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.

Project increases Ugandan smallholder yields and incomes by 70%

Kampala, Uganda February 13. Leveraging big data, a CTA-led project has significantly increased crop yields and incomes for thousands of Ugandan smallholder farmers.

20,000 Ethiopian Smallholders Targeted with Climate Smart Technology

CTA together with Farm Africa has launched a new project to promote the resilience of smallholder farmers against climate change in Ethiopia’s Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR). The launch is the third and final of a CTA initiative that supports the scaling of proven climate smart agriculture technologies in Jamaica, Mali and now Ethiopia.

New index to tackle food safety scourge and threat to African health and trade

Dakar, Senegal, October 2. The African Food Safety Index (AFSI) launched today will help to tackle the burden of foodborne diseases that a recent global assessment found to be comparable to that of malaria, HIV/AIDs or tuberculosis.

New report highlights promising signs of export diversification in African agricultural trade

KIGALI, 6 September 2018 – A new report highlights the role agricultural trade plays in Africa and draws out important policy measures that African governments will need to take to benefit fully from intra-African trade as well as global trade in agricultural products.

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.

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).

Satellite data for agricultural index insurance

by Joost van der Woerd

How can we ensure that drought is no longer an outright disaster to smallholder farmers in Africa, but instead a manageable risk? With low-cost satellite-based index insurance products that monitor climatic conditions in near real-time and automatically trigger a pay-out when conditions are below normal. This helps farmers secure necessary credit for inputs, recover faster from bad seasons and sustainably improve their livelihoods.

Cycling for organic cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire

by Sophie Reeve and Cléophas Mosala

Innovative technologies in West Africa are reducing the environmental impacts of cocoa processing, and increasing farmer resilience to climate change.

Foreign investment’s critical role in African agriculture’s transformation

by Silas Rugaba

Africa must introduce informed investment policies

by Yvonne Otieno

How good urban farming can combat bad eating

Unhealthy diets pose a massive and growing health threat across the world. In Africa, traditional foods and inner-city farms could be the answer.

Food safety: a critical part of the food system in Africa

by Lebo Mofolo and Isolina Boto

Food safety is linked, directly or indirectly, to the achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially those pertaining to ending hunger and poverty, and promoting good health and well-being. Food and nutritional security is realised only when essential elements of a healthy diet are safe to eat. The information in this document was compiled as background reading material for the 52nd Brussels Briefing on Food safety: a critical part of the food system in Africa.

Growing food in the cities: Successes and new opportunities

by Lebo Mofolo and Isolina Boto

Towns and cities in the world’s developing countries are growing on an unprecedented scale. In 1960, the global urban population was 34% of the total; by 2014 54% of the total and growing. By 2050, the proportion living in urban areas is expected to reach 66% (UNDESA). Sub-Saharan Africa’s annual urban growth rate is 3.6%, almost double the world average. The information in this document was compiled as background reading material for the 50th Brussels Development Briefing on Growing food in the cities: Successes and new opportunities.

Adoption de variétés de sorgho résilientes aux changements climatiques au Bénin

by Adéchoal Pierre Polycarpe Kayodé

Le présent document expose les résultats d’une expérience de diffusion et d’adoption au Bénin, de variétés de sorgho résilientes aux changements climatiques.Les principaux bénéficiaires de ces actions sont en priorité des agriculteurs vivant dans des zones du Bénin où les effets des changements climatiques sur la sécurité alimentaire sont effectifs. Pendant la période d’exécution des projets, un total de 399 producteurs avait adopté les variétés.

An ICT agripreneurship guide

This Handbook provides a step-by-step roadmap designed to equip aspiring ICT entrepreneurs, with the information and knowledge they need to start an ICT-based business in the agricultural sector, outlining key opportunities and challenges that will be encountered along the way. Using real-life examples, it provides strategies and pathways for averting common mistakes faced by early-stage entrepreneurs.