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event Innovations for agriculture growth, food systems transformation and food security in Africa

The event consisted of four workshops, discussing the use and impact of digital technologies among agricultural intermediaries, local agricultural machinery manufacturing, enhancing youth engagement in agribusinesses as well as the African poultry sector.

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PARI workshop series in collaboration with FARA and ZEF. The event consisted of four workshops, discussing the use and impact of digital technologies among agricultural intermediaries, local agricultural machinery manufacturing, enhancing youth engagement in agribusinesses as well as the African poultry sector.

15 December 2021

09:00 – 09:15

  • Yemi Akinbamijo (FARA)
  • Prof Joachim Von Braun (ZEF)
  • Short Video on PARI (5 minutes)

9:15-10:15

Workshop 1: Documenting the digital transformation of African Agriculture: Use and impact digital technologies among agricultural intermediaries

Facilitator: Regina Birner, University of Hohenheim

Much of the recent debates around digitalization in African food and agriculture has focused on the adoption and use of dedicated digital agricultural services with a focus on farmers. These studies have shown that uptake of such services in African agriculture has to date been limited and many of these initiatives remain small, disconnected and financially unsustainable. In contrast, little is known about how agricultural intermediaries make use of digital technologies in their professional activities. Such intermediaries play an important role in the African food and agriculture sector, linking producers to input and output markets, information or financial services. The research presented in this session will show that the existing literature on uptake of digital agricultural services among farmers is underestimating the transformative impact of digital technologies in the African food and agriculture sector. To this end, findings from surveys among agro-output und input-dealers and extension agents from Ghana, Kenya, Mali and Nigeria are presented, highlighting the widespread use and impact of digital technologies among agricultural intermediaries.

Presentation of the research findings (30 min):

  • Heike Baumüller, ZEF
  • Rose Omari, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research of Ghana (CSIR)
  • Geoffrey Kamau, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)
  • Alpha Kergna, Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Mali
  • Phillip Dayo, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)

Open discussion (30 min)

10:15-11:15

Workshop 2: Made in Africa – Making local agricultural machinery manufacturing thrive

Facilitator: Oluwole Fatunbi, FARA

Manufacturing and will have to play a key role for sustained economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction in Africa. Agricultural mechanization offers a unique potential for African manufacturing. Mechanizing Africa’s 85 million farms will create a large demand for the products of manufactures such as tractors, rippers, shellers, and threshers, among others. Additional demand will come from the rising agro-food processing sectors. Harnessing this potential in today’s globalized world, requires African manufacturers to compete with manufacturing powerhouses such as India and China. Based on case studies in four African countries, the session will explore the opportunities and challenges for local manufactures, examine the factors and actors are key for the success, and suggest develop policy recommendations to make local manufactures thrive.

Presentation of the research findings (30 min):

  • Thomas Daum, University of Hohenheim
  • Patrice Ygué Adegbola, Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB)
  • Geoffrey Kamau, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)
  • Alpha Kergna, Institut d’Economie Rurale (IER), Mali
  • Christogonus Daudu, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)
  • Oliver Kirui, ZEF

Open discussion (30 min)

16 December 2021

9:00-10:00

Workshop 3: Entrepreneurship and innovation in Africa – focus on youth

Facilitator: Felister Makini, KALRO

This session will share and discuss research findings related to employment challenges and opportunities in rural Africa based on case studies from Benin, Ethiopia, Senegal and Tunisia. The focus is on youth engaged in farming and off-farm agribusiness activities and in particular young entrepreneurs within the sector. The research presented in this session will identify the success factors for youth in farming and off-farm agribusiness. It will also analyze the main barriers to entry or challenges encountered by youth in this sector. Based on these insights, proposals for policy interventions will be most forward that would be most relevant to enhance youth participation in agricultural production and agribusiness as commercial activities, and to boost productivity of young producers and agripreneurs. The research by Akademiya2063 looks at firm-level innovation and its determinants, with a focus on how entrepreneur’s characteristics, including age and education, affect innovation in African firms.

Presentation of the research findings (30 min):

  • Zaneta Kubik, ZEF
  • Patrice Adegbola, Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB)
  • Tigabu Getahun, Policy Studies Institute, Ethiopia
  • Adama Guèye, UCAD 
  • Meriem Zlaoui, Institut National de Recherche Agronomique de Tunis (INRAT)
  • Getaw Tadesse, AKADEMIYA2063

Open discussion (30 min)

10:00-11:00

Workshop 4: How can poultry businesses success be leveraged for the expansion of the poultry sector in Africa?

Facilitator: Carlos Seré, ZEF

Commercial poultry businesses have been at the center of the rapid expansion of poultry meat consumption worldwide. In Sub Saharan Africa, this transformation is still at an early stage. By identifying and describing successful businesses and conducive context conditions enabling their emergence and growth, lessons can be distilled to enable governments and investors to effectively drive the wider development of the sector. During this session researchers from Kenya, Senegal and Nigeria will present key findings on success factors of commercial poultry enterprises in Africa South of the Sahara (particularly the businesses that produce and sell chicken meat and eggs) and the policy implications for a better tailored development of the poultry sector in the respective countries.

Presentation of the research findings (30 min):

  • Amy Faye, ZEF
  • Cheikh Ly, Initiative Prospective agricole et rurale (IPAR)
  • Funso Sonaya, Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria (ARCN)
  • Ochieng Ouko, Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)

Open discussion (30 min)

11:00 – 11:15

Closing of the workshop series and Way ahead

  • Yemi Akinbamijo
  • Prof Joachim Von Braun
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