Last Updated on October 25, 2025 by Olasunkanmi Olajide
… Calls for Inclusive Technological Adoption at 59th ASN Conference
By Olasunkanmi Olajide
The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Prof. Babatunde Kehinde, has called for the deliberate and inclusive adoption of digital technologies to drive sustainable transformation in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.
Delivering the Keynote Address at the Opening Ceremony of the 59th Annual Hybrid Conference and General Business Meeting of the Agricultural Society of Nigeria (ASN), today, October 22, 2025, at Umudike, Abia State, Prof. Kehinde emphasised that aligning traditional farming practices with modern technology is crucial for achieving national food security and economic growth.
The conference, themed “Advancing Innovative Technologies, Skills and the Digital Economy for Livelihood Diversification in Agriculture,” was jointly hosted by the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), and the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI), bringing together researchers, policymakers, and industry leaders from across Nigeria and beyond.
Prof. Kehinde, a Plant Breeder and Geneticist, described agriculture as the backbone of rural Nigeria and the engine of food security, lamenting that productivity remained low due to factors such as low mechanisation, weak research-to-farm linkages, limited access to finance, poor infrastructure, and insecurity in rural areas. He revealed that between 2020 and 2024, Nigeria imported ₦10.96 trillion worth of agricultural products while exporting only ₦7.05 trillion, a situation he described as “unsustainable.”
He proposed a four-pillar strategy to reposition the sector which were innovation, human capital development, inclusive technology adoption, and institutional synergy. According to him, innovation must move beyond laboratories into farms, with digital platforms, drones, sensors, and mobile applications empowering farmers to make data-driven decisions that enhance productivity.
The Vice-Chancellor stressed that technology alone cannot transform agriculture without strong human capacity. “Technology, no matter how sophisticated, cannot thrive in isolation. Its success depends on the people who understand, use, and sustain it,” he said, adding that agricultural education, digital literacy, and extension services must be strengthened nationwide.
He recommended several policy actions, including expanding rural broadband to enable digital inclusion, developing shared mechanisation and drone service models, creating agribusiness clusters across ecological zones, establishing venture funds to support youth agripreneurship, and reforming land and subsidy policies to promote scale and sustainability.
Prof. Kehinde envisioned a digitally enabled agricultural ecosystem where smallholder farmers use affordable sensors, mobile apps, and cooperative-based systems to improve yields, reduce losses, and access finance and markets. “The future of agriculture is not in choosing between tradition and science but in fusing them,” he concluded.
Representing the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Sen. (Dr.) Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (CON), the Provost, Federal Cooperative College, Oji River, Enugu State, Dr. Jude Obidiegwu, commended the ASN for fostering dialogue between science and practice, urging stronger partnerships among stakeholders.
The conference also featured remarks from MOUAU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Maduebibisi Iwe, and NRCRI Executive Director, Prof. Chiedozie Egesi, who both called for digital innovation to make agriculture more attractive to youth.
Highpoint included the conferment of Fellowship Awards on notable scholars such as Prof. Iwe; Executive Director, Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute (NSPRI), Prof. Lateef Sanni; Provost, Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan (FCAIB), Prof. Jonathan Atungwu and the immediate past President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Victor Osodeke, among others.
The week-long ASN Conference, which runs from October 21 to 25, 2025, would serve as a strategic platform for advancing agricultural innovation, policy dialogue, and national food security.
