Nigeria’s Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani has called for the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the detection and management of Tuta Absoluta-induced tomato diseases, a major threat to one of the country’s most consumed crops.
The Minister made the call while delivering the keynote address at the inaugural virtual public lecture series organised by the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy in partnership with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Lagos Business School (LBS).
Organised under the aegis of the Nigeria Artificial Intelligence Research Scheme (NAIRS), the lecture—titled ‘Using AI for the Early Detection and Management of Tuta Absoluta-Induced Tomato Diseases’—showcased a groundbreaking solution developed by the Tomato Ebola Research Consortium.
The team comprises; Dr Aniebietabasi Ackley, Team Leader (New Zealand); Dr Harisu Abdullahi, Principal Investigator (New Zealand); Mark Marvellous, Technical Investigator (UK/Canada); and Ofem Eteng, Industry Advisor (Nigeria).
The consortium is one of 45 recipients of Nigeria’s inaugural AI Research Grant, offered by the Nigerian government to tackle critical challenges in agriculture through Artificial Intelligence.
Speaking at the event, Dr Tijani said: “In many ways, building a strong AI ecosystem has been a driver for the initiatives we deploy in the Ministry. What we are witnessing today is the beginning of a series of public lectures that are based around research projects that can be extended into the development of startups and AI applications to solve problems that are common to us in our nation. This will offer us an opportunity to demonstrate strong leadership across the continent and beyond.”
The NAIRS lecture series is designed to spotlight homegrown research projects with the potential to evolve into startups and scalable AI applications that address national priorities.
By bringing together researchers, policymakers, and innovators, the series underscores Nigeria’s ambition to harness digital technologies for economic growth, food security, and global competitiveness.
Dr Tijani further highlighted AI’s transformative role in national productivity and prosperity, stating:
He said; “As many of you would know, one of the reasons why the government is bullish about AI is its potential to increase our productivity, thereby raising our nation’s GDP.
“AI and digital technology can help us develop our agriculture sector, and we hope that this will be an inspiration to many other researchers across the country.
“With this public lecture series, I do hope that Nigeria will begin to show the world that we are not just paying lip service to AI but we’re truly building it to improve the lot of our people to achieve shared prosperity.”
Commending the contributions of the researchers, the Minister described their pioneering work in applying AI to agriculture as a crucial step towards addressing food insecurity while opening pathways for innovation-driven enterprises.
He added that initiatives like NAIRS demonstrate how Nigerian research can make an impact not just domestically, but across Africa and the global community.
The inaugural lecture sets the tone for a continuous series under NAIRS, which will feature Nigerian AI researchers presenting transformative projects across sectors such as healthcare, security, climate change, and education.