Farmers Review Africa Sept/Oct 2019 Farmers Review Africa September - October 2019 dig | Page 5

NEWS
Seventh Tokyo
International Conference on
African Development (TICAD7)
Digital Agriculture next frontier for economic development in Africa
During the three- hour event, investors,
agriculturists and government representatives
covered a wide range of subjects pertinent to
Africa’s digital economy such as finance for
farmers, bottlenecks, digital literacy, and payment
systems and investment opportunities. They also
heard several examples of digital technology
delivering results such as a Nigerian venture
Kobo360 founded by Obi Ozor, which offers an
app that connects truckers and companies to
delivery services.
Ozor said inspiration for his venture stemmed
from the lack of data on delivery services. “We
found that banks are not lending digitally or with
data,” he said.
“
There’s risk, yes, but there are juicy returns,
now is the time for all of us to run in that
direction.” – Jennifer Blanke
Prioritizing the digital space will help shift the
development focus for Africa’s agribusiness
sector and overcome its many hurdles,
participants at an official side event, organized
Wednesday during the 7th Tokyo International
Conference, heard. The seminar headlined “The
Digital Africa 2020 and Japanese investment
Panel: Creating markets to digitize Africa, was
jointly organized by the International Finance
Corporation (IFC) and the African Development
Bank (www.AfDB.org).
In his opening remarks, African Development
Bank President Akinwumi Adesina shared
an anecdote on how he was accosted by an
enthusiastic group of women on arrival at a
northern Nigeria airport during his tenure as
agriculture minister of the country.
To his surprise, they pulled out mobile phones
from their pockets and thanked him profusely for
the “gift,” which enabled them to access data on
their phones. They were referring to free phones
distributed to farmers and an electronic wallet
system for the delivery of subsidised inputs to
farmers, instituted by Adesina.
“I love what technology did for those women,”
Adesina told the filled auditorium. Digital
technology is a prerequisite to advancing
agriculture on the continent, Michael Hailu,
Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural
and Rural Cooperation (CTA) said. “Without
transforming agriculture you cannot envisage
development.”
His comments were echoed by Sergio Pimenta,
Regional Vice President for Middle East Africa
for IFC, who said the digital revolution would
help unlock the vast potential of agriculture
value chains. “Many people cannot access
technology…it is still difficult to move people from
A to B,” Pimenta said.
Participants also heard from Rwandan Minister
Ingabire who said farmers must be seen as valid
stakeholders and not beneficiaries. Rwanda is
touted as a proof of concept for reforms in the
agriculture sector and is seen as one of Africa’s
success stories. But a fast-changing industry
requires regulations that respond to the changing
environment, she said.
In a segment on Japanese investor interest
in Africa, Atsuko Toda, Bank Director invited
investors to begin with African countries which
already offer promising investment opportunities.
In closing remarks, Bank VP Jennifer Blanke,
Vice-President, Agriculture, Human, and Social
Development, described the task of harnessing
digital technologies for agriculture as exciting and
urged participants to see agriculture is a business
not “just a way of life.”
“There’s a risk, yes, but there are juicy returns,
now is the time for all of us to run in that
direction…don’t wait too long…we all have our
running shoes on,” she said.
“Africa is digitizing and offers great opportunities
and potential. What an exciting place to be having
this conversation in Japan,” Blanke concluded.
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