The General Manager of Newage Agric Solutions, Mr Martin Tettey Nartey has challenged students pursuing Agriculture at the university level to leverage technology to solve the myriad of challenges confronting the agriculture sector.

Speaking to over 700 agricultural students from the University of Cape Coast at a day’s seminar on campus as part of activities marking the Green Week celebration of the International Association of Students in Agriculture and Related Sciences, UCC, under the theme "Agriculture, The New Thriving Force", Mr Nartey, an alumnus of the School of Agriculture, UCC, challenged the students to get creative with technology because it has the potential of solving major problems associated with the sector, insisting “technology has a transformative potential in agriculture”.

Addressing concerns about the impact of AI on the sector, and how most people see it as a threat to job security in today’s world, he urged students to commit to understanding the application of technology in their chosen field of agriculture as the value for technology in the sector presents more opportunities than what people think.

“People complain about AI taking over and stealing their business and threatening their job security. But I see it as an opportunity. An opportunity because those who know how to use AI and technology tools are the ones who will excel in the world now. The real deal is not how AI is taking over but how to use it because it is beneficial and profitable especially in the Agric Sector now, making life very easy and convenient for farmers and all involved” he said.

According to him, technology has now facilitated the ability to streamline processes and make agriculture more attractive and efficient, citing areas such as precision agriculture, smart farming, agriculture biotechnology, genetic engineering, and renewable energy, among many others in the sector where technology is being utilized.

“There are many areas where technology is being applied currently, even here in Ghana, which is making work in agriculture smarter and more efficient. People are engaging drones to spray fertilizers; using apps and websites to create crowdfunding platforms to raise financial aid for farmers; predicting planting time and working around the clock to meet the demands of Agriculture using technology. So we can talk about precision Agriculture, smart farming, Agriculture biotechnology which I did a bit of, and even in the area of food science and product development, you can find technology taking over,” he explained.

Mr Nartey also expressed the need for students to see threats as opportunities in terms of thinking beyond the farming narrative to other available options of agriculture such as agribusiness, agri-media where Wecomm Agri-Media and Consultancy Limited, a service provider to his company, is doing some marvellous works.