Nigerian Navy Launches High-Tech Agricultural Initiative to Boost Food Security
Umar Idris Shuaibu, Kano
In a move to support the Federal Government’s drive for food security, the Nigerian Navy has launched an innovative agricultural initiative through its Admiralty Integrated Farms Limited (ADIFAL). This was revealed during the unveiling of ADIFAL’s Coordination Centre and logo in Abuja.
Speaking at the event, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla represented by Rear Admiral Ibrahim Dewu, said the initiative aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s directive for the Armed Forces to engage in farming to address key national challenges. These include food insecurity, the herder-farmer conflict, banditry, and kidnapping.
Ogalla praised naval personnel for embracing the farming initiative with commitment and patriotism and commended the ADIFAL team for their dedication. He emphasized the importance of civil-military cooperation in achieving national development goals, especially in agriculture. He urged that interactions with civilians should be respectful and focused on shared national interests.
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He further noted that ADIFAL’s success will not only contribute to food sufficiency but also foster peace and stability across Nigeria.
In his remarks, the Managing Director and CEO of ADIFAL, Rear Admiral Julius Nwago, said food, nutrition, and security are global priorities. He noted that other countries also engage their military in agriculture to strengthen food security.
Nwago explained that ADIFAL would use a comprehensive precision agriculture model that covers all stages of farming from planning and land clearing to harvesting and processing. This model will be supported by advanced technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), which will help maximize yield, reduce waste, and improve decision-making.
To enable this, ADIFAL has created a centralized Agro-Precision Farming Platform. The digital platform collects data from satellites, radar, drones, and live audio-visual feeds to offer intelligent recommendations to farmers. Housed at the ADIFAL Coordination Centre, the system includes predictive and generative AI tools that provide real-time responses to farmer inquiries throughout the farming season.
