By; DAHIRU SULEIMAN, Dutse
In its quest to promote federal government’s initiative on digital economy,the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has engaged three federal universities in the country to advance research and application of digital technology in farming to speed up actualisation of the country’s food security.
This revelation was disclosed by the Director General of the agency, Mr. Kashufu Inuwa Abdullahi while fielding questions from newsmen in Dutse, Jigawa State on the activities of the agency.
The director general explained that plans have reached advanced stage with the Federal universities in Dutse, Akure, and Abuja where they are working on a pilot scheme with the varsities in realization of the set objectives.
According to him, “Deploying digital technology into agriculture will make farming a fanciful and attractive business for the youth, which will also culminate in providing more job opportunities and strengthen the country’s food security.”
Mr. Abdullahi added that digital technology application in farming will reduce the quantity of water, fertilizer and labour required, while the yield will also increase.
“With application of digital technology into farming, one hectare can yield higher than 10 hectares without similar technology,“ he added.
He disclosed that NITDA is establishing IT centers in the communities and institutions of learning across the country as well as providing training for building the capacity of Nigerians to operate in line with federal government’s policy on Digital Economy .
Mr. Abdullahi explained further that NITDA is committed to collaborating with all stakeholders to achieve 95 per cent digital literacy and 99 per cent broadband coverage in the country by 2030.
