E-Agriculture

Questions 1 and 2

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e-consultation on digital agriculture investments and digital transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Questions 1 and 2

Q1. What government policies and programmes provide support for businesses in digital agriculture in a particular country? Please include references where possible.

Q2. With reference to the above, what recommendations can be tabled to enhance the performance of these policies and programmes? Kindly justify your recommendation(s) with references where possible.

French Version

Q1. Quelles politiques et programmes gouvernementaux soutiennent les entreprises de l'agriculture numérique dans un pays donné? Veuillez inclure des références dans la mesure du possible. 

Q2. En ce qui concerne ce qui précède, quelles recommandations peut-on faire pour améliorer la performance de ces politiques et programmes? Veuillez justifier votre (vos) recommandation (s) par des références dans la mesure du possible.

 

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Thembani Malapela
Thembani MalapelaFood and Agriculture Organization of the United NationsItaly

Dear Members,

The joint team of animators from the Food and Agriculture Organization and the International Telecommunication Union welcome you to this important e-consultation where we solicit your inputs on specific key questions of interest pertaining to digital agriculture investments and digital transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The consultation will last for 3 weeks with each week dedicated to specific question(s). We appreciate your commitment to this task even in these difficult times whilst we work collectively to end global hunger. In this e-consultation, we expect to engage with participants in both English and French. 

With cue from earlier consultations on this platform, we implore participants to be clear in their submission and include facts and figures as well as reference materials where available. We encourage participants to draw the attention of other stakeholders they think can contribute substantively to the discussion but are not registered on this platform to this on-going exercise. 

We appreciate your availability and commitment to the task and look forward to a healthy consultative process

Your Facilitators 

FAO/ITU

______

Chers membres,

L'équipe conjointe d'animateurs de l'Organisation des Nations Unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture et de l'Union internationale des télécommunications vous souhaite la bienvenue à cette importante consultation en ligne où nous sollicitons vos contributions sur des questions clés spécifiques d'intérêt relatives aux investissements dans l'agriculture numérique et à la transformation numérique en Afrique subsaharienne.

La consultation durera 3 semaines, chaque semaine étant consacrée à des questions spécifiques. Nous apprécions votre engagement dans cette tâche même en ces temps difficiles alors que nous travaillons collectivement pour mettre fin à la faim dans le monde. Dans cette consultation en ligne, nous prévoyons de dialoguer avec les participants en anglais et en français.

À la lumière des consultations précédentes sur cette plateforme, nous implorons les participants d'être clairs dans leur soumission et d'inclure des faits et des chiffres ainsi que des documents de référence, le cas échéant. Nous encourageons les participants à attirer l'attention d'autres parties prenantes qui, selon eux, peuvent contribuer de manière substantielle à la discussion mais ne sont pas inscrites sur cette plate-forme pour cet exercice en cours.

Nous apprécions votre disponibilité et votre engagement envers la tâche et nous attendons avec impatience un processus de consultation participatif.

FAO/ITU

Manuel Zhou
Manuel ZhouZambia Farmers AssociationZambia

This is timely Thembani and kudos to FAO and ITU. Given the pandemic, many businesses have been hit hard and I agree agripreneurs are not left out. Although the pandemic re-echoes the need for digitalization in the agriculture sector, I am not sure if current policies are well placed. The uncertainties ahead might require that governments are more reflexive in strategic policy making in the sector. Thanks for setting the pace with this consultation.

Bonaventure Nyamekye
Bonaventure NyamekyeFAONetherlands

Sure Manuel. How about the Zambian context? Any interesting insights? Have there been recent discussions on policy focus and investment among others?  What are your thoughts on existing policies?

Ronald Udedi
Ronald UdediThe PolytechnicMalawi

Q1. What government policies and programmes provide support for businesses in digital agriculture in a particular country? Please include references where possible.

Currently the Malawi government established the department of E-government which oversees National ICT Master Plan for Malawi. The National  ICT Master Plan was developed to operationalise the approved National ICT Policy in order to realise the vision
to make Malawi a knowledge based economy by year 2031. The plan spans the years
2014 to 2031, an eighteen year duration which is split into four (4) separate
plans.

Malawi goverment has put in place several ICT laws in place such as Communication act of 2016 https://www.macra.org.mw/?wpdmpro=communications-act-2016  and Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act, 2016 https://malawilii.org/mw/legislation/act/2016/33 .

This has enabled an enviroment for several players to develop digital agriculture programmes. For example SANE which is strengthening the capacity of the Government of Malawi's Department of Agricultural Extension Services (DAES) to mobilize and work with service providers to deliver agricultural and nutrition extension and advisory services more effectively and in a coordinated manner in the Feed the Future Zone of Influence. SANE is promoting access to video extension: http://paepard.blogspot.com/2018/10/exploring-access-to-videos-for.html

Another organisation is Farm Radio Trust (FRT) which promotes the use of radio and ICT to improve agricultural extension services: https://www.fdfa.eu/en/grant-for-farm-radio-trust-malawi-2020

 

Bonaventure Nyamekye
Bonaventure NyamekyeFAONetherlands

Thanks Ronald for your submssion on Malawi. 

Kudziwonera Papaya
Kudziwonera PapayaKEASSouth Africa

The best option is to use e-voucher system in Agribusiness Input supply support sysytem in South Africa

Do pilot projects for example with Agro-dealer Association, to find out the real policy intervention which would practically bring the best programmes and policies

Bonaventure Nyamekye
Bonaventure NyamekyeFAONetherlands

Great contribution Kudziwonera. Thank you.

Ashiraf Nsibambi Kyabainze
Ashiraf Nsibambi KyabainzeAt Hause LimitedUganda

With agriculture employing 70% of Ugandans, a centerpiece of Uganda’s National Development Plan – is critical to reducing poverty, boosting prosperity, and creating jobs, especially for women and youth; there is a need to close the potential performance divide through digital investment to accelerate commercialization, value-addition, and trade. Digital agriculture investment for inclusive growth is fundamental through Impact investing and Islamic finance in the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) 2017-2022 that is Uganda’s holistic strategy for promoting financial inclusion with an emphasis on five pillars: i) Reduce financial exclusion and barriers to access financial services; ii) Develop the credit infrastructure; iii) Build the digital infrastructure; iv) Deepen and broaden formal savings, investment, and insurance usage; and v) Protect and empower individuals with enhanced financial capability.

UNDP highlights that Impact investing and Islamic finance seek positive social impact alongside a financial return. proven itself as an important source of funding for the SDGs. The shared moral and social values, principles, and impact-driven ambitions of Islamic finance and impact investing position Islamic finance as a good example of innovative financing for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/354972

http://www.gifiip.org/blending-islamic-finance-and-impact-investing-to-a...

Bonaventure Nyamekye
Bonaventure NyamekyeFAONetherlands

Thanks Ashiraf.

Joseph Haraka
Joseph HarakaBetter Globe ForestryKenya

None, Digital agriculture is shaped by enterpreneurs themselves.