By Adelowo Oladipo

Copyright tribuneonlineng

Niger State Government has revealed plans to deploy the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology to improve the agricultural and health sectors in order to meet global best practices.

Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago stated this during the Niger State Government’s side event at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, USA.

The governor, according to a press statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Malam Ibrahim Bologi, a copy of which was obtained at the weekend in Minna, said his administration remains committed to wooing more investors to the state to change the lives of the citizenry, explaining that collaborations with development partners are imperative to change the narrative of Nigeria.

Governor Umaru Bago further disclosed that the state will work closely with development partners on how to improve and apply technology in the agricultural sector to enable the state to realise its goal of food sufficiency.

He said, “With the use of technology, the state will in the next two years clear 2.5 million hectares of land for crop production and open up the state for contract farming with people in the diaspora through foreign investment.”

Governor Bago also disclosed to investors that his government will continue to make use of the comparative advantage the state has to pilot transformative change in agriculture and explore the value chain.

In the health sector, the governor stated that his government will work closely with development partners to deploy the use of artificial intelligence with the provision of telemedicine across all Primary Healthcare Centres in the state.

He said the target is to ensure the provision of healthcare services effectively to more people in remote areas.

In their separate remarks at the event, the Group Executive Director of the World Bank, Zainab Ahmed, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sani Dattijo, and the former Deputy Governor of the CBN, Hajiya Aisha Ahmad Ndanusa, all acknowledged the efforts of the state governor in his quest to transform the state.

They described his “New Niger Agenda” as visionary and assured him of their support in ensuring that his transformation drive, especially in the agricultural sector, is given all the needed push to succeed.

Meanwhile, the Niger State Government’s side event at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had as its theme, “Bridging the Gap: Subnational Development, Human Capital and Agricultural Transformation.”

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