Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, recently announced the deployment of technology for all-year round farming during a briefing with State House correspondents in Abuja.
He said the move would fasten land clearing, harvest, chemical deployment, whether it’s pesticide or herbicide.
“We intend to use drone technology in doing that because what one drone can do, a hundred people cannot do in a day.
“So, we are going to use drones to fast-track agricultural activities, harvest quickly, and then make the land available for the next cycle of cultivation,” said Kyari.
He said his ministry would partner the private sector to support vibrant youths to take advantage of its mechanisation programme.
Kyari further noted the importance farmers education adding that agriculture is no longer for the stomach, however it should be seen as a business, a source of livelihood and empowerment.
“So, what we have seen that input support may not necessarily be what will incentivise our smallholder farmers to produce.
“I think we need to change the mindset and see how we can engage them in such a way that funding from the private sector should support agricultural production,” he said.
