Africa continues to be plagued by huge agricultural yield gaps leading to an annual food import bill of USD 35 Billion which will rise to USD 110 Billion by 2025. Some of the key factors include underperforming value chains, insufficient infrastructure, limited access to agriculture finance, adverse agribusiness environment, and limited inclusivity, sustainability and nutrition.
Agriculture employs 65% of Africa’s labor force and accounts for 32% of the region’s GDP. This sector is vital to Africa’s economic growth and sustainable development. Current food consumption substantially depends on imports and as a result, sub-Saharan Africa faces the greatest food security risk by 2050 as its population is projected to increase 2.5 fold. To avoid mass hunger, food production in Africa needs to grow faster than the global average. Slow growth in crop yield has been attributed to the minimal adoption of technology.
To ensure awareness of yield-enhancing technologies, The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) is keen to establish high impact ICT4Ag interventions in Sub Saharan Africa. AGRA has therefore contracted Advantech for this work covering 11 countries in East, West and Southern Africa – Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda.
