The European Union (EU) says its European Space Agency (ESA), in partnership with the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), will inaugurate a satellite-based “Innovative Agriculture” project for food security by January 2026.

The EU’s programme manager for agriculture in Nigeria and West Africa,  Hugh Briggs, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Monday in Abuja.

“We have a new project called Innovative Agriculture, also known as Copernicus; it involves the European Union signing a contract with ESA to work directly with NASRDA because they have the technical capabilities.

”They are not only doing this in Nigeria; they are doing this across a number of countries in Africa. It is a big package in terms of how we can develop agriculture using technology, but doing it differently using innovation.

“Currently, ESA is in close contact with NASRDA, and we are at the point of almost inaugurating the project in Nigeria, and this will be coming up maybe at the end of this year, but will not exceed January 2026,” Mr Briggs said.

The project manager explained that while the EU provided the funding, ESA would bring technical expertise to train NASRDA staff, ensuring the project was fully implemented across the country.

Mr Briggs added that ESA was working closely with NASRDA, and they were at the final stages of developing the project plan to reach smallholder farmers.

He told journalists the technology transfer would focus on the use of space-based tools and precision agriculture techniques.

According to him, afterwards, NASRDA will recruit and train young people in local communities to support field implementation.

”They will be taught soil testing, how to get the radius, longitude, latitude, and all the technology in terms of mapping their farms, including polygon mapping.

”Most importantly, they will be taught how to use that technology to understand what to plant, when to plant, how to plant, what is suitable for the soil, and what is not suitable for the soil,” Mr Briggs stated. 

He said that with that, farmers would be more informed, and that the extension agents would take the information to the farmers, identifying them not as individuals but as cooperatives for wider reach and achievement of purposes.

Mr Briggs disclosed that part of the implementation plans include the identification of seven ecological zones in Nigeria by NASRDA, where demonstration farms would be established and utilised by local farmers.

He also explained that the farms would be equipped, and satellite data analysis would be carried out, all coordinated and championed by NASRDA.

”The second aspect is that we are looking at setting up a state-of-the-art tech centre, like a hub in NASRDA, as part of the project. It will be a training centre with modern equipment.

”This centre will enable NASRDA to continue training more people and stakeholders on innovative agriculture,” he said.

The project manager further said the EU remained committed to helping Nigeria leverage digital and space-based technologies to unlock the full potential of its agricultural sector. 

(NAN)