Microsoft, through its 4Afrika Initiative, has announced a new collaboration with the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) to co-create technology solutions in agriculture. Announced at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), the collaboration will support AGRA’s digital transformation as it works to improve food security for 30 million farming households across 11 countries, including Kenya, by 2021.
Through the partnership, Microsoft and AGRA will explore uses of big data and artificial intelligence in enabling data-driven, precision farming that increases farm productivity and profitability. The partnership will also support farmers in adopting new technologies through digital training content. It will also help them develop digital skills in agriculture through an internship programe as well as support policy advocacy and government engagement around the design of national agriculture digitisation strategies
This partnership forms part of Microsoft’s ongoing investment in agritech across the continent. Earlier this year, Microsoft announced that its Africa Development Centre would help to advance AI innovation in agriculture, including the expansion of FarmBeats. In addition, Microsoft has supported a number of African agritech start-ups and companies, including SunCulture, Virtual City, N-Frnds and Twiga Foods.
“Agriculture is a priority sector of investment for us, not only because it sustains some 70 percent of livelihoods, but because we believe technology can significantly contribute to the transformation of the sector,” said Amrote Abdella, Regional Director of Microsoft 4Afrika. “Africa has a large number of farmers with varying farming practices. We believe technology can augment this knowledge to improve crop yields. Using Microsoft-enabled IoT technology, organisations like SunCulture have helped farmers increase crop yields by 300 percent, and increase income for farmers.”
According to AGRA, the biggest hurdle to increasing farmer productivity in Africa today is the continued use of outdated production technologies and practices. Farmers are only likely to adopt new technologies when they are useful, affordable and available locally. As a result, the Digitilisation of African Agriculture Report found that 90 percent of the market for digital services that support African smallholders remains untapped, and could be worth more than US$2.26 billion.
“We’re excited to work with AGRA in building locally-relevant technology solutions that are mindful of challenges local farmers face, offering solutions to farmers and policy makers alike to deliver meaningful impact,” added Abdella.
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