By Akanimo Sampson
In collaboration with Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and CGIAR, African Development Bank appears to have found solutions to Africa’s agricultural challenges.
Going by the joint Digital Agricultural Profiles they carried out in three countries, drones, satellites, geographic information systems, weather stations and advanced analytics are some of the most promising technologies for providing solutions to the continent’s agricultural challenges.
The profiles, covering Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda and South Africa, map the challenges and opportunities to scale the adoption of innovative digital technologies in the agriculture sector.
These include national digital technology and the policy landscape, user demands along the value chain and available digital agriculture services and applications.
The profiles also examine the main barriers to adoption as well as the digital technologies with the greatest potential to transform the sector.
Director for Agriculture and Agro-industry at the Bank, Dr. Martin Fregene, says “the future of agriculture is data-enabled. Conventional approaches to food production are no longer able to keep up with Africa’s fast growing food systems demands and the impact of climate change on agriculture.
‘’Technological innovations and digitalisation offer an opportunity to transform African agriculture to produce higher yields, increase value addition and ensure more nutritious foods on a wider scale. The Digital Agriculture Profiles provide a snapshot of how a country is positioned in that transformational process.”
The series is based on the concept of the Climate-Smart Agriculture country profiles developed by the CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. The methodology was designed in close collaboration with the World Bank Group.
The applications of digital technology in agriculture are diverse. For example, using satellite data, farmers can monitor crop health, soil quality and water and fertilizer usage. Sensors, automation and machine learning allow for the adaptation of more precise agricultural operations for specific locations and conditions.
Digital payment systems, index insurance and mobile platforms help connect farmers to markets and financial services.
FAO Investment Centre Director, Mohamed Manssouri, said “agriculture’s digital transformation is an exciting and fast-moving train, and we need to make sure that small-scale farmers, women and rural youth are able to benefit from these technologies.
‘’The profiles give international and national financing institutions, policy-makers and public and private investors a good and quick overview of a country’s current digital landscape, as well as the main constraints and opportunities for digital policies and solutions.”
Profile highlights:
Rwanda: Up to 85% of rural consumers will have access to basic mobile phone services in the next five years.
Côte d’Ivoire: Access to digital technologies rose sharply in the last decade; nearly everyone in the working-age population now has mobile phone access, and nearly half of Ivorians use the internet.
South Africa: Precision agriculture is strongly adopted by large-scale commercial farmers; blockchain, barcoding and fleet tracking solutions offer unique benefits for the traceability of agricultural products.
The profiles also offer analysis on the future of digitalisation. Project coordination was led by the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture’s technical community, the Data-Driven Agronomy Community of Practice, with contributions from researchers at the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture).
On his part, Associate Director General of the Alliance of Biodiversity International and CIAT and co-founder of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture, Andy Jarvis, said “it is critical that all development partners join forces with governments, the private sector and non-state actors to accelerate agricultural digitalization and ultimately defeat hunger globally.”
The Digital Agriculture Profiles are part of the Bank’s Digital Agriculture Flagship. Profiles have also been produced for countries such as Argentina, Grenada, Turkey, Kenya and Vietnam, with the World Bank.
