Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI)-Powered Personalised Agricultural Information Among Rural Farmers in Lagos State

Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered personalised agricultural information is increasingly becoming important in modern agriculture because of its ability to provide timely, location-specific and farm-specific advisory services to farmers. This study examined rural farmers’ awareness and perceived acceptance of AI-powered personalised agricultural information in Lagos State. The study was carried out in selected rural agricultural areas of Lagos State, namely Epe, Ikorodu and Ibeju-Lekki. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select 201 respondents from a population of 1,230 registered farmers. Data were collected with a structured questionnaire and analysed using frequency counts, percentages and weighted mean scores. Findings revealed that most respondents were female (60.2%), had tertiary education (83.6%), practised both crop and animal farming (64.7%), owned smartphones (94.5%) and had internet access (94.0%). The study further revealed that 70.6% of the respondents had high awareness of AI-powered personalised agricultural information, while 64.7% had high perceived acceptance. Farmers were most aware that AI technologies are commonly used in agriculture, with a weighted mean score of 1.78. They also strongly accepted that AI-powered agricultural information can improve farming productivity, with a mean score of 4.45. The study concluded that rural farmers in Lagos State are generally aware of and receptive to AI-powered agricultural information, especially where such technologies are perceived as useful, accessible and relevant to their farming activities. It was recommended that extension agencies intensify awareness programmes and that AI platforms be designed in simple, mobile-friendly and farmer-centred formats.