By BONIFACE AKARAH

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has called for integrated digital infrastructure to expand agricultural extension services and give millions of Nigerian farmers timely access to reliable information.

NITDA Director General, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, made the call at the Africa Agribusiness Extension Summit (AAES) 2026 in Abuja, organised by Extension Africa in partnership with NITDA. Inuwa represented by the Director of e-Government, Engr. Salisu Kaka, said Nigeria could no longer rely solely on conventional face-to-face extension services to meet the needs of its growing farming population.

He said emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI), could complement the existing extension workforce by connecting farmers with advisory services regardless of their location.

“The focus should be on developing an interconnected digital ecosystem rather than creating isolated platforms,” Inuwa said, identifying interoperability, scalability, security and reliable data as key requirements for effective digital agricultural services.

According to him, AI could also analyse agricultural trends, provide recommendations and support early-warning systems, helping farmers respond more quickly to emerging threats.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, similarly called for increased investment in digital agricultural extension services to modernise farming, improve productivity and strengthen food security.

Kyari said the conventional extension system had weakened over the years, with the ratio of farmers to extension agents increasing significantly in many areas.

He therefore advocated digital platforms capable of delivering weather alerts, market information, crop-disease advice and other agricultural information through mobile phones and other channels.

“Digital solutions must be designed around farmers’ realities and should complement, rather than replace, conventional extension services,” Kyari said, while also calling for greater investment by state governments and increased participation of young people.

The minister further stressed the need for deliberate efforts to reach women farmers, noting that improving productivity among millions of farmers would be critical to meeting Nigeria’s rising food demand.

He said better access to agricultural knowledge and advisory services could contribute to improved livelihoods and food security.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Extension Africa, Tajudeen Yahaya, said the organisation was established to address gaps in Africa’s agricultural extension system and strengthen last-mile advisory services.

Yahaya identified people, data, technology and partnerships as key pillars for building an effective extension system and called for stronger collaboration among government, private-sector organisations, development partners and technology companies..

“We need stronger collaboration among government, private-sector organisations, development partners and technology companies to overcome fragmentation in agricultural extension,” Yahaya said.

He disclosed that Extension Africa, established in 2021, had grown to about 7,000 extension workers across 16 states and reached more than one million farmers.

Yahaya said the summit was aimed at developing measurable benchmarks and practical solutions for strengthening Nigeria’s agricultural extension system through improved human capacity, reliable data, technology and sustainable partnerships.

•PHOTO: The Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa, represented by the Director, e-Government, Engr. Salisu Kaka, delivering his remarks at the Africa Agribusiness Extension Summit (AAES) 2026, organised by Extension Africa in partnership with NITDA in Abuja.