Nigeria is strengthening its digital agriculture strategy with the launch of a new artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite-powered monitoring platform aimed at improving crop tracking, production forecasts, and food security planning.
The Nigerian government has partnered with OCP Africa and Ground Truth Analytics to introduce the National Agro-Productivity System (NAPS), a technology platform designed to provide real-time agricultural data across the country.
The system will help authorities monitor crop areas, track crop development, estimate yields, and identify production risks. By using advanced data analysis, the platform is expected to improve agricultural policymaking and support better management of food resources.
NAPS combines satellite imagery with AI algorithms to analyze farmland, identify planted crops, and monitor crop growth throughout the farming season. Satellite images updated every five days will allow authorities to follow agricultural activities more closely and detect potential challenges before harvest periods.
Nigeria plans to roll out the system in phases, starting with a pilot program in one state before expanding it to three states and eventually 15 priority agricultural states. The government has also stated that all collected data will be stored on domestic servers to maintain national data sovereignty.
The initiative builds on Nigeria’s previous investments in space-based agricultural technologies. Through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), the country has developed tools such as CropWatch, which uses satellite data to support crop monitoring.
Nigeria has also worked with the European Space Agency on digital agriculture projects that provide farmers with information about soil quality, suitable crops, and planting schedules. While earlier programs focused mainly on supporting farmers, NAPS aims to give policymakers a broader view of agricultural production trends and help guide national decisions.
A major goal of the platform is to solve Nigeria’s long-standing challenge of limited real-time agricultural information. Many farming decisions have traditionally relied on forecasts and farmer reports, making it difficult to accurately predict production levels before harvest.
By providing timely data on planting activity, crop conditions, and expected yields, NAPS will support decisions related to food reserves, agricultural investments, imports, exports, and climate resilience.
As Nigeria faces rising food demand and the impacts of climate change, the use of AI and satellite technology could play an important role in improving agricultural productivity. The National Agro-Productivity System marks a significant move toward data-driven farming and stronger food security management.
