Artificial intelligence has been identified as a transformative force for Nigeria's agriculture sector, capable of modernizing it and ensuring long-term food sufficiency. The Ibom Innovation Network (IIN) announced this during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to launch the Transforming Agriculture Through Artificial Intelligence Project (Project TAT AI) with five other institutions. The coalition marks a generational turning point in agriculture, bringing together engineers, university researchers, mechanical engineering bodies, and technology incubation experts under a unified mission to move high-tech agricultural innovation from the laboratory to commercial farms across Akwa Ibom State and the entire nation.
Addressing Key Challenges in Agriculture
According to IIN President Hanson Johnson, decades of erratic weather, decaying infrastructure, and reliance on guesswork have taken a heavy toll on farmers. “We are moving beyond the era of farming by chance. By integrating AI with mechanical engineering, we are providing farmers with tools to predict, adapt, and scale. This is not just about technology; it is about economic resilience for the entire region, and it is long overdue,” he said.
Project TAT AI has identified two critical fault lines in Nigeria's food supply chain where technology can deliver immediate and measurable impact. The first is during harvest, where a shortage of affordable manual labor leads to staggering losses. To address this, the project will deploy autonomous robotic harvesting systems engineered to perform reliably in the heat and humidity of tropical farming environments. The second is post-harvest storage, where crops rot in transit or poorly equipped facilities. The initiative will roll out Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and climate-controlled storage environments to reduce food waste.
Experts Advocate for Technological Integration
Prof. Uduak Asuquo, Director of TETFund Centre for Computational Intelligence at the University of Uyo, emphasized that IoT and AI are no longer experimental but essential for global food security. “When you deploy soil heat maps and atmospheric intelligence on a farm, you are giving a farmer a fighting chance,” he stated. Dr. Bassey Asanga, Chairman of NIMechE Akwa Ibom Chapter, described the MoU as a natural expression of engineering's purpose to solve real problems. “Our profession was built on solving real problems for real people. This project contributes to national development through innovative engineering at a time Nigeria needs it most,” he added.
Bassey Nkanang, Head of Mechanical Engineering at Akwa Ibom State University, stressed the need for farmer participation. “We call on young innovators, farmers, and partners to join this initiative. The people who work this land daily hold knowledge that no algorithm can generate. We need them at the table,” he said. Mrs. Iniobong Elshaddai, Manager of the Technology Incubation Centre in Uyo, pledged to protect intellectual property and fast-track innovations toward commercialization. “The era of young Nigerians inventing things that benefit everyone except themselves is over,” she declared.
Showcasing Innovations at Akwa Ibom Tech Week 2026
The organizers announced that early innovations from Project TAT AI will be showcased at Akwa Ibom Tech Week 2026, scheduled for November at the Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort in Uyo. Enoabasi Emah, Chairperson of the event's planning committee, said the project embodies the cross-sector collaboration the state and country have been waiting for. The initiative aims to transform agriculture through technology, ensuring food sufficiency and economic resilience for Nigeria.
