Don Advocates Tech-Driven Approach To Agric, Food Production

The Secretary-General, Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, Professor Yakubu Ochefu, has called for a technology-driven approach to modern agriculture and food production in Nigeria.
He stated this while delivering the 31st convocation lecture of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) titled, “From Baby Boomers to Generation Alpha: Interrogating Generational Dynamics and Agricultural Education in Nigeria”, held recently in Abeokuta.
The former Vice Chancellor of Kwararafa University, Taraba State, outlined the transformative potential of precision agriculture, drones, robots, driverless tractors, Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, soilless farming and vertical farming (urban agriculture).
The lecture delved into generational dynamics, tracing cycles from the silent generation (great-grandparents) through the Baby Boomers (grandparents), Generation X (parents), Millennials (young adults), to Generation Alpha (teenagers).
Ochefu highlighted the 25-year generational cycle in African societies, emphasising three generations co-exist with distinct experiences and pre-occupations.
Describing the Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) as the architects of the current technology-driven world, Professor Ochefu stressed the need for Nigerian universities, particularly higher institutions, to embrace the virtual reality of Generation Z.
He urged them to shed conservative traditions, acknowledging that universities play a dual role—offering ideas that shape society, while also holding onto traditions that may no longer align with current realities.
Earlier, the chairman of the occasion, Professor Saka Adelola Matemilola, the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, had commended the relevance of the lecture, noting the significant shift from crude agricultural practices to a technology-intensive era.
The traditional ruler stressed the importance of encouraging technology-savvy individuals born in the age of digitalisation to take interest in agriculture.