Young farmers in three communities in Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State are being trained to use artificial intelligence (AI) to identify potential flood risks and worsening soil conditions before they cause significant damage.
The initiative, led by the Nest Africa AI Innovation Lab, has trained 20 young farmers from Jushi, Jama’a and Zabi wards as AI Climate Youth Ambassadors.
The one-day training, held in Zaria, focused on equipping participants with practical knowledge of AI, climate change and land degradation, while also introducing them to technology designed for use in rural communities.
According to the organisation’s Communications Lead, Muhammed Sani Kabir, the participants were selected primarily because of their knowledge and experience of farming and seasonal environmental challenges in their communities rather than formal technology qualifications.
At the centre of the initiative is AyéMọlẹ AI, a climate intelligence platform developed by Nest Africa. The tool is designed to translate weather and environmental information into practical guidance that farmers can understand and access using basic mobile phones.
Rather than simply providing weather forecasts, the platform is intended to help users understand the likely implications of changing weather conditions for farming activities, livestock movement and other livelihood decisions.
The project, titled Demystifying AI in Practice: Community Awareness and Climate Intelligence in Kaduna, is supported by the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID) through the Nigeria AI Collective.
The Nigeria AI Collective was established by the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy and is led by Data Science Nigeria, Lagos Business School and CJID. Nest Africa was among seven civil society organisations selected to promote community-level applications of AI under the initiative.
The organisers said the project was conceived against the growing climate pressures confronting farming communities in northern Nigeria.
Flooding and land degradation have increasingly threatened agricultural production, with ReliefWeb reporting that floods affected more than three million Nigerians and destroyed over 500,000 hectares of farmland in 2022.
During the training, participants took part in practical exercises, including role-playing and ward-level breakout sessions, and tested the AI platform against challenges encountered on their farms.
The training reportedly produced a significant improvement in participants’ understanding of AI and climate-related issues. Average knowledge scores increased from 74.3 per cent before the exercise to 94.5 per cent afterwards.
Knowledge of land degradation recorded one of the largest improvements, rising from 38.1 per cent of participants who could correctly define the concept before the training to 95 per cent afterwards. All participants were also able to identify measures for reducing land degradation.
One of the facilitators, Abubakar Isa Abubakar, said the results showed that information gaps in rural communities were often linked to terminology and communication rather than a lack of practical knowledge.
He stressed the importance of taking climate and technology education directly to farmers and other people who depend on the land.
Following the training, each of the 20 ambassadors committed to reaching at least 25 additional farmers in their respective wards. The organisers said the peer-to-peer model could potentially extend the programme to more than 150 additional beneficiaries.
The project team has also conducted awareness sessions and demonstrations in the three participating communities, where an estimated 100 to 150 residents, including farmers, interacted with the platform and provided feedback.
According to Nest Africa, the community engagements have also generated wider interest in possible applications of AI beyond climate and agriculture, with residents asking how the technology could address other everyday challenges.
The organisation has begun discussions with government stakeholders, including the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, while further engagements are planned with the state Ministries of Agriculture and Environment and relevant local government authorities.
Nest Africa said it was also preparing a policy brief ahead of a stakeholder roundtable aimed at examining ways to expand the use of community-focused AI solutions.
The organisation believes the Kaduna pilot could provide a model for similar interventions in other parts of Nigeria, particularly in communities where climate risks are increasing and access to sophisticated technology remains limited.
The initiative combines mobile-based technology with local knowledge and peer education, allowing farmers to use AI as a practical tool for making decisions about crops, livestock and environmental risks.
Nest Africa AI Innovation Lab is a Kaduna-based organisation focused on developing practical artificial intelligence solutions for underserved communities.
