The Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Moore Plantation, Ibadan on Tuesday played host to a three days event of the 1st African Conference on Precision Agriculture.
The African Conference of Precision Agriculture (AfCPA) which held on 8th-10th December, 2020 was aimed at connecting the science and practices needed to put precision agriculture in action for Africa by providing a pan-African platform focused on highlighting new advances in the fields of experimental and applied precision agriculture.
The three days event which was an initiative of the African Plant Nutrition Institute (APNI) in partnership with the International Society of Precision Agriculture (ISPA), engaged all stakeholders including scientists, policy-makers, extension staff, crop consultants and advisors, agronomists, and service providers who took turns to make presentations on their findings and experiments on precision agriculture and how it can be incorporated into African’s cropping systems.
Speaking with CEOAFRICA, the Director of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training, Obafemi Awolowo University Ibadan, Prof. Veronica Obatolu said that African Precision Agriculture is an approach aimed at ensuring farm management and productivity maximization.
She said, “The African Precision Agriculture is an approach to farm management that ensures that the land, the seed, and the environment have the exact thing they need to maximize productivity.”
She added that the innovation which makes use of IT software would create sustainability which in turn ensures productivity and environmental protection, stressing that the innovation would help in boosting Africa’s economy.
“it is an innovation in agriculture whereby we use IT software in order to monitor the farm and to decide precisely what the farm need so that there will be sustainability to ensue productivity and environmental protection.
“The people sponsoring this are from morocco and they are very advanced in agriculture and they want to meet with African countries that they can improve their economy through agriculture so that they would be able to use this innovation to enhance the economy of the nation individually and collectively,” she said.
Prof. Obatolu maintained that over the years, IAR&T have focused on fostering collaboration between Agricultural stakeholder, connecting farmers to robust Agricultural services, knowledge and resources needed for prosperity.
She, however enjoined the participants to ensure that the scientific outcome from the conference will provide the added knowledge, technical knowhow and capability to better understand precision agriculture and to domestic it within the context of Africa continent.
Also speaking with CEOAFRICA, Dr Vincent Aduramigba Modupe, a research scientist on soil fertility at IAR&T, Ibadan, said, the knowledge of precise agriculture helps farmers to apply precise nutrients, management and practices resulting in productivity, sustainability and improve farmers’ livelihood.
On how to improve agricultural practices in Nigeria, Dr.Modupe stressed the need for enabling government policies, real investment in research and mobilisation of farmers through extension services to create awareness.
He said, “There is need for enabling government policies, real investment in research and development, more awareness and mobilisation for farmers through extension services for them to be aware of it.”
Dr. Modupe disclosed that poor yield is as a result of farmers not having the right knowledge and good agricultural practices, adding that if farmers are empowered with these, they are sure to benefit from them.
“Most farmers do their own thing. Farmers apply fertilizers without testing their crops,” he said.
“We need to be informed on the best agricultural practices or what we call ‘GAP’, good agricultural practices that involves agronomy, soil, crop protection, breed etc.
“If all these things are put together as a holistic package, it will improve value chain and our farmers are going to benefit at the end of the day,” he added.
Also speaking, a professor of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, Prof. Lucia Omobolanle Ogunsunmi, maintained that for youths to get involved in Agriculture, the government needs to make it more attractive and business oriented.
“We have to include integrated farming system where you have all that entails which is going to be in form of a value chain.
“The moment youths are getting rewards for what they are getting into, they will definitely come into it. For instance, in IAR&T, we have integrated farming where we have corporate models- we invite them, we encourage, we motivate and we empower them, she said.
A renowned professor from Obafemi Awolowo University, Prof. Akinloye Farinde, while speaking with CEOAFRICA at the conference stressed the fact that Precision Agriculture can be adopted in Africa, especially Nigeria.
He opined that African Youths should be trained in handling Agricultural facilities using digital information.
He said, “Presently, the trending thing is that the youth are in charge of controlling and having enough skills and knowledge of using Agriculture.”
Prof. Akinloye added that for Precision agriculture to thrive well, youths should be trained and incorporated into agricultural practices. “We need to restructure our extension system and come out with a model that would train youths to be our extension agents,” he said.
Highlighting the challenges, he said establishment of data base, finance and political will, if not properly addressed could hinder the success of Precision Agriculture in Africa.
Prof. Akinloye however suggested that African leaders should establish data bank for Precision Agriculture so that there can be a record and proper implementation.
He further urged African leaders to come out with a broadband and policies for result oriented Precision Agriculture in the continent.
Also present at the conference, the President of Soil Science of Nigeria, Prof. Bashir Raji while addressing the participants said the conference means a lot to the Association, adding that “we are going to use less soil resources, less water resources and less fertilizer resources to achieve sustainable growth production.”
A participant at the event, Seyi Oluwasun, who is also a farmer while speaking with CEOAFRICA said the three days event has changed her perception on precision agriculture which she before now thought could only be adopted by big and medium scale farmer.
She added that as a scale farmer she will henceforth adopt precision agricultural practice to enhance her productivity.
She said, “i have learnt how to adopt precision agriculture even as a small scale holder, you know we’ve been carrying this impression that precision agriculture could only be utilized and adopted by large and medium scale farmers but via this conference within the three days i have been reoriented, my orientation has changed that even as a small scale holder farmer, you could actually adopt precision agriculture.
In the same vein, another participant, Dr Dorcas Ezekiel while speaking to CEOAFRICA said the event had been an eye opener to her as she now knows what aspect of precision agriculture can be adopted in Nigeria.
“Honestly when I was coming for the program, hearing the title I was like, precision agriculture? When I was doing my PhD, I have heard a lot about it so I was thinking is that possible? Is it feasible in this part of the world because I know what it entails is collection of data, input of info into programs and all that but i tell you undergoing this three days my orientation of what precision agriculture is has really changed. Now i know which aspect of precision agriculture to come in as a Nigerian, as an African,” she said.
The event which was hosted in Nigeria was simulcasted to a network of satellite sites throughout Africa, including Cote d’Ivoire, Togo, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
