Western Africa

When young Africans hack the farming sector

The AgriHack Talent initiative is one of the CTA’s best-known projects, particularly through its AgriHack Pitch start-up support programme. We take a look back on this initiative, which, over the course of just a few years, has succeeded in bringing together agriculture, entrepreneurship and new technologies.

Shaping agricultural policy and outcomes with open data

In collaboration with the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition project, CTA is identifying open data champions and enabling new policies on open data for agriculture and nutrition, with the aim of combatting global hunger.

Boosting food security by the book

In 2018, CTA donated approximately 80,000 books to Book Aid International (BAI). The books have supported libraries in Zimbabwe and helped to boost literacy, particularly in rural communities with limited access to reading material.

Coping with climate change in Southern Africa

By the time CTA’s regional flagship project for Southern Africa comes to an end in 2020, around 140,000 small-scale farmers in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi will have adopted a range of climate-smart strategies to help them cope with drought and erratic weather patterns. About 75,000 farmers are benefiting from the bundle of climate-smart agricultural solutions at the end of the first year of implementation.

Turning waste to wealth

by Obiageli Umeugochukwu

Transition to a circular food system

by Rumbidzai Mashavave

The future of food depends on future foods

by Yvonne Otieno

The Fertilizer Optimization Tool: maximising profit from fertiliser

by Duncan Sones

Smallholders access the sweet potato snack market

by James Karuga

An agri-processing company in Tanzania producing nutritional, sweet potato-based foods is providing a ready market for local women and young farmers.

Making index-based insurance profitable

by Helen Castell

Tech firms, brokers and insurers are working to make index-based insurance profitable and sustainable without subsidies, by cutting costs, sharing data and improving efficiency.

Supporting advisory services for smart farming

by Tiana Cline

Digitalisation is improving the agricultural extension system by providing services at the right time, and facilitating adoption of new agronomic practices, resulting in yield improvements and higher incomes for farming households.

Transformer les projets en réussites

by Yanne Boloh

Pour qu’un projet d’aide au développement ait un impact positif, y compris dans le secteur de l’agriculture ou de l’agribusiness, certaines conditions doivent être remplies.

Building Jamaica’s creditworthiness with blockchain

by Natalie Dookie

Pioneering technology in the Caribbean is aiming to help financial institutions make better farming investment decisions in order to provide unbanked farmers with credit.

Stepping up climate-smart efforts in Malawi

by Busani Bafana

To help the growing number of Malawians effected by droughts, floods and emerging pests and diseases, a climate-resilience project is scaling out tailored weather technologies and advisory services to smallholders.

Nigeria increases tomato paste production with good practices

by Oluyinka Alawode and Sophie Reeve

Nigerian tomato farmers are overcoming production challenges to increase the quality and quantity of their yields, and access a ready market for their produce.

Small-scale farmers gain policymaking clout

by Vincent Defait

ACP farmers’ concerns are being more effectively addressed as they become better organised and trained, and hence, increasingly involved in shaping agricultural policies and strategies.

Nasir Yammama: A technological approach to enhancing the impact of agricultural extension

Nasir Yammama speaks on the best approaches for agricultural extension and meeting the needs of women smallholder farmers in Nigeria.

"Youth should be part of the conversation about rural development"

by Yanne Boloh

Assistant vice-president of the strategy and knowledge department of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Paul Winters, highlights the factors that need to be in place for rural youth to prosper.

“We need a strategy that focuses on the transformation of food systems”

by Susanna Cartmell-Thorp

Professor Frederike Praasterink is a lecturer in sustainability and future food systems in the Netherlands. She strongly believes that leadership at the local level is needed in the strategy for transforming food systems.

“The circular economy has always been present in Africa.”

by Vincent Defait

The company Djouman is part of the African Circular Economy Network (ACEN) that promotes “new forms of economic production and consumption which maintain and regenerate environmental resources”. Djouman’s founder, Murielle Diaco, answers our questions.

Accessing agricultural extension by video

by Charles Mkoka

By embracing modern technology and engaging enthusiastic young people, the work of an NGO in Malawi is extending the reach of agricultural extension across the country.

Recycled plastic brings value to vegetable farming

by Friday Phiri

As the global community struggles with plastic pollution, and amid growing calls for a circular economic model to reduce its effects on the environment, a South African-based farming system is showcasing the value of recycled bags.

Pacific agribusiness enters the digital age

by Vincent Defait

The vitality of digital innovation in the region was highlighted in the latest Pacific AgriHack competition, with awards for three promising initiatives.

Good farming practices help turn the tide on youth migration

by Mattéo Maillard

A cereal production and marketing programme is substantially boosting smallholders’ incomes, making the agricultural sector much more attractive to young people. As a consequence, youth migration has decreased.

‘Uber-ising’ access to tractors for improved productivity in Nigeria and Kenya

by Jehiel Oliver and Ken Lohento

As the world’s population continues to increase, it is projected that crop yields will need to double to achieve food security. Sub-Saharan Africa alone holds 60% of the global inventory of uncultivated farmland; yet average crop yields continue to fall well below global averages. In addition to food security, increased agricultural productivity remains critical to alleviating entrenched poverty and improving livelihoods for the millions of farmers that survive on less than US$2/day.

The enduring power of radio for agricultural extension in Africa

by Karen Hampson and Blythe McKay

Charles Wandera is a farmer in Masindi district, Uganda. The area was recently hit with an infestation of the invasive Fall Armyworm; recently arrived in Africa, Armyworm caught farmers off guard in Masindi, leaving them unaware of how to defend their crops against the pest. Wandera turned to radio for a solution. He has been listening to a programme on Radio Kitara, supported by Farm Radio International (FRI), a Canadian NGO that works with radio broadcasters to deliver programmes aimed at small-scale farmers and their communities.

Multimedia communication enables innovators to coalesce and thrive

by Giacomo Rambaldi

CTA is an international organisation established by statute, with headquarters in the Netherlands. Its mission is to advance food security, resilience and inclusive economic growth in ACP countries through innovations in sustainable agriculture. Throughout the last decade, CTA has been at the forefront of identifying cutting-edge technological innovations, promoting digital literacy and skills, and providing training and capacity-building for agricultural stakeholders to innovate and utilise digital agricultural solutions.

The potential of digital agriculture in Africa

by Yentyl Williams

ICT Update spoke with Ben Addom, Team Leader, ICT for Agriculture at CTA and one of the authors of the recent CTA/Dalberg report on D4Ag in Africa, about the key recommendations of the study and the future of the sector.

Project assistant

CTA is looking for a highly motivated and result-oriented individual as project assistant. The project assistant’s main duties are to undertake administrative, financial and operational tasks for various projects.

Head of Finance

CTA seeks to recruit an highly motivated professional to manage the CTA’s financial services and the systems and processes related to the management of the Centre’s financial resources.

Operations Officer, Pacific Islands Food Systems Project

CTA seeks to recruit an highly motivated professional with operational, financial and administrative skills for the Pacific Islands Food Systems Project.

Financial Controller / Internal Auditor

CTA seeks to recruit a Financial Controller / Internal Auditor 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.