The Agricultural sector, which reads as the largest sector of the Nigerian economy and contributes two-thirds of the entire labour force, is still faced with production hurdles, which have significantly stifled its performance. Like every other sector, it is imperative and urgent for the Agricultural industry to explore the diverse opportunities technology has to offer to meet the demand of the teeming population. 

On Thursday, June 02, 2022, the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce pulled together a Workshop themed – "Leveraging Technology and Digital Transformation in Agriculture." Speaking about the challenges faced by the sector, Dr. Sola Obabori, Chairman, Agric & Export Trade Group of the NBCC, stated that the workshop was a prerequisite to divulging information on the use of technology and its relevance to the sector. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe, in his keynote address, stated that the underlying objective of Nigeria's agricultural policy is productivity enhancement, private investment, and institutional realignment for facilitating food security, enterprise promotion, and economic empowerment in the country. 

He further emphasized the government's commitment to providing facilities for research, water, and extension resource systems to promote dedicated agro/agro-allied enclaves in cooperative cluster formations. Experts in agricultural technology, Niels van den Bosch – Business Manager Cropnuts AgriServe Ltd. / BIP advocated for positive acceptance of technology, use of existing market systems and networks, Incubation of yield/profit increasing technology coming from research, and use of energetic, proactive, result-driven players (youth empowerment). 

Speaking on his passion and love for growing crops, Farmer Ogbole Solomon –Team Lead for Eupepsia Place Limited (Soilless Farm lab), emphasized data accuracy as crucial for development. Ebikekeme Ere, CEO, Eresoft Ltd & Ere Aeronautics Ltd, who has used drone technology in the sector, believes that precision agriculture which is the application of modern information technologies to provide, process, and analyze multi-source data of high spatial and temporal resolution for decision making and operations in the management of crop production is the way to go for the sector. 

The workshop had individuals, companies, public parastatals, sectoral regulators, and operators alike. It is expected that this workshop will broaden the mind of players in the sector and chart a new course for the development of Agriculture in Nigeria.