{"id":29521,"date":"2024-04-30T08:25:48","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T08:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=29521"},"modified":"2024-04-30T08:28:20","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T08:28:20","slug":"digital-technologies-hold-key-to-agricultural-productivity-boost-says-expert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2024\/04\/30\/digital-technologies-hold-key-to-agricultural-productivity-boost-says-expert\/","title":{"rendered":"Digital Technologies Hold Key to Agricultural Productivity Boost, Says Expert"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Digitization has emerged as a transformative tool capable of revolutionizing Nigeria&#8217;s agricultural landscape, according to Professor Adeolu Ayanwale, a distinguished figure in Agricultural Economics at the Obafemi Awolowo University.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking at a training and capacity development workshop organized by the Commonwealth of Learning in collaboration with the Obafemi Awolowo University and the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Ayanwale underscored the potential of digital technologies to drive significant improvements in food security and agricultural productivity.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop, themed &#8220;Scaling-up Lifelong Learning for Farmers on Digital Agricultural Solutions for Vegetable Farmers in Southwest Nigeria towards Achieving the SDG,&#8221; aimed to empower farmers with digital tools and techniques for enhancing their agricultural practices.<\/p>\n<p>Ayanwale emphasized that digitization could enable farmers to access real-time data on weather patterns, market prices, and crop diseases, empowering them to make informed decisions and optimize their yields. Moreover, mobile apps and remote sensing technologies could facilitate better monitoring of crops and livestock, leading to more efficient resource allocation and management.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve the government&#8217;s objective of food self-reliance, Ayanwale stressed the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors in providing farmers with digital tools for monitoring soil health, weather patterns, and crop growth. Such tools would enable farmers to make informed decisions about irrigation, fertilization, and pest control, ultimately resulting in higher yields and lower input costs.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop series, initiated in March 2023, has already trained over 500 arable crop farmers, predominantly focusing on vegetable production. Participants have received intensive training on various aspects of farming, including nursery operations, agronomy, and digital marketing.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, Executive Director of ARMTI, urged farmers to adhere to best practices in fertilizer application and adopt agro-ecological friendly methods to mitigate the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Prof. Kemi Idowu from the Department of Soil Sciences &amp; Land Resources Management at Obafemi Awolowo University, emphasized the importance of water management and soil fertility in agricultural production. She encouraged farmers to utilize the training provided to identify suitable fertilizers and apply them effectively, as well as prepare compost manure to enhance soil fertility.<\/p>\n<p>Participants, such as Mrs. Opeyemi Olaobaju, expressed appreciation for the workshop and pledged to utilize the knowledge gained to improve their agricultural practices and contribute to food security in Nigeria.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop signifies a concerted effort to leverage digital technologies to empower farmers, enhance productivity, and achieve sustainable agricultural development in Nigeria.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Digitization has emerged as a transformative tool capable of revolutionizing Nigeria&#8217;s agricultural landscape, according to Professor Adeolu Ayanwale, a distinguished figure in Agricultural Economics at the Obafemi Awolowo University. Speaking at a training and capacity development workshop organized by the Commonwealth of Learning in collaboration with the Obafemi Awolowo University and the Agricultural and Rural [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":29527,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[180],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29521","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29521"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29521\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29534,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29521\/revisions\/29534"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29527"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}