Africa loses a good percentage of its food after harvest and most farmers are still using rudimentary technologies to grow and take care of their crops. These scenarios have hampered the continent’s quest to be food secure over the years.
Fortunately, the situation is slowly changing as the youth in the continent take up innovative agribusinesses to offer solutions to farmers.
Some of the technologies were on display at an ongoing Africa Green Revolution Forum in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted by the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa.
“Africa does not really lack food security. We produce in plenty. What is missing are storage and processing facilities and technologies,” said Tracy Kimathi, managing founder of a firm that offers cold storage solar services. Her company provides pay-as-you-go services that are ideal for both farmers and traders in urban and rural areas.
“Our affordable solar storage facilities enable people to store meat, fruits and vegetables overnight at a small fee to avoid spoilage,” she said.
For Chidinma Eriobu, founder of a Nigerian company that makes foods like snack and flour, the focus is on processing and packaging.
“We research local products that are beneficial to people, process and package them,” she said. “Technology has made it easier to turn African foods and blend them for people.”
Eriobu’s business model has offered market access to hundreds of farmers in Nigeria, giving a lifeline to traditional foods that were initially abandoned by farmers due to lack of market.
Dexter Tangocci, co-founder of drone company in South Africa, offers smallholder farmers drone spraying services. The firm has so far sprayed over 1,700 hectares by drones in the country.
With drone spraying, he said, crop production becomes more sustainable as farmers don’t incur wastage. Tangocci’s target is that by 2030, aerial spraying will be integrated into most African farming communities.
The African Green Revolution Forum opened on Tuesday in Nairobi, with about 7,000 participants, including African presidents, agriculture ministers and experts, attending virtually to discuss ways to transform the continent’s food systems and accelerate progress to eradicating hunger and poverty.
The event, themed “Pathways to recovery and resilient food systems,” runs through Friday. Enditem
