Nigeria has taken a step towards digitising its overstretched agricultural extension system, as public institutions, private sector players, and development partners validate a proposed AI-enabled Digital Agricultural Extension Systems (DAES) platform designed to scale advisory services to millions of farmers.
The initiative comes against the backdrop of a widening extension gap in Nigeria’s food system. Despite agriculture contributing over a fifth of GDP and employing the majority of the labour force, the sector remains characterised by low productivity and high poverty levels among farmers.
Currently, one extension agent serves an estimated 10,000 farmers, far above recommended ratios, limiting the reach of advisory services critical to improving yields, climate resilience and incomes.
Stakeholders convened in Abuja for a two-day validation workshop to review the design and governance of the proposed DAES platform, which aims to complement existing extension structures using digital tools, including artificial intelligence and voice-based interfaces.
The workshop was organised by a consortium comprising the African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services, Africa Practice, Extension Africa, Sasakawa Africa Association, and Sahel Consulting, under a public-private partnership funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Participants said the challenge facing Nigerian agriculture is not the absence of innovation, but the failure to deliver solutions at scale in ways that align with farmers’ realities.
While mobile phone penetration has improved across rural areas, digital tools are still used largely for social and entertainment purposes rather than productivity.
Stakeholders noted that digital extension, if carefully designed, could help bridge this gap by scaling advisory services without displacing human extension agents.
The DAES Vision Charter presented at the workshop outlines an ambition to build an inclusive and climate-smart agricultural sector where farmers—regardless of literacy level, gender or location—can access timely, actionable information.
The platform is designed to support extension agents rather than replace them, using digital channels to extend their reach.
Government representatives at the forum acknowledged capacity constraints within public institutions, reinforcing the need for private sector participation.
The platform’s PPP model is intended to attract private investment while remaining aligned with public policy goals around food security, inclusion and productivity growth.
Two design principles gained broad support during the validation process. The first is a bundled service model that integrates advisory services with market access and financial linkages.
The second is a tiered pricing approach that differentiates between farmers’ ability to pay and willingness to pay, in order to balance affordability with long-term sustainability.
At the same time, stakeholders cautioned against design choices that could unintentionally exclude women, youth or land-poor farmers. Discussions emphasised the need for inclusion to be deliberate, accounting for literacy levels, language diversity, shared phone ownership and varying access to digital infrastructure.
Participants also warned against technological solutionism. While the platform is AI-enabled, there was consensus that it must complement indigenous knowledge and existing extension systems rather than override them. The focus, they said, should be on building a functional system rather than a complex product.
Technical discussions highlighted key operational questions, including data governance, interoperability across government datasets, and the design of voice-based interfaces for farmers with limited literacy.
Emphasis was placed on speech-to-speech interaction, USSD channels and multiple access points to reflect Nigeria’s diverse user realities.
The consortium clarified that the platform would be rolled out in phases, rather than attempting to deploy all features at once. Advanced components such as climate analytics and financial integration will be introduced gradually, allowing for learning and adaptation.
Trust and data governance emerged as central concerns, particularly given the platform’s potential value to agribusinesses, banks and insurers. Stakeholders called for clear frameworks on data ownership, privacy and use to protect farmers while enabling responsible innovation.
The proposed governance structure includes a multi-stakeholder advisory board, a project management unit, technical working groups that build on existing agri-tech solutions, and a business unit focused on long-term viability.
As part of a phased rollout, Gombe, Kaduna and Oyo states will host pilot implementations over three years, allowing the platform to be tested across different agro-ecological, cultural and security contexts before national scaling.
By the close of the workshop, attention had shifted from design to delivery. Next steps include incorporating stakeholder feedback, finalising the Vision Charter and memoranda of understanding, and moving into structured development.
Stakeholders agreed that the success of digital extension will be judged not by dashboards or adoption metrics alone, but by measurable improvements in farmers’ productivity, resilience and incomes.
