The Federal Government has called on African countries to deepen investment in science, artificial intelligence, biotechnology and digital agriculture.
Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi, made this call on Tuesday at the opening of the Science and Partnership for Agriculture Conference (SPAC) 2026, a major event of the 9th Africa Agricultural Science Week and the 10th General Assembly of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) in Abuja.
He said Africa must redefine agricultural research to deliver practical solutions that improve farmers’ livelihoods, create jobs and strengthen agribusinesses.
The Minister warned that the continent’s food security and agricultural transformation will depend more on innovation than on its vast natural resources.
He argued that countries that successfully transformed their agricultural sectors did so by investing in knowledge and scientific research rather than relying solely on fertile land and favourable climatic conditions.
According to him, while Africa has built strong agricultural research institutions over the years, collaboration among them has remained fragmented, limiting the continent’s ability to develop a unified scientific agenda for agricultural development.
“The future of African agriculture will not ultimately be determined by the size of our farmlands or the abundance of our natural resources. It will be determined by the ideas we generate, the institutions we strengthen and the partnerships we build,” Abdullahi said.
He described SPAC as the continent’s foremost platform for bringing together researchers, policymakers, development partners, universities, farmers’ organisations, the private sector and regional institutions to shape Africa’s agricultural research priorities.
Abdullahi disclosed that the conference is advancing efforts to develop a Continental Agricultural Research Agenda that will guide research priorities and investment decisions across Africa.
He said the rapidly changing global environment requires Africa to embrace emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics, genomics, remote sensing and big data to address the growing challenges of climate change, soil degradation, water scarcity, urbanisation and rising food demand.
He stressed that research institutions should no longer be judged only by the number of scientific publications they produce but by their ability to translate research into technologies that improve food production, create employment, restore degraded ecosystems and contribute to economic growth.
The minister also called for stronger collaboration between public research institutions and private enterprises to accelerate the commercialisation of research findings and urged African governments to establish sustainable financing mechanisms for scientific research.
He further advocated responsible sharing of scientific data while protecting Africa’s strategic interests and ensuring that research priorities remain aligned with the needs of farmers, agribusinesses, consumers and policymakers.
Highlighting Nigeria’s commitment to agricultural transformation, Abdullahi said the Tinubu administration, under the Renewed Hope Agenda, is implementing reforms aimed at strengthening food security through research, innovation, mechanisation, climate resilience, digital agriculture and stronger partnerships between research institutions, the private sector and farming communities.
He urged participants to use the conference to build lasting partnerships that would influence national policies, attract greater investment and generate innovations capable of improving the livelihoods of millions of African farmers.
Declaring the conference open, the minister described SPAC as “more than a conference,” saying it represents a continental commitment to placing science at the centre of Africa’s agricultural transformation.