Drone deployment, soil mapping urged to solve Nigeria’s food scarcity

Bisola Aduba, an agritech expert, says Nigeria can substantially increase food production by adopting precision agriculture instead of expanding cultivation into shrinking farmlands. Ms Aduba said this during an interview on Wednesday in Abuja.

She said that the combined pressures of desertification, insecurity and rapid population growth required farmers to produce more food from existing farmland.

Ms Aduba said the future of agriculture in states such as Benue and Southern Kaduna was in using technology to improve productivity rather than clearing additional land that could fuel conflicts over grazing routes.

“To double yields on half the land without encroaching on stock routes, farmers in Benue and Southern Kaduna must shift from land expansion to data-driven intensification,” she said.

According to her, targeted soil mapping enables farmers to understand the exact condition of every section of their farms instead of relying on guesswork.

The expert explained that digital soil mapping could identify soil acidity, organic matter and deficiencies in essential nutrients, thereby allowing farmers to apply only the nutrients each portion of land actually required. She said such precision eliminated wastes associated with blanket fertiliser application, lowered production costs and restored degraded soils faster, leading to significant improvements in crop yields.

Ms Aduba highlighted the growing importance of drones fitted with multispectral sensors, saying they could detect crop stress, pest attacks and moisture shortages before visible symptoms appeared.

MS Aduba explained that early detection allowed farmers to intervene quickly, preventing losses that often reduce harvests and household incomes. She added that drone-assisted spot spraying also ensured pesticides and other treatments were applied only where necessary, reducing chemical use while protecting surrounding vegetation and water sources.

“Instead of treating entire fields, farmers can focus only on affected areas, cutting chemical use considerably while preserving healthy crops and reducing production losses,” she said.

Ms Aduba said precision farming also involved using sensor-guided irrigation systems and automated planting equipment to optimise plant spacing and water application. She maintained that delivering water directly to crop root zones and maintaining ideal plant populations could significantly increase production per hectare without expanding cultivated land.

The expert said digital mapping and geo-fencing technologies could equally support peaceful coexistence between farming and pastoral communities. She said clearly mapped farm boundaries and designated grazing corridors would reduce encroachment, minimise disputes and encourage more sustainable land management practices.

Ms Aduba urged governments, agricultural extension services and development partners to expand farmers’ access to digital soil information, drone services and precision farming technologies.

She said strengthening such support would improve food security, raise farm incomes and help Nigeria meet rising food demand in the face of declining arable land and increasing environmental pressures.

(NAN)