New reports from African Development Bank, FAO, and CGIAR showcase digital agriculture opportunities

The African Development Bank (AfDB), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) published Digital Agricultural Profiles of three countries: Côte d’Ivoire, Rwanda, and South Africa. The profiles found that drones, satellites, geographic information systems, weather stations, and advanced analytics are key technologies to address Africa’s agricultural challenges. They outline the challenges and opportunities to leverage the adoption of innovative digital technologies in the agriculture sector including national digital technology and the policy landscape, user demands, the value chain, and available digital agriculture services and applications. The profiles further pinpoint the major barriers to adoption. Some of the key highlights include:

• Rwanda – Up to 85% of rural consumers will have access to basic mobile phone services in the next five years.
• Côte d’Ivoire – Access to digital technologies rose sharply in the last decade; nearly everyone in the working-age population now has mobile phone access, and nearly half of Ivorians use the internet.
• South Africa – Precision agriculture is strongly adopted by large-scale commercial farmers; blockchain, barcoding, and fleet tracking solutions offer unique benefits for the traceability of agricultural products.