The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) shut down its activities in December 2020 at the end of its mandate. The administrative closure of the Centre was completed in November 2021.

Ken Lohento

Sr Programme Coordinator, ICT4Ag, CTA

Sr Programme Coordinator, ICT4Ag, CTA

Ken Lohento

Biography

Ken Lohento has been managing numerous initiatives related to ICT policy and use for development since 1998 in various countries. At CTA, Ken focuses on projects related to ICT innovations and entrepreneurship in agriculture, as well as e-agriculture strategies.

Articles

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Lack of traceability is a major issue in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire. The French NGO, Nitidae, believes that blockchain could provide a solution that would fight fraud and promote ethical production. With the support of CTA and blockchain specialists, Gaiachain, Nitidae carried out a project, from February 2019 to April 2020, with a cooperative in the Mé region of Côte d’Ivoire to develop and test a blockchain traceability application. Here is an initial assessment of the ‘Cocoblock’ experience.

Publications

  1. Supporting and Scaling Up Youth Agripreneurship in Kenya

    This working document present nine articles that discuss the issue of supporting the growth for young agripreneurs in Kenya, with recommendations for stakeholders. Its content goes beyond the VijaBiz project and includes analyses on other youth in agriculture initiatives organised in Kenya. The articles were written by independent authors who responded to a call for articles launched by the CTA and USTADI Vijabiz project. Some of the articles discuss independently VijaBiz project activities focusing on a county or on some groups.

  2. ICT uses by rural youth in Kenya

    This study is produced in the framework of activities of the Vijabiz project implemented by CTA and Ustadi Foundation in Kenya. It aimed at establishing rural youth groups’ access and use of different ICT and social media in their agribusiness activities. The study also sought to assess the gaps and barriers affecting the use of ICTs by rural youth in Kenya and provide recommendations.

  3. Pathways to Rural Youth Agribusiness Success: Stories from the Vijabiz project

    The different cases or stories presented in this booklet are the results from the experience capitalization exercise and give insights into the specific lessons learnt by the workshop participants, through analysis of their involvement in diverse activities of the Vijabiz project and the influence on their businesses.

  4. Business models and key success drivers of agtech start-ups

    This interpretative phenomenological research focuses on youth-led companies offering digital services to the agrifood sector in West Africa. Youth is considered as per the African Union definition: individuals aged between 15 and 35 years old. Research questions were to understand the business models adopted by these start-ups; how their business models and business model innovation lead to business success; other key drivers that can support the achievement of success.

events

  1. Feb 3

    African Green Revolution Forum 2019 - Youth in agriculture: Showcasing and scaling models for agripreneurship

    Across the continent, young agripreneurs are recognising untapped opportunities in the agrifood sector. Yet, ideally, they would be fostered by a supportive ecosystem to progress faster and more successfully along their journey. The ambition of scaling digitally-enabled, environmentally conscious, market-led ventures to deliver jobs and healthy food, while respecting the natural environment, ca…
    Type:
    Conference
    Role:
    Speaker
  2. Feb 3

    Pitch AgriHack 2019

    The Pitch AgriHack 2019 start-up competition holds its final during the…
    Type:
    Conference
    Role:
    Speaker
  3. Feb 3

    African Green Revolution Forum 2019 - Project showcase – Marketplace of ag-tech solutions

    Agricultural transformation remains one of Africa’s most pressing priorities but has been difficult to achieve. In this context, digitalisation for agriculture (D4Ag) can be a game changer in supporting and accelerating agricultural transformation across the continent. D4Ag has the potential to not only support agricultural transformation but to do so both sustainably and inclusively.…
    Type:
    Conference
    Role:
    Moderator

Projects

  1. Feb 3

    AgriHack Talent

    The AgriHack Talent initiative aimed to support ICT innovation and entrepreneurship in agriculture in African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries. It targeted young entrepreneurs aged between 18 and 35 years old. The project was a cornerstone of CTA’s focus on enabling youth involvement in agriculture and supporting employment opportunities.

     

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