Western Africa

Farming by Phone to keep up with the Climate

A project known as MUIIS (Market-led, User-owned ICT4Ag-enabled Information Services), led by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), links farmers to satellite-based services that help them to increase crop yields. Tips and instructions sent to mobile devices get as specific as ‘spread fertilizer between 5 pm and 7 pm’ or ‘winds expected at 3 pm’. Something farmers say have increased crop yields and contributed to food security.

All Eyes on the Sky

Smallholders in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific are seeing their horizons broaden, as access to technology brings digital applications to agriculture. In Uganda, a project supported by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), has forged a partnership with Igara Tea Factory (IGTF) to transform cultivation through digital innovation.

Marthe Montcho: Blogging for social change

Marthe Montcho started her blog, L’Agriculture au féminin or Women in Farming, in October 2013. Despite initially knowing very little about blogging, she quickly became a success as the blog grew in popularity. Montcho’s desire to fill what she saw as an information gap and empower female farmers, particularly in her home country of Benin, led to her winning the Youth in Agriculture Blog Competition (YoBloCo), organised by CTA in 2014.

Africa must introduce informed investment policies

by Yvonne Otieno

We must promote gender-transformative change

by Susan Kaaria and Libor Stloukal

A decade ago, women’s empowerment in agriculture wasn’t on the agenda

by Ruth Meinzen Dick

It takes an entire ecosystem to empower a woman

by Daniel Ohonde

A promising new continent-wide trade agreement for Africa

The new African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is expected to be a game changer, boosting inter-African trade, spurring manufacturing, and creating economic opportunities. But for its benefits to be realised, the details need to be negotiated; and Africa's leaders need to commit to AfCFTA for the long haul.

Strategies for scaling agricultural innovations

by Vincent Defait

Agricultural innovations must have a more substantial impact to meet the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030 – which call for a concerted effort from the public and private sectors, as well as farmers and processors. To meet the SDGs, impacts at all levels of the agricultural value chain will need to be increased, with the involvement of all stakeholders in the sector.

Aligning Africa’s regulations with global markets

by Vincent Defait

Poor food safety regulations hamper Africa’s ability to engage in international food markets. But harmonised regulations, tailored infrastructure and increased public and private sector investment have been identified as interventions that could bolster the continent’s food safety capacity, and ignite its food export market.

New opportunities for agribusiness in e-commerce

As the popularity of online shopping continues to rise, local e-commerce and trade platforms provide increased visibility for smallholder producers in global markets.

Empowering Women in Agribusiness

Women play a vitally important role in a whole range of agricultural activities. According to the Pew Research Centre, women make up at least half the productive workforce in some African countries. In addition to their role as food producers, they are responsible for preparing food in the home and ensuring that their families have a nutritious diet. However, it tends to be men, rather than women, who undertake and mostly benefit from profitable activities along agricultural value chains.

Boosting Prices and Efficiency in the West African Grain Market

For the vast majority of people living in West Africa, cereals are an important part of their diet. They are also the staple crop for hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers, and boosting productivity and sales could do much to improve regional food security and tackle hunger. However, a lack of reliable information about market conditions and profitability are hindering the efficient operation of cereal value chains.

Young women take the lead in Pitch AgriHack

Since the launch of CTA’s Pitch AgriHack Talent Initiative in 2013, over 1 million farmers and agricultural stakeholders have benefited from services provided by start-up companies involved in its annual competitions. Their ICT-based innovations have helped to raise more than €2 million from investors and development specialists.

Promoting Youth Employment in the Rice Value Chain

In many West African countries, the lack of employment opportunities in rural areas has led to an exodus of young people, both to major cities in the region and to Europe. This is a serious loss, as the young offer a potentially dynamic labour force at a time when the agricultural sector is desperately short of workers.

“Every intervention I undertake is gender responsive”

by Pius Sawa Murefu

Faith Milkah Muniale discusses her involvement in the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowship, and her work with indigenous Kenyan communities.

"Using digital technologies to catalyse development"

by Ousseini Issa

Ibrahima Guimba-Saïdou, CEO of Niger’s National Agency of Information Society, explains why the country is harnessing digital technologies to spur development.

It is essential to work with indigenous people on climate change adaptation

by Vincent Defait

Ahead of COP24, taking place in Poland between 3–14 December, Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on Climate Change, explains why indigenous knowledge must be taken into consideration.

We must improve understanding of the integral role and value of women

by Stephanie Lynch

Dr Jemimah Njuki, senior programme specialist at Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), highlights the ongoing challenges that women entrepreneurs face in running a successful agribusiness and offers innovative solutions to better support them.

Building a win-win agribusiness solution

by Stephanie Lynch

An agribusiness in El Salvador is transforming the lives of local communities by providing jobs, training and access to formal markets for farmers and farm workers in the agricultural sector.

Niche value chains: Profiting from neglected crops

by Sam Price

Private sector investment in the cultivation of fonio, a type of millet grown in the semi-arid zones of West Africa, has opened an export route between Africa’s fonio-producing regions – including Guinea, Mali and Senegal – and the US.

Boosting pineapple cultivation in Cameroon

by Elias Ntungwe Ngalame

Mukete Estates Limited, an agri-food company in Cameroon, produces a range of products from cocoa to rubber, and more recently, with the help of an agricultural support programme, pineapples.

Improving farmers’ productivity and incomes year-round

by Claude Biao

Over the last 5 years, Beninese farming communities have been benefitting from innovations in climate-smart agriculture, including new farming practices, diversification of income sources and the introduction of short-cycle crops.

Developing sustainable ICT driven solutions and agroecology

by Ezinne Merianchris Emeana

Ezinne Merianchris Emeana a researcher at Coventry University discussed how the SmartAgroecology app is promoting the sharing of agro-ecological knowledge and skills amongst women farmers and extension personnel in Nigeria in order to help them achieve sustainable production and livelihood.

Drumming up support for agriculture

by Helen Castell

A crowdfunding platform and an agriculture-focused non-profit offer their advice on how to navigate the crowdfunding process successfully, and what they would do differently.

Can access to data really transform agriculture for smallholders?

by Yanick Bakker , Jasmien Bronckaers , Fatma Ben Rejeb and Chris Addison

In order to feed 9 billion people by 2050, sustainable agricultural growth in needed, supporting an agricultural sector which produces enough food, which is inclusive and resilient, and which makes optimal use of innovation and digital solutions. Smallholder and family farmers must play a key role in achieving this. A 80% of the world’s food supply is produced by small-scale and family farmers, yet their full production potential is hardly reached.

Aggregating farmers for markets and agricultural support services

by Norbert Tuyishime

Agriculture is back at the top of Africa’s development agenda, enjoying the support of governments and attracting heavy investments from private sectors. Many of smallholder farmers across Africa that are central to the agricultural transformation taking shape on the continent, however, struggle to benefit from these developments due to their dispersed, small-scale and unorganised nature. Aggregation of smallholder farmers’ needs may provide the solution, says Norbert Tuyishime of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF).

Junior Technical Officer - Pacific Islands Food Systems Project

CTA seeks to recruit an highly motivated professional with research, communication and knowledge management skills for the Pacific Islands Food Systems Project.

Finance Assistant

CTA seeks to recruit a Finance Assistant for CTA's Corporate Services department, reporting to the Deputy Accounts & Budget.

ICT4Ag Project Officer within the Policies, Markets & ICT programme

CTA seeks to recruit an ICT4Ag Project Officer for ist Policies, Markets & ICT programme to ensure the successful delivery of activities.

Financial Controller / Internal Audit

CTA seeks to recruit a Financial Controller / Internal Audit to ensure that the expenditures or revenues are consistent with CTA's Financial Regulations & Budget and that the principles of sound financial management are applied.