Browsing: Agriculture and agri-business in Sub-Saharan Africa

Agritech-in-Africa
  • Agritech Analytics has received global and local recognition by onboarding at least 3,880 farmers.
  • Maryanne Gichanga participated in the COP27 Youth Adaptation Challenge in Egypt and won by a landslide.
  • In 2022, many investors backed up startups developing biological fertilizers, vertical farms and robots.

A young African woman is changing the pace of agriculture by implementing agritech to sustain her new livelihood. This Kenyan agripreneuer has discovered her green thumb by applying data analysis to detect pests and account for the resources a farm requires depending on size.

This innovative ex-banker is proving that Agritech is the next phase of Africa’s oldest and long-lasting economic activity. Africa’s digital transformation might encompass more than our manufacturing and financial industries.

Kenya’s queen of agritech

It is common knowledge that agriculture in Africa is a significant economic activity. Small-scale farmers from all over the continent bank their lives and their next meals to

In collaboration with Private Equity Support, Eldohub, and the Private Finance Advisory Network, the AfDB awards US$140,000 in grants and business skills training to the winners. Photo/AfDB
  • The future of agriculture is digital not the hand-hoe
  • The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size.
  • AfDB awards US$140,000 in grants to AgriPitch competition winners

Agriculture development for food security and poverty reduction cannot be realized without the adaptation of digital solutions.

Digital solutions offer more effective traceability, compliance and farm management systems which make the commercial, large or small, much more effective. In these modern times of food scarcity in the face of ever-increasing demand, efficiency is the name of the game.

The more efficient a farm is, the more productive it becomes without necessarily increasing land size or the amount of crops or animals.

“When it comes to subsistence agriculture, digital transformation is no longer a choice – it’s a need. You can either go digital or disappear,” warns Simon Winter, Executive Director at Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture …

A low-tech micro-irrigation solution is providing high impact results for thousands of farmers in Tanzania. The irrigation solution has been introduced by UNCDF under its ongoing Inclusive Digital Economies (IDE) through the Youth and Women Economic Empowerment (YWEE) program. Photo/VeggieGrow
  • The kit has all the basics for adaptation in rural settings; affordability, accessibility, and ease of use and maintenance.
  • This micro-irrigation kit brings much needed watering solution in arid and semi-arid regions as well as in the highlands where access to water can be limited.
  • The project has already reached some 4,275 micro-investors operating across 115 savings and loan groups

A low-tech micro-irrigation solution is providing high impact results for thousands of farmers in Tanzania.

The tech is a small irrigation gear referred to as a micro-irrigation kit that has been introduced to farmers in Tanzania’s Southern regions like in the Kigoma Region.

The kit has all the basics for adaptation in rural settings; affordability, accessibility, and ease of use and maintenance.

This micro-irrigation kit brings much needed watering solution in arid and semi-arid regions as well as in the highlands where access to water can be limited.

The irrigation …

Despite economic slowdown, cashew nuts market is growing world wide but research show Africa is still lacking reinvestment in agriculture to reap the benefits and boost poverty reduction.

To combat climate change and to mitigate its effects, Africa must adopt modern agriculture technologies, machine innovations and engineering for resilient crop varieties. Modern agriculture technologies help to manage farmers’ risks and even improve product quality which in turn brings about better prices.

Also, when it comes to modern agriculture technologies, there is renewed attention towards value addition, agro-processing and post-harvest management. These factors add to the need for increased investment in agriculture because they all translate to increased income and creation of employment opportunities.

This brings us to the question of funding. Where are countries supposed to get the money to invest in agriculture? To answer this question, African countries, almost all 55 of them, signed the 2003 Maputo Declaration, pledging to dedicate 10% of their annual budget to agriculture, but to date, few have done so.…

Mastercard and Ecobank Group to connect small-scale farmers to Farm Pass. www.theexchange.africa

In Sub-Saharan Africa, more than 60 per cent of the population is comprised of small-scale farmers, and the agricultural sector is anticipated to provide 23 per cent of the continent’s GDP, as stated by McKinsey & Company. However, just 3% of the industry is eligible for banking credit, which severely restricts the ability of farmers to expand their businesses or reduce the impact of unfavourable harvests.

“In contemporary times, ensuring food security is a requirement that is both vital and urgent. As a result, we are going to have to step up to the challenge and create chances for growth in Africa’s agriculture value chain. Our collaboration with Mastercard has arrived at the perfect time to hasten the process of providing smallholder farmers in Africa with access to the essential financial services they require.

These services are essential to the achievement of Africa’s full agricultural potential. According to Ade Ayeyemi, …

Deep frying fish. African farmers will need to improve the agricultural value chain to be able to feed Africa of the future. www.theexchange.africa

The solution to the recurrent food insecurity problem lies in investing in the sector to ensure that the agriculture and agribusiness value chains become attractive to those most affected – Africans themselves. 

First, governments which are key stakeholders and players in the sector need to formulate and implement policies that will ensure that the issue of value chains in agriculture is addressed. For starters, with an estimated 33 million smallholder farmers, Africa’s agricultural value chain is deeply fragmented.  …

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