was unveiled through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Ben Guerir, Morocco, between the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit (PFSCU), OCP Africa and geospatial technology company Ground Truth Analytics.
The system will initially be deployed across 15 priority states before being expanded nationwide.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the President (Office of the Vice President), Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, signed the agreement on behalf of the Federal Government, representing Vice President Kashim Shettima in his capacity as Chairman of the Presidential Food Systems Coordinating Unit.
Hadejia said the initiative would improve seasonal planning, productivity monitoring and agricultural policy by providing governments with timely and reliable information on farming activities.
He said Nigeria must build local expertise in artificial intelligence, precision agriculture and geospatial technology to develop solutions suited to the country’s agricultural needs.
“Our ambition goes beyond the deployment of technology. We seek to build a Nigerian capability that is adapted to our conditions, understood and managed by our institutions, supported by Nigerian expertise and sustained through knowledge transfer and continuous learning,” he said.
Technical Assistant to the President on Agriculture and Executive Secretary of the PFSCU, Marion Moon, said the platform was developed to address persistent gaps in agricultural data that have affected planning and food security interventions.
She explained that the technology would allow government agencies to verify crops planted during the growing season instead of relying solely on farmers’ projections, reducing the risk of policy errors involving strategic grain reserves and trade decisions.
According to her, the National Agro-Productivity System operates under the National Agribusiness Policy Mechanism, which was approved in 2024 to improve coordination of domestic food production, strategic reserves, imports and exports.
Moon disclosed that the mechanism has already been piloted in 13 states, reaching about 250,000 farmers, surveying more than 50,000 producers in over 2,000 communities and generating more than one million agricultural data points across five major commodities.
Chief Executive Officer of OCP Africa, Alafifi Laadel, described the partnership as a long-term effort to build Nigeria’s technical capacity through knowledge transfer and institutional development.
She said the AI-enabled system would reduce dependence on extensive field inspections by using satellite imagery and digital analysis to monitor agricultural activities, improving the speed, accuracy and reliability of crop data for decision-making.
