The Federal Government has called for bold investments in artificial intelligence, scientific innovation, and agricultural research as key drivers for transforming agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa and strengthening global food security.
The Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Abubakar Adamu Dabban, made the call at the 24th Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) System Council Meeting held in Antalya, Türkiye.
Dabban noted that Africa holds over 60 per cent of the world’s uncultivated arable land, alongside vast biodiversity and a youthful population, yet continues to face persistent food insecurity, low productivity, weak infrastructure, and climate-related challenges.
He stressed that the continent’s agricultural future must shift from traditional dependence on land and labour to a knowledge-driven system powered by data, technology, and innovation.
According to him, artificial intelligence has the capacity to transform farming practices through improved weather forecasting, early detection of crop diseases, precision fertilizer and water usage, enhanced livestock management, reduced post-harvest losses, and stronger agricultural extension and market intelligence systems.
Dabban urged African governments and stakeholders to invest in digital agricultural infrastructure, including rural broadband connectivity, satellite technologies, innovation hubs, farm information systems, and digital advisory platforms that provide farmers with real-time and actionable insights.
He also called for strengthened agricultural research institutions through AI-enabled breeding programmes, climate-smart crop development, genomic research, predictive analytics, and big data systems to accelerate innovation and boost productivity.
The ARCN Executive Secretary further emphasized the modernization of genebanks and biodiversity conservation systems, describing Africa’s genetic resources as strategic assets for long-term food security and climate resilience. He noted that artificial intelligence could significantly enhance germplasm characterization, genetic diversity analysis, breeding efficiency, and conservation planning.
Highlighting the importance of youth participation, Dabban urged governments and development partners to create innovation funds, agritech incubators, training programmes in AI and data science, scholarships, and venture capital support for young agricultural entrepreneurs.
He stated that the next phase of agricultural transformation in Africa would be driven by young innovators equipped with technological and entrepreneurial skills.
Dabban also advocated expanded access to finance for agritech startups, climate-smart agriculture projects, AI-driven solutions, and smallholder farmers, stressing that innovation requires sustainable funding mechanisms to thrive.
On climate change adaptation, he highlighted the role of smart technologies such as early warning systems, precision irrigation, drought forecasting, climate-risk mapping, carbon monitoring systems, and digital agricultural insurance in building resilience among farmers.
Speaking on the theme, “Transforming Sub-Saharan Africa’s Agricultural Research and Innovation Ecosystem for Maximum Impact,” Dabban outlined seven strategic pillars for transformation. These include increased investment in agricultural research and development, adoption of AI and digital agriculture, strengthening genebanks, empowering youth and women, fostering strategic partnerships, scaling climate-smart agriculture, and ensuring research outputs translate into measurable development outcomes.
He further called on African governments to commit at least one per cent of agricultural GDP to research and innovation, while strengthening collaboration among CGIAR centres, national agricultural research systems, universities, governments, farmers’ organizations, and the private sector.
Dabban urged CGIAR to prioritize Africa in its 2025–2030 Science and Innovation Portfolio through increased investment in African-led research and wider scaling of proven agricultural technologies across the continent.
He concluded that the future of global food security will depend heavily on how decisively Africa invests in science, innovation, technology, and strategic partnerships in the coming decade.
He called on stakeholders to work collectively toward building resilient, productive, and sustainable food systems capable of transforming Africa’s agricultural potential into widespread prosperity and meaningful contribution to global food security.
