Nigeria has taken a significant step towards modernising agricultural governance with the launch of an artificial intelligence (AI) and satellite-powered agricultural monitoring platform designed to improve food security, strengthen climate resilience and enhance evidence-based policymaking. The initiative, known as the National Agro-Productivity System (NAPS), was launched through a partnership between the Federal Government of Nigeria, OCP Africa and geospatial intelligence company Ground Truth Analytics, marking one of Africa’s most ambitious efforts to integrate Earth observation technologies into national agricultural planning.
The partnership was formalised on 17 July during an official Nigerian government visit to Morocco, where a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the parties. The agreement builds on Nigeria’s growing investment in digital agriculture and reflects a broader continental shift towards using artificial intelligence, satellite imagery and geospatial analytics to improve agricultural productivity while strengthening resilience against climate change.
Agriculture remains one of Nigeria’s most strategically important economic sectors. According to the World Bank, agriculture contributes approximately 24% of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs more than one-third of the country’s workforce, making it the country’s largest source of employment. The sector also supports millions of smallholder farmers whose livelihoods are increasingly threatened by climate variability, land degradation, insecurity and volatile food markets. Against this backdrop, improving the quality and timeliness of agricultural information has become a national priority.
The National Agro-Productivity System combines high-resolution satellite imagery with artificial intelligence algorithms capable of automatically identifying cultivated farmland, recognising crop types and monitoring crop development throughout the growing season. Satellite imagery updated every five days will enable authorities to assess crop growth, estimate production levels and identify emerging risks before harvests begin. According to Nigerian officials, the platform will provide federal and state governments with real-time information on cultivated land, crop distribution, growth stages, expected yields and production risks. The system is expected to support faster and more informed decisions on agricultural production, food imports, exports, strategic grain reserves and emergency interventions during periods of climatic stress.
Unlike traditional agricultural surveys, which often rely on field inspections conducted after planting or harvest, NAPS is designed to provide continuous in-season monitoring. This capability is increasingly important as climate change introduces greater uncertainty into agricultural production across Africa. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), timely agricultural data enables governments to anticipate food shortages, improve market stability and reduce the likelihood of emergency food crises. Accurate crop monitoring also strengthens national food balance assessments, helping policymakers better manage imports, exports and food reserve systems.
Nigeria intends to implement the platform in phases. Authorities will begin with a pilot programme in one state before expanding operations to three additional states and eventually to 15 priority agricultural states. The government has also confirmed that all data generated by the platform will be hosted on domestic servers, reflecting an increasing emphasis on data sovereignty and national control over strategic agricultural information. The decision comes amid growing international discussions regarding digital sovereignty and the governance of critical national datasets. According to the African Union’s Digital Transformation Strategy for Africa 2020–2030, strengthening national ownership of digital infrastructure and public data is becoming increasingly important as governments adopt artificial intelligence and digital public services.
The launch of NAPS builds upon several years of investment in space-based agricultural technologies. Through the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), Nigeria has progressively expanded the use of Earth observation technologies to support agriculture. In 2024, the agency introduced CropWatch, a satellite-based crop monitoring platform designed to improve agricultural forecasting and land-use monitoring.
That effort was followed in 2025 by the Innovative Agriculture Project, developed in partnership with the European Space Agency (ESA). The initiative uses satellite imagery to provide farmers with information on soil characteristics, crop suitability and planting schedules, enabling more efficient land management and improved productivity. While those earlier programmes focused primarily on supporting farmers directly, NAPS significantly expands the scope of digital agriculture by providing policymakers with integrated national datasets capable of informing broader economic and food security decisions.
This evolution reflects changing priorities in agricultural governance. According to the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), many African countries continue to face challenges associated with fragmented agricultural data, delayed reporting and inconsistent production estimates. These information gaps often complicate government decisions regarding food imports, export restrictions, subsidy programmes and emergency interventions during droughts or floods.
By consolidating satellite-derived information into a single national platform, Nigeria aims to strengthen institutional decision-making while reducing reliance on estimates based primarily on farmer declarations or post-harvest surveys.
Marion Moon, Technical Adviser on Agriculture and Food Security to Nigeria’s Vice President, acknowledged the limitations of existing agricultural monitoring systems during the announcement.
“In-season monitoring has been our biggest weakness. We reach the end of a farming season and discover that we have not achieved the targets we set at the beginning,” she said.
According to government officials, earlier access to reliable production data will enable authorities to identify emerging production shortfalls before harvests occur, allowing timely policy responses capable of stabilising food markets and protecting vulnerable populations.
The importance of such capabilities has increased as climate change continues to affect agricultural production across Africa. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), rising temperatures, shifting rainfall patterns and more frequent extreme weather events are already reducing agricultural productivity in many parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. These impacts threaten food security while increasing pressure on rural livelihoods and public finances. The African Development Bank (AfDB) similarly notes that improving climate information services and expanding digital agricultural technologies will be essential for building resilient food systems capable of supporting Africa’s rapidly growing population.
Artificial intelligence is increasingly becoming part of that transformation. According to the World Economic Forum, AI-powered analytics can significantly improve agricultural planning by enabling precision farming, early pest detection, yield forecasting and resource optimisation. Combined with satellite imagery and geospatial analysis, artificial intelligence provides governments and farmers with unprecedented visibility into agricultural production systems.
For Nigeria, these capabilities extend beyond agriculture alone. Improved agricultural intelligence can support macroeconomic planning by informing inflation forecasts, strengthening commodity market analysis and improving public expenditure decisions related to food security programmes. Given agriculture’s contribution to employment and economic growth, better production data also strengthens broader fiscal planning and national development strategies.
The initiative also reflects deeper regional trends. Across Africa, governments are increasingly integrating digital technologies into agricultural transformation strategies. Countries including Kenya, Rwanda, Ghana and South Africa have expanded investments in digital extension services, remote sensing, climate information systems and precision agriculture as part of wider efforts to improve productivity while adapting to climate change.
According to the African Union’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP), digital innovation will play a central role in achieving sustainable agricultural growth and strengthening food systems across the continent.
The partnership between Nigeria, OCP Africa and Ground Truth Analytics therefore represents more than the deployment of a new technological platform. It illustrates how governments are increasingly combining artificial intelligence, satellite infrastructure and institutional reforms to improve governance across one of Africa’s most economically significant sectors.
For Africa, the success of initiatives such as NAPS will ultimately depend not only on technological sophistication but also on sustained investment in digital infrastructure, institutional capacity and data governance. As climate risks continue to reshape agricultural production, the ability to monitor crops accurately, anticipate emerging threats and respond proactively may become one of the continent’s most valuable tools for strengthening food security, supporting rural economies and advancing sustainable development.
