Over the past years, agriculture technology has been advancing at a fast pace. The continent of Africa has started using these technologies significantly to improve its food production. It helps to support agriculture at all levels. With these technologies, farms can make important business decisions to improve crop yields while decreasing the use of resources.
The world bank estimates agriculture provides jobs for over 65 percent of people in Africa and contributes to over 32 percent of the continent’s GDP. Also, lots of the farmers here have small farms which produce more than 90 percent of the continent’s agricultural output.
There are lots of technological solutions, such as ag monitoring software, that are already available for use by farmers, while others are still in the development and testing phase. Investments coming from the private sector are among the key driving forces that support the development and use of agritech in Africa.
Agriculture In Nigeria
The Nigerian agricultural sector has the burden of feeding one of the world’s largest populations, which is not an easy task. That is why their government has enforced different policies to ensure the sustainability and growth of this sector. They have done lots of tax, labor, and land reforms to ensure that the sector has what is needed to grow and thrive. That is why in recent years, they have been seeing significant growth in their agricultural sector.
Nigeria is among the top countries with the most farming output. They produce and export large amounts of rice, eggs, poultry, fish, and rice. Also, their new policies call for a steady supply of farm products. This ensures that there is a structured supply-side that works to ensure sustainability and prevent excess pollution.
Despite the significant growth of agriculture in Nigeria, they still experience problems that hinder them from maximizing their potential such as a shrinking of farmable land, loss of ecosystems, food insecurity, heavy use of pesticides and fertilizers, etc. However, with the use of advanced technologies, they can strive for sustainability and improve their precision farming methods. They are integrating technologies to improve the agricultural sector’s efficiency, which helps to minimize land use while maximizing farm output.
Remote sensing for agriculture in Nigeria
Remote sensing is not a new technology, but Nigeria started using it not long ago. It is the process of obtaining data about an object using sensors without physically touching it. When talking about remote sensing of large areas or fields on the earth’s surface, is done with the help of sensors placed on satellites or spacecraft. The information gathered by these sensors is then interpreted and analyzed with the help of a crop monitoring system and geographic information systems techniques. The uses of remote sensing are endless. It has opened up new and effective ways of land use, which assist immensely in precision agriculture. Combining satellite data with information gathered from the field and ground surveys for proper land management is also very important. It also provides accurate data for mapping purposes. The rapid growth of the Nigerian population and frequent migration from rural to urban regions have caused significant land-use modifications, improved economic conditions, and urban expansion.
Also, images of fields gotten from satellites and other remote sensing devices are processed using apps to get insights on plant health, stage of growth, etc. This data provides growers with the information needed to make better management decisions.
Adoption of satellite monitoring
Founded in 2015, EOS Data Analytics has been collaborating with governments, private enterprises, and the scientific community all over the world to provide high-quality satellite imagery analytics. They are among the leading providers of AI-powered satellite imagery analytics. Their services are used in more than 22 industries for better decision-making.
For the agriculture sector, their main product is EOS Crop Monitoring, which provides up-to-date data on the state of crops using AI-powered satellite imagery analytics and field monitoring. With this tool, users can get information about weather conditions, vegetation health, field activities, yield estimate, crop rotation, and much more. With this information, farmers can make timely and important decisions on when to plant, irrigate, fertilize, and harvest their crops. It also ensures sustainability and better land use, improves yields, and reduces waste of resources.
Advantages of using satellite monitoring
The agricultural industry was among the last to adopt digital transformation technologies. However, the use of these technologies, such as satellite crop monitoring, has caused waves throughout the world and brought about big changes. It is increasing farm yields with less amount of resources and helping growers and stakeholders make better decisions.
The effects of global warming are significantly affecting the number of food farmers can produce in Nigeria. This is due to change in weather patterns, such as rising temperatures and irregular rainfall. However, with the use of remote sensing technologies such as crop monitoring systems, farmers can enhance productivity.