During a courtesy visit to the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr Ogbonnaya Onu, a delegation of the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASDRA) unveiled its solar-powered Automated Irrigation System.
The irrigation system will help young people and farmers cultivate all year round.
According to a report, Director-General of NASRDA, Prof. Seidu Mohammed who led the delegation said the technology uses signals from navigation satellite to determine locations in terms of longitude and latitude.
The NASRDA boss said Automated Irrigation System would make farming more attractive to young people and help farmers to cultivate all year round.
He said the technology has been tested on different soil types and crop variety. The Automated Irrigation System will make agriculture smarter, precise and more suiting to younger farmers.
The system automatically monitors the farm remotely, triggers irrigation when necessary and sends reports to the farmers device.
While presenting the technology, NASRDA's Head of Instrumentation Division, Engr. Lanre Daniyan says a farmer can automate all their irrigation needs on their phones from home without being physically present in the farm.
Lanre said the technology is also indigenous as it was built in Nigeria with only a few imported components. He said time and iterations have helped make the Automated Irrigation System cheaper and more efficient.
Recently, the agency reportedly disclosed plans to launch its second agricultural nano satellite into space. Codenamed EDUSAT-2, the satellite will be launched in collaboration with Kwara State based Landmark University.
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EDUSAT-2 will have an infrared camera for detecting disease in crops and also help in monitoring large agricultural areas. It would include the monitoring and understanding of crop characteristics and other agricultural purposes.
NASRDA is the national space agency of Nigeria. It is a part of the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology and is overseen by the National Council on Space Science Technology.
