Articles
Blog articles
Why expanding value chain access is important for young agripreneurs
When engaging with youth agripreneurs in Africa on the challenges they face, access to finance emerges as a key concern. Closer scrutiny of their business models generally reveals that young entrepreneurs are often not deemed creditworthy, or suitable for investment, primarily because they lack consistent and deep access to their perceived target markets. In short, their order books are lean and their access to markets is limited.
Read MoreDrones: supporting precision agriculture in Africa
The Cameroonian company Agribizz, a member of the UAV4Ag community, was selected to represent Cameroon in the project ‘Transforming Africa’s Agriculture: Eyes in the Sky, Smart Techs on the Ground’ commonly called ‘Eyes in the Sky’. Its Chief Executive Officer, Jasmin Choake, shares what the team learned from participating, as well as his opinion on the role that drones will play in the transformation of African agriculture.
Read MoreDigitising farmer cooperatives to improve efficiency
by Marc Ghislain Bappa Se , Gerald Otim , Elias Gossaye Biratu and Ken Lohento
Few people in sub-Saharan Africa use traditional banks and bank accounts, since these are typically urban-based and serve a narrow market.
Read MoreAccelerating youth agri-incubators in Africa - Lessons from Nigeria
by Michael Sudarkasa and Wole Odetayo
Since business incubation/acceleration initiatives, especially in agriculture, are new to Africa, the adoption and the consistent recording and analysis of their impact is still work in progress. Prompted by youth employment or under-unemployment, incubator/accelerators chiefly support youth entrepreneurship development - from the ideation/innovation phase to assisting more seasoned enterprises seeking support for faster expansion.
Read MoreMentoring - a helping hand for young agripreneurs
So you have what you are convinced is a winning idea for an agribusiness. What happens next? Obtaining advice and guidance from someone who has trodden the same path may pay dividends, especially for young entrepreneurs with little business acumen.
Read MoreImpact Stories
Championing women and organic coffee farming in Jamaica
Vibrant reggae music, athletic prowess, flavoursome food and white sandy beaches are perhaps what Jamaica is best known for. Also coffee – but not so much the organic version. For over 20 years, Dorienne Rowan-Campbell has been working hard to change that.
Read MoreFarming 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.
Read MoreAll 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.
Read MoreClimate Change and Conflict in Chad - Using P3DM to secure peace
Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, with support from CTA, facilitates participatory three-dimensional modelling (P3DM) events to help settle disputes over land and resource ownership between the local and indigenous communities in the district of Baïbokoum, Chad.
Read MorePress release
CTA awards grants to support blockchain use in agriculture across ACP
CTA has awarded four grants to support the use of blockchain in agriculture across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP).
Read MoreProject 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.
Read More20,000 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.
Read MoreNew 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.
Read MoreNew 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.
Read MoreICT Update
IT solutions are disruptive: they change the way things are working

Interview with Martin Njeru, the Account Director for Cojengo in the East Africa region.
Read MoreDeveloping sustainable ICT driven solutions and agroecology
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.
Read MoreCan 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.
Read MoreAggregating farmers for markets and agricultural support services
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).
Read MoreOn-the-spot, easy and affordable soil testing for Kenyan smallholder farmers
by Christy van Beek , Susanne Coolen , Berten de Leede and Angelique van Helvoort
Africa is facing an escalating soil fertility crisis and without immediate interventions, the continent continues to lose over €3,5 billion per year worth of nutrients. To increase productivity whilst decreasing soil fertility decline, balanced fertilisation is essential. Farmer cooperatives using soil scanners to provide real-time fertiliser recommendations to farmers may be part of the solution. AgroCares and Agriterra present their findings from a soil sensor services pilot for farmer cooperatives in Kenya.
Read MoreSpore
Congo-Brazzaville grows mushrooms year-round
In response to high national demand for mushrooms, an agribusiness company in the Congo has developed easy-to-use, affordable production kits.
Read More“Every intervention I undertake is gender responsive”
Faith Milkah Muniale discusses her involvement in the African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellowship, and her work with indigenous Kenyan communities.
Read MorePublications
The next generation of farmers: successes and new opportunities

The global population is on track to surpass 9 billion by 2050 and exceed 11 billion by the end of the century. The world’s 500 million smallholder farms produce around 80% of our food and it is they who will have to carry the burden of increasing food production by over 70%. The information in this document was compiled as background reading material for the 53rd Brussels Briefing on The next generation of farmers: successes and opportunities.
Read MoreFood 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.
Read MoreGrowing 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.
Read MoreBuilding the evidence base on the agricultural nutrition nexus: Democratic Republic of Congo
by Gustave Mushagalusa Nachigera , Katcho Karume , Bintu Ndusha , Ayagirwe Basengere , Achiza Bayisha , Alpha Bisuri Byachentwali , Bigirimwami Chimanuka and Gédéon Banswe
The provinces of North-Kivu and South-Kivu are located in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and both have been marred by conflict over the past two decades. This led to population displacement and instability, which in turn resulted in the abandonment of agriculture, food insecurity and severe malnutrition (UNICEF, 2012).
Read MoreStrengthening rural livelihoods in the face of rapid urbanisation in Africa
by Lebo Mofolo and Isolina Boto
Globalization and urbanisation have transformed economies and social systems in countries around the world in the past decades. The information in this document was compiled as background reading material for the 48th Brussels Development Briefing on Strengthening rural livelihoods in the face of rapid urbanisation in Africa co-organised by CTA, BMZ/GIZ, ACP Secretariat, European Commission (DG DEVCO) and Concord.
Read MoreEvents
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Jun 25
IBLI policy workshop for the Horn of Africa
ILRI, in collaboration with CTA, is organising a workshop on "IBLI sustainable scaling", targeting IGAD countries' policy makers, private industry actors and representatives of international organisations involved in disaster risk financing initiatives.
Location:Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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May 8
Promoting climate finance for agriculture in Tchad
The level of climate finance in the agricultural sector is very small compared with other sectors. Less than 5% of global climate finance is targeted to agricultural sector and, even much less to smallholder farmers. This is in contrast to the responsibility placed on agricultural sector to produce more food by 2050 under climatic uncertainties.
Location:N'Djamena, Chad
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Dec 18
High-level forum Africa-Europe: “Taking cooperation to the digital age”
The President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, as the current chairperson of the African Union, and the Federal Chancellor of the Republic of Austria, Sebastian Kurz, as Austria holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, cordially invite African and European heads of state or government, CEOs of major global companies as well as innovative…Location:Bruno-Kreisky-Platz 1, 1220 Wien, Austria
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Oct 2
3rd PACA Partnership Platform Meeting
The Partnership for Aflatoxin Control in Africa (PACA) is holding its partnership platform meeting (PPM). The 3rd PPM comes at a critical period when the continent and the international community are advocat…Location:Dakar, Senegal
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Jun 20
Ashoka-British Council Summit on Social Entrepreneurship in Africa
The first Impact!Africa Social Entrepreneurship Summit mobilise inspire, support, and connect leading social entrepreneurs and key ecosystem players to accelerate innovative solutions to Africa's most pressing challenges. Hundreds of social entrepreneurs and stakeholders from education, healthcare, women empowerment, the creative economy, and the digital innovation spheres gather from June 20 t…Location:Johannesburg