•Abia State University ICT lecturer and software developer, Juliet Chinenye Duru
An Information and Communication Technology lecturer at the Abia State University and software developer, Juliet Chinenye Duru, has developed two artificial intelligence platforms aimed at improving agricultural productivity and expanding access to education in Nigeria.
The platforms, AgriAI Insight and NaijaLearn-AI, were independently designed and built by Duru outside her jobs, with each addressing challenges in agriculture and education through locally tailored AI solutions.
AgriAI Insight is designed to help Nigerian farmers make informed planting decisions using data-driven yield predictions.
The platform focuses on Nigeria’s unique agricultural landscape, where many smallholder farmers still rely on experience rather than data to determine planting patterns.
Unlike many precision agriculture technologies developed for Europe and North America, the platform was built around Nigeria’s six agro-climatic zones, covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The AI model analyses crop type, rainfall, soil quality, and fertilizer use to generate yield predictions that users can easily understand.
According to Duru, the decision to build an interpretable multivariate model instead of a black-box neural network was deliberate.
“A farmer or an extension officer with a tablet should be able to understand why the system is making a prediction, rather than simply accepting a number,” she said.
The platform currently operates through a FastAPI backend with a documented application programming interface (API) and a React Native mobile application, while deployed on Amazon Web Services.
Duru’s second project, NaijaLearn-AI, focuses on improving educational access by providing students with a conversational AI tutor designed around the Nigerian curriculum and learning environment.
Built on a serverless architecture, the platform is free to use, requires no registration, and is optimized for low-bandwidth internet connections commonly available across Nigeria.
NaijaLearn AI already supports five languages: English, Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, and Nigerian Pidgin, making it accessible to learners across Nigeria’s major linguistic groups from launch.
“Millions of Nigerian learners do not lack ambition. They lack tools that were built with their reality in mind, their bandwidth, their curriculum, and their languages,” she said.
Both platforms are products of Duru’s academic research and software development efforts, reflecting a combination of scholarly research and practical technology deployment.
