Digital Technologies and Tools for sustainable and resilient Agriculture and Food Systems in West Africa

31 March 2023. Digital Technologies and Tools for sustainable and resilient Agriculture and Food Systems in West Africa

Video recording forthcoming

• The public webinar drew lessons on digital technologies and or innovations from the third-party projects of AGriDI and VaRRIWA as well as of other country or regional initiatives.
• See the concept note # 4 p.
• The OACPS implements, with funding from the European Union, the programme Strengthening R&I capacity in ACP countries and unlocking their innovation potential.

Panel:

• Presentation of AGriDI - Jonas Mugabe
• Presentation of VaRRIWA - Alioune Faye
• Presentation of the status of Digital technologies in Agriculture in West Africa (WA) - Jules Degila & Achille Assogbadjo
• Presentation of a case study of the use of digital technologies in Agriculture in WA - Nogbou Georges Anoh
• Q&A - Bonface Nyagah
• Wrap up - Julius & Gerard

Shared resource:

AGriDI (2023) Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDi) Project A baseline study # 60 p.

Final version forthcoming

Background:

Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)

AGriDI is implemented in five countries of ECOWAS, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria through the deployment of ten local projects that are promoting digital technologies. 

• See the AGriDI factsheet
• To this effect, a baseline study was conducted to assess the ecosystem of digital technologies in
  the five countries. 
• The main finding of the baseline study is that the rate of development of digital innovations in agriculture is closely linked to the efforts of each country in providing policies and strategies enabling access by the population (and especially by those living in rural area) to basic connectivity infrastructure (electricity and Internet). 
• 
  For example, the Mobile Connectivity Index (MCI3) in the five countries is still below 60, with the highest values recorded in Ghana and Nigeria that promote innovations more actively. 
• Interestingly, all five countries have acknowledged the need to embrace a digital economy and developed either a separate document outlining their Strategic Digital Agriculture Plan (Benin and Nigeria) or embedded such strategies in their national development plans (Burkina Faso, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire). 

VaRRIWA – Valorising Research Results and Innovation in West Africa assumes that links between academia, the public and private sector, and civil society will be when strengthened will ensure that the results of research and innovation (R&I) are readily accessible and effectively disseminated, exploited, and used. 

• VaRRIWA's activities will promote a dynamic Research and Innovation ecosystem that will enable actors who are active upstream (identification of R&I needs and