NITDA, USAID join forces to tackle food insecurity

The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) convened a pivotal meeting at NITDA’s headquarters in Abuja.

Led by Kashifu Inuwa, the Director-General of NITDA, and Josh Woodard, Senior Digital Advisor at USAID’s Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security, the gathering aimed to assess Nigeria’s digital agriculture landscape and foster strategic partnerships.

During the meeting, Inuwa underscored NITDA’s pivotal role in advancing President Tinubu’s vision of boosting agriculture to achieve food security. He emphasized the agency’s mandate to develop IT policies aimed at enhancing productivity across critical sectors, with a particular focus on agriculture.

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In line with this, Inuwa unveiled plans to leverage robotics to automate various farm processes, such as weeding, harvesting, and tractor operations, in a bid to elevate agricultural productivity.

Highlighting USAID’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s digital farming initiatives, Woodard expressed the agency’s keen interest in understanding and enhancing technological integration in agriculture. Woodard revealed USAID’s recent collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on the Global Food Security Strategy for Nigeria (2024-2029), signaling a concerted effort to bolster food security in the country.

The discussion also delved into NITDA’s recent milestone with the launch of the Nigeria Startup Portal, which has already seen over 12,000 startups register. Inuwa reiterated NITDA’s dedication to fostering Nigeria’s digital ecosystem, promising incentives for labeled startups.

The meeting concluded with a focus on the National Adopted Village for Smart Agriculture (NAVSA), where success stories and expansion strategies were shared, with a call for USAID to join forces in driving these transformative initiatives forward.