Uganda’s cooperatives and small-scale farmers are to benefit from a World Bank-funded program. The program is designed to give digital tools and training resources to small-scale farmers and small agri-businesses in Africa.
The program is a partnership between Microsoft’s 4Afrika initiative and International Finance Corporation-IFC, the World Bank’s investment arm. It aims to support digital transformation in Africa’s agribusiness sector, modernize supply chains and boost farmers’ productivity and incomes.
The 4Afrika Initiative is Microsoft’s business and market development engine in Africa, that aims to unlock and accelerate Africa’s potential to create technology in the continent and the world as a whole.
In seven years, the 4Afrika initiative has reached 1.7 million small and medium businesses, supported more than 300 startups, 12 accelerator partnerships, upskilled 108,000 Africans in Microsoft Cloud Society.
The program will begin with piloting a mobile platform among farmers in Uganda, Cote d’Ivoire, Kenya and Nigeria, with a targeted 50,000 farmers and at least 50 cooperatives.
The initiative is informed by the fact that digital technology can improve the operation of key supply chains in the food system through improving efficiencies in the agricultural sector, improved business practices, traceability, food safety and access to finance.
However, the use of digital tools in Africa’s agriculture sector remains limited, usually because of poor infrastructure, less affordability, lack of awareness, and inadequate regulatory issues.
According to the World Bank, agribusiness contributes about 25 percent of Africa’s GDP and 70 percent of its employment, this being the same picture for Uganda.
Microsoft Kenya Country Manager, Kendi Nderitu says amidst disasters including Covid-19, there is more need to pay close attention to how agri-tech organizations transform digitally, the challenges they face acquiring new technologies, and the daily challenges faced in digital skills development.
“Microsoft 4Afrika’s strategy is to invest in agri-tech to unlock Africa’s vibrant potential, accelerating innovation in agri-tech to enable data-driven farming that can optimize yields, boost farm productivity and increase profitability – all while feeding a nation,” said Nderitu.
The partnership will use Microsoft’s digital platforms and IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Program to help the beneficiaries access information and digital tools to strengthen farming practices, build business professionalism and improve food security and traceability throughout the supply chain.
Samuel Dzotefe, the acting Regional Industry Director, Middle East & Africa said: “Digital technologies have the power to transform small-scale farming in Africa. By making digital tools more accessible to farmers, cooperatives and last-mile retailers, Microsoft and IFC can together help the agribusiness sector to capitalize on the opportunities afforded by the digital economy.”
Around 155 million people were facing acute food insecurity in 2020 across 55 countries or territories, an increase of around 20 million people from 2019, according to the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises.
Of the 10 countries with the highest number of people facing food insecurity, six were in Africa.
The partnership will include Microsoft’s KuzaBot mobile chat platform, which will speed up and ease the dissemination of vital information to farmers on good agricultural and business practices.
In 2020, IFC invested $22 billion in private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging the power of the private sector to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity.
IFC’s Agribusiness Leadership Program, which will be available on the Microsoft Community Training platform, will help small businesses, aggregators, and farmer cooperatives improve their professionalism, productivity, and creditworthiness.
“Over the long term, the partnership aims to deepen the understanding of factors that drive the adoption and use of digital solutions among smallholder farmers, farmer cooperatives, and other actors in the agriculture supply chain,” says Nderitu.
-URN
