‘Nigerians should reimagine agriculture as engine of future work’
Nigeria’s pathway to sustainable job creation, inclusive growth and long-term national resilience lies in deliberately reinventing agriculture as a coordinated, system-driven engine of work rather than resisting automation, according to Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
Speaking at the 33rd Convocation Lecture of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Aig-Imoukhuede challenged policymakers, universities and young graduates to rethink agriculture beyond traditional farming narratives and recognise it as Nigeria’s most scalable platform for dignified employment, innovation and national transformation.
Delivering the lecture titled “Agriculture, the Future of Work, and the University as Catalyst,” he argued that while global conversations on the future of work focus heavily on automation and artificial intelligence, Africa’s more urgent challenge is creating productive, sustainable and large-scale employment for its growing youth population. Agriculture, he said, offers Nigeria a clear comparative advantage if treated as an integrated system.
He described agriculture as a complex ecosystem spanning science, engineering, logistics, finance, technology, regulation and trade, noting that no other sector matches its capacity to generate employment across skill levels, income bands and rural–urban divides while simultaneously strengthening food security and national resilience.
Drawing lessons from the biblical account of Joseph in Egypt and Brazil’s agricultural transformation, Aig-Imoukhuede stressed that agriculture becomes transformative only when approached as coordinated architecture rather than fragmented interventions. He observed that Nigeria’s continued dependence on food imports reflects weak coordination, not a lack of resources or ideas, describing the country’s agricultural challenge as “unfinished architecture.”
He urged graduates to view agriculture as a modern, technology-enabled and value-chain-driven career space, pointing out that the largest employment opportunities lie beyond primary production, particularly in storage, processing, logistics, quality assurance, branding and export markets. He also cautioned against over-reliance on technology without strong institutions, governance and patient capital, warning that tools alone cannot substitute for credible systems and leadership.
Earlier, the Vice-Chancellor of FUNAAB, Prof. Babatunde Kehinde, described the Convocation Lecture as a cornerstone intellectual tradition of the university, providing a platform for engaging national and global challenges. He emphasised the need for universities to align more deliberately with national development priorities, youth aspirations and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, drones, GIS and the Internet of Things to advance smart agriculture and innovative agribusiness.
Source ; The Guardin
EXPERT REVIEW FOR AGRI-FOOD STAKEHOLDERS
The lecture reframes agriculture not as a declining sector threatened by automation, but as Nigeria’s most realistic foundation for inclusive employment, resilience and economic coordination. It places agriculture at the centre of the future-of-work debate from a systems perspective.
- Agriculture offers scale where automation threatens jobs elsewhere
While automation may reduce labour demand in manufacturing and services, agriculture expands employment when value chains are fully developed, absorbing labour across production, processing, logistics and services. - Fragmentation, not capacity, is Nigeria’s core agricultural weakness
Nigeria’s food import dependence reflects weak coordination across policy, infrastructure and markets rather than a shortage of land, labour or knowledge. - Job creation lies beyond the farm gate
The most sustainable employment opportunities are increasingly found in storage, processing, quality control, branding and export-oriented agribusiness, not subsistence farming. - Universities are critical to system-building, not just skills training
Higher institutions must function as catalysts that connect research, technology, entrepreneurship and national development priorities. - Institutions matter as much as innovation
Technology without governance, patient capital and credible systems risks deepening inequality rather than delivering transformation.
Conclusion
Nigeria’s future of work will not be secured by resisting automation or relying on fragmented agricultural interventions. It will depend on treating agriculture as a coordinated economic system capable of delivering jobs, food security and national resilience at scale. The challenge ahead is architectural: building institutions, linkages and leadership that allow agriculture to function as the backbone of inclusive growth.
