The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, on Thursday urged government and agricultural stakeholders to prioritise climate-smart, digital and gender-responsive innovations in agricultural extension to tackle food insecurity in Nigeria.

The university Vice-Chancellor, Adamu Ahmed, made the call during the 2025 National Agricultural Extension Review and Planning Meeting organised by the National Agricultural Extension and Research Liaison Services (NAERLS), Zaria.

He said the annual extension meeting should not be treated as a ceremonial event but as a strategic platform to examine challenges and adopt practical solutions that directly improve farmers’ productivity.

The vice-chancellor warned that climate change had begun to severely disrupt Nigeria’s rainy seasons, citing NAERLS reports showing erratic rainfall, drought, flooding and increasing pest attacks across states.

He said extension officers must remain “frontline defenders” by translating research into simple and usable climate-smart techniques such as agroforestry, conservation agriculture and drought-tolerant crop varieties.

Mr Ahmed further advocated affordable digital advisory systems in locally understood languages, improved rural internet access and training of extension workers as “digital intermediaries” capable of helping farmers apply data to real farming decisions.

He stressed that technology would only be impactful if women, youths and smallholder farmers could access and use it without barriers.

In his remarks, Director of NAERLS, Yusuf Sani, called for deeper reforms in the extension sector to address climate change, digital exclusion and gender gaps.

He noted that Nigeria lost more than ₦700 billion to flood-related crop damage in the past five years.

He said NAERLS was expanding climate-smart advisories, promoting resilient seeds and strengthening early-warning systems for farmers.

Similarly, Executive Secretary of the Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN), Abubakar Dabban, called for stronger collaboration among stakeholders to build an innovative, inclusive and climate-resilient extension system.

Mr Dabban, represented by the Executive Director, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), Zaria, Ado Yusuf, commended NAERLS for sustaining the annual platform, describing it as crucial for reviewing extension performance and harmonising national agricultural activities.

He outlined ARCN’s commitment to strengthening result-oriented research coordination, demand-driven innovations, climate-smart technologies, youth-friendly solutions and digital extension tools for improved food and nutrition security.

The executive secretary said the synchronised extension–research calendar expected from the meeting would help minimise duplication, optimise resources and fast-track technology dissemination for national agricultural growth.

The event was attended by government officials, research leaders, development partners, farmer associations and private sector representatives from across the country.
(NAN)