In the most recent episode of Inside Africa, CNN looks at how advances in the science of climate-smart seeds, solar-powered irrigation systems and drones are transforming not just farmers’ fortunes but lives as well.
In Nigeria, seed engineering has emerged as vital when it comes to food security. Recently, farmers and scientists have turned their attention to potatoes. Dr. Christian Nwadili, a farmer at the national root crops research institute, in Jos, Nigeria, shows CNN the improved quality of his potato yields, “We have introduced three different resistant genes from white potatoes. And you can see there’s no blight on any of them.”
Potato farming has faced significant challenges. A fungal disease known as ‘late blight’ can cause widespread damage, and traditional, low-yield potato varieties meant making money at market was fraught with risk. For Nwadili solving this problem has become a vocation, “Late blight is a disease caused by Phytophthora infestans. So far as the plant has started sprouting, shooting out from the ground, the foliage can be attacked by the Phytophthora. And if it attacks early, the farmer may lose the entire field without harvesting anything.”
Nwadili and his colleagues partnered with the African Agriculture Technology Foundation – the AATF. After years of development, they’ve created several potato varieties with impressive results. Together, they plan to release the new varieties to farmers in 2025. Dr. Jean-Baptiste Tignegre, the Regional Representative for West Africa for AATF, explains the creation of these new varieties, “Scientists made a transformation in the genome of potato and they change the DNA. And by changing the DNA, the potato become able by itself to resist to the disease, to the late blight.”
These bio-engineered potatoes reduce reliance on chemical insecticides and have been shown to improve yields by up to 300 percent. The AATF say they are committed to keeping the seeds affordable. As more Nigerians work the fields and ply their trade in the agriculture sector, and as food insecurity becomes a greater threat, minor innovations can have a major impact. Tignegre explains how this will support the farming community, “So with this new variety that convey resistance to this disease, it is expected that a lot of farmers will come back to the growing of this new potato variety. And they will also generate income that will help them improve their livelihood.”
As well as diseases, farming in Nigeria is heavily impacted by erratic rainfall. Opeyemi Wasiu Ajibola, farmer and CEO, Agricwas Farms and Agrobusiness Consultancy Firm, created a solution for this by introducing solar power to support his farm’s irrigation system. Ajibola tells CNN how his system works, “Each panel is 300 watts and we have eight panels. So that’s 2,400 watts and that is the amount of voltage that can carry my subversive pump to pump water.”
Ajibola’s pumps are reliable, providing an eco-friendly alternative to fuel-powered methods. He explains how this environmentally friendly approach is also beneficial economically, “When I was using the fossil fuel to power my irrigation system, I cannot irrigate three hectares of land with the amount of water that my plant is demanding. And the amount of fuel I’m going to use, it’ll be very difficult for me to break even. So, when I adopted solar irrigation system, a portion of land like half acres, I do an experimental trial by irrigating that particular portion of land for 40 minutes.”
In Kaduna, in the country’s north-west, one study showed that smart irrigation systems meant farmers used nearly half as much water, with a 30% increase in yields. However, not all farmers have the funds to access these systems. Ajibola plans, in the future, “To create an enabling environment. I’ll get a big land, I put all this facility for them.”
At the 2025 Agro-food international trade fare in Lagos, industry-leaders, businesses and smallholder farmers get together to build connections and shape the future of food in Africa. This year’s meeting is all about sustainability and technological innovation. Femi Adekoya, the founder of Integrated Aerial Precision is revolutionizing the industry with the help of drones. He tells CNN how his drones help transform the way farmers work, “We leverage drone technology to provide precision agriculture solutions. And sustainable farming services to farmers. I’m not about something new; I’m about something that makes a difference. Drone technology provides farmers with an unprecedented advantage.”
Using multispectral sensors, drones can help farmers protect their crops from invisible threats before they escalate, helping farmers save time, labour, and resources. But Adekoya explains the limitations of farmers’ knowledge of this technology, “This is a new technology. Not every farmer has the knowledge of this. We go to the farm, we organize a farm field day, with farmers so they are able to have a one-on-one experience of how the drone, the efficacy and they’re able to give their comments.”
He continues on youth involvement and the future of mainstream AI, “Youths are not really engaged into agriculture, the labor is short. Moving from the rural environments to Ibadan. What can close this gap? Drone technology can help farmers close this gap. And it’s changing the game, changing the perception about agriculture. And not only that youth are more enticed into agriculture. Our operators are youth, have a youth, this is youth led. When we use drone technologies in these different farms, they should now see, okay there is a better way to do agriculture. These are the impacts that we have recorded.”
Agriculture is changing. From seed engineers to drone operators, technology relies on people: farmers, scientists, governors, mechanics, all working together to improve productivity, sustainability, and economic empowerment. Adekoya ends the show with an emphasis on the importance of quantity for the future of farming across the continent, “Food security comes in quantity in quality and that relates to scale. So we can be able to manage scalable agriculture with drone technology because it saves time, provides efficiency, precision and sustainability.”
These interviews were featured on the latest episode of Inside Africa on CNN International.
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