TRANSFORMING AGRICULTURE WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
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INNOVATION AND IMPACT INTERVIEW AGRI-FINANCE
Reviewing the influence Edward Mabaya explores Looking to the future for credit
and legacy of Spore what is needed to scale digital and finance solutions
projects in agriculture
Final issue
N°195 | December 2019 - Februar y 2020
spore.cta.int
AI
Smart farming
TRANSFORMING
AGRICULTURE WITH
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
A global perspective on agribusiness and sustainable agriculture
Brussels
Development
Briefings
Sensitising the development community
on current and emerging ACP-EU policy
relating to rural development issues
www.brusselsbriefings.net
The Brussels Development Briefings are a joint initiative of CTA, European Commission (DG DEVCO),
the ACP Secretariat and ACP Group of Ambassadors, CONCORD and various media.
CONTENTS
EDITORIAL
N°195 Spore’s final edition - a
TRENDS
4 | A focus on agricultural transformation
over the years
lasting legacy
ENTREPRENEURSHIP Michael Hailu, director - CTA
8 | St. Lucian youth cooperative mushrooms
into success
9 | Cotonou’s convenience foods This will be the last editorial I will be penning
for Spore since I will complete my term as CTA
SMART-TECH & INNOVATION Director at the end of February 2020.
10 | Crowdfunding platform supports Unfortunately, this issue will be the final edition
Ivorian producers after 34 years of uninterrupted publication as,
11 | Machine learning: offering crop advice
and financing financing in Kenya with the end of the Cotonou Agreement between
the EU and ACP countries, the financial and legal framework that has
CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE supported CTA, and hence Spore, will expire.
12 | Restoring quality for Zimbabwe’s During my travels over the last decade as CTA director, I have met
coffee-farming communities
13 | Kenyan farmers reverse soil damage with a wide range of partners, including many senior government
to boost climate resilience officials who have often told me how much they have appreciated Spore
as a valuable source of information for their work. The information
INTERVIEWS provided in Spore has been instrumental in knowledge exchange, in the
14 | Edward Mabaya: digitalisation: sharing of different opinions and insights, and in providing readers with
a complementary process
16 | Parmesh Shah: “Building an alliance the latest developments in agriculture. Spore has helped shape curricula
for disruptive agri-tech” and training materials, set up new business ventures, and allowed many
to keep up-to-date with information that was not readily available
17 | Dossier elsewhere. Extension officers who have gone on to hold senior positions
within ministries and other key departments have informed me that
Transforming agriculture with artificial Spore continued to be valued as they moved from working with farmers
intelligence in the field to more advisory and decision-making positions.
29 | Agribusiness
Spore has been respected for the insights and innovations it has
highlighted to its readers; for the service it has provided in facilitating
exchange in good farming practices across ACP practitioners; and, for
MARKET OPPORTUNITIES many, the magazine could almost be considered a household name.
30 | Nigeria’s rural women revolutionise In recent years, with the digitalisation of Spore, we have worked to
local locust beans provide the articles in a variety of formats, beyond just the print
31 | Uganda’s local grass reduces plastic use
magazine, so that it is more readily available and accessible to a
AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS younger and more digitally-minded audience, while not neglecting
32 | Kenyan smallholders adopt our long-standing, traditional readership.
market-oriented production It is not always easy to measure the extensive impact of a
33 | Vertical farms raise incomes in Uganda publication over such a long period of time but we know that Spore
is recognised and appreciated for the quality of its agricultural
34 | FINANCE & INSURANCE
Looking to the future for credit journalism across ACP regions, including allowing a network of
and finance solutions Francophone and Anglophone correspondents to have an avenue for
providing stories from the field. With our monthly opinion pieces,
36 | TRADE & MARKETING we have been able to encourage the sharing of different viewpoints
Trends and opportunities for
connecting African trade from a range of highly respected organisations and, in our Spore
exclusive interviews, to feature high-level experts and practitioners in
38 | BUSINESS LEADERS agricultural and agribusiness development to share their perspectives.
Isaac Sesi: "The challenges we face It is the end of an era and I have no doubt that Spore will be missed
bring opportunities to make a but, at CTA, we are pleased that we have been part – and even led –
difference"
critical conversations on key topics on agricultural transformation
through this timeless publication.
40 | PUBLICATIONS
It has been an honour and privilege for me to have been associated
with Spore for many years.
44 | OPINION
COVER PICTURE: © NICOELNINO/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO & PERRINE POTHIER/INTACTILE DESIGN SPORE 195 | 3
TRENDS
INNOVATION AND IMPACT
A focus on agricultural
transformation over
the years
As a tool contributing to sustainable agricultural transformation, Spore's
influence is well recognised. In this final Trends article, we review the
legacy of CTA's flagship publication and how it has evolved from a short
technical bulletin to a comprehensive online and print magazine.
Susanna Cartmell-Thorp
A
t its peak, hard copies of development has changed and so the Nigeria, stated in feedback to CTA: “I write
Spore were distributed to over magazine has also evolved to become to thank you for how Spore has guided me
60,000 subscribers (organisa- more than a technical bulletin providing in my research,” citing a specific article
tions and individuals) in ACP countries agricultural production advice to provid- about a project in Kenya featured in the
and read by a great many more. A 2015 ing in-depth coverage of the topics and June/July 2012 issue (No. 159). The infor-
independent evaluation of Spore stated issues of broader relevance to agribusi- mation helped him to design his research
that: “Spore magazine has improved the ness and sustainable agriculture critical project on helping smallholder farmers to
knowledge and skills of its worldwide to agricultural transformation. “The con- make better and safer use of pesticides.
audience. The new knowledge acquired tent of Spore is varied and rich. What I “This project will have a positive impact
improved the capacities of the readers like in particular is the ‘Dossier’ where on the users of these chemicals, as it
in the long-term with effect spread a problem is discussed in an in-depth will enhance good farming practice and
beyond the immediate beneficiaries as way and well detailed, therefore giv- healthy living among smallholders,”
most of them share the magazine, often ing lots of information, and this makes Gushit emphasised.
with more than five people.” the reader reflect on agricultural issues
1,500
Born out of a CTA bulletin in 1986, in a general way,” said Souleymane
Spore launched in English and French Nacro, a researcher at the Institute of
3 years after CTA was established. Environment and Agricultural Research
However, in Issue 1, CTA’s stipulation of Burkina Faso during a workshop of individuals and organisations from
for the bi-monthly printed publication Spore readers held as part of the external South Kivu, DRC, subscribed to
was that “rather than promoting CTA, 2015 Spore evaluation. Always highly Spore by 2014, up from 100 in 2010,
Spore aims to ensure the widest pos- valued as a reference source, Spore has after CTA struck a distribution deal
sible dissemination of information of been shown to have been used in multi- with Proximédias Libres
relevance to the agricultural world, in ple ways, including in teaching material
order to fertilise ideas and allow them for spreading knowledge, as well as In 2010, the Spore June/July 2010 issue
to germinate. It is in this down-to-earth practical improvements in agricultural (No. 147) featured a short article report-
way that Spore hopes to participate in practices and in stimulating new agri- ing on quail farming that had taken off in
the process of rural development.” business ventures. Cameroon. The information caught the
Since the early years of Spore, the John Gushit, a lecturer in the Faculty of attention of Thomas Munyoro, a retired
global perspective on agricultural Natural Sciences at the University of Jos, policeman in Kenya’s Nyeri district and
4 | SPORE 195
© EDOUARD SANGO/MEDIAPROD
For 34 years, Spore has been providing ACP
farmers with information on agricultural
developments to help them increase their Cultivating a passion
productivity and incomes
for journalism
a leading light in the 2010 Strategic Self- As a long-standing Spore correspondent, it is not an understatement
Help Group, a local NGO for retired civil to say that CTA support has enabled me to mature as an agriculture journalist. It is
servants. Munyoro read the article in the over 20 years since I first received radio production training in 1997 in order to become
offices of the Kenya National Federation a correspondent for CTA’s Rural Radio Resource Packs (RRRPs), which provided
of Agricultural Producers. “My col- me with an opportunity to report on agriculture in Africa and the role of smallholder
leagues and I had been rearing rabbits, farmers in growing, processing and marketing food. As a result, I developed radio
but they were affected by many diseases, programmes on innovative agricultural issues that were freely broadcast across Africa.
so we were looking for other activities,” The programmes, which were often also shared on cassette and CD-ROM at farmer
he recalled. Attracted by the idea of club meetings, armed farmers with useful information. Some of these farmers, who I
quail farming after reading Spore, they interviewed for RRRP programmes, told me that the programmes had enabled them
researched the topic further and found to quickly and easily diagnose crop and animal diseases and seek treatment, which
a quail producer in Nairobi to source was especially important when they had limited interactions with extension advisors.
chicks in order to establish a business When the RRRPs were discontinued, my long-standing association with CTA
selling quails’ eggs, which were in great unlocked an opportunity to become a correspondent for Spore. This has been
demand for their medicinal properties. an insightful experience, which has enabled me to blend specialised scientific
Before long, Munyoro had over 100 lay- agriculture research and farmer narratives with meticulous fact-checking, analysis
ing quail and his business was thriving. and creativity. Coverage of key conferences, sponsored by CTA, and writing stories
about CTA’s work across ACP countries has also honed my writing skills and enabled
Extending the reach of Spore farmers to share their experiences with a wide audience. This work – which has
As a relatively small institution with been published online and in print, including by international outlets such as the Inter
a large mandate, it has been necessary Press Service – has raised my professional profile. As a result, I was invited to judge
for CTA in all its activities to build smart the 2018 and 2019 International Federation of Agriculture Journalist (IFAJ) Star Prize,
partnerships with farmers’ organisa- and in July 2019 I was awarded an IFAJ fellowship designed to provide professional
tions, government agencies, research development, leadership training and networking opportunities to agricultural
networks, youth and women’s groups journalists from developing countries.
and the private sector to add value and Busani Bafana
bring about sustainable transformation ›
SPORE 195 | 5
TRENDS
› in the agricultural sector. Strategic on the use of ICTs in agriculture and the appreciations and comments on articles
partnerships have also featured in the added value of agricultural products were published in the M@ilbox section of
dissemination of Spore, particularly for is making the Congolese agricultural the printed magazine. In the December
extending the reach of the print edition sector increasingly attractive for young 2012/January 2013 issue (No. 161), one
and Spore has prided itself on reaching people and stimulating their interest in reader wrote: “The magazine has been
places where other magazines found it agriculture.” and is still of immense assistance to
difficult to gain a readership. One exam- Following this success in DRC, CTA me as a government field staff advisor;
ple was South Kivu, in the Democratic developed an innovative partnership in it always keeps me abreast of the latest
Republic of Congo (DRC), a region Cameroon with the monthly newspa- developments in agriculture.”
which suffered greatly from armed con- per La Voix du Paysan/The Farmers’ Voice, Regular surveys also allowed Spore
flict during 1998-2003; even years later, which distributed Spore free-of-charge. to maintain contact with its readership
communications remained difficult. As a result, between 2010 and 2013, the and, in 2006, with the magazine cel-
With little or poor internet connec- number of subscribers receiving Spore ebrating 20 years, the editorial team
tions in South Kivu, CTA struck a Spore more than doubled from 3,000 to over tracked down some of the readers who
distribution deal with Proximédias Libres, 7,500. Readership surveys in Cameroon had shown an interest in Spore in a
a local company with a good network revealed a high level of satisfaction. 2001 readership survey. Tibi Guissou, a
of partners. Before the partnership Over 50% of respondents stated that microbiologist at the INERA agricultural
was launched in 2010, there were just the magazine provided them with use- institute stated that he frequently quoted
100 Spore subscribers in South Kivu. By ful information about agricultural and Spore in articles he wrote for specialist
2014, there were 1,500 including NGOs, rural development worldwide and in magazines. “Unlike other publications
churches, radio clubs, schools, govern- neighbouring countries; approximately which focus too much on one aspect,
ment departments and individuals. The 16% benefited from technical infor- Spore has a more multi-disciplinary
magazines were shipped to the regional mation and 10% from references and approach,” said the researcher, who had
capital, Bukavu, and distributed by bus, useful addresses. In Uganda, a similar done much work on the jujube (red date)
motorbike and pirogue (canoe) with readership survey provided a number of after being inspired by a Spore article.
copies also collected from radio stations examples of specific activities inspired In Jamaica, environmentalist Dr Frank
and churches. Spore was put to good by Spore, including on post-harvest E Lawrence reported that the publica-
use by educational institutions, and practices, biogas, fruit growing, fish tion was his constant companion. “Spore
information from the magazine was reg- farming and vegetable production. is one of the most useful sources for
ularly transmitted by local radio stations. providing information in helping and
Readers’ responses were overwhelm- Changing with the times motivating small-scale producers,” add-
ingly positive: “I am an avid reader of Interacting with readers, and allow- ing that he regularly passed on copies
your magazine, it brings so much to ing exchange between readers, has and articles to other people.
me and my small student community,” always been a priority for Spore. In the In recent years, to respond to the
stated Arsene Birindwa from DRC. “I past, letters and emails were received demands of a more digitally-minded
strongly believe that awareness-raising and selected extracts of testimonies, audience and to appeal to a younger
Numbers of people reached by Spore How readers use Spore
60,000 64,833 Source of information about current trends
in agribusiness and sustainable agriculture
50,000 89%
40,000 Source of ideas to inspire my work
63%
30,000
30,600
27,884 Material to advocate changes in my field of work
20,000
22,654 43%
10,000
11,881 Tool to promote my own work to a broad audience
6,000 33%
2015 Hard copy Website E-newsletter
2019 subscribers users subscribers 20% 40% 60% 80%
SOURCE: CTA, 2019 SOURCE: CTA, 2018
6 | SPORE 195
Hard copies of Spore were distributed to over
60,000 subscribers in ACP countries at its peak
readership, articles are provided in
a variety of formats, beyond just the
print magazine. Increased digital con-
tent includes a greater number of
articles published on the Spore website,
a bi-monthly newsletter and an active
social media presence. Since 2017, Spore
has also been also available as an e-pub
on key e-reader platforms (Amazon,
Apple and Google).
A transformative approach
Highlighting innovation and impact
is key in all of the articles written for
Spore which now focuses on three the-
matic areas that are key to agricultural
transformation in Africa and beyond:
entrepreneurship, digitalisation for agri-
culture and climate-smart agriculture
(CSA). To complement the in-depth
analyses provided, short thematic arti-
cles, field reports and interviews are
written by a network of ACP correspond-
ents who regularly contribute ideas. A
© KUDZANAI CHIMHANDA/CTA
number of these correspondents (see
box, Cultivating a passion for journalism)
have been supported by CTA through
their media and journalistic activities,
including radio and print training.
As times have changed, written letters
are no longer received but Spore’s social
media channels provide a valuable young people to transform agriculture Rodgers Kirwa, who uses the profits
way to interact with readers as well as and make a real difference is aptly cap- from his harvests to sustain his iAgribiz
contributors. tured by the business leader’s interview Africa Model Farm and provide train-
with Isaac Sesi in this edition. Sesi has ing courses to over 2,000 local farmers,
One tweet on a young woman a real passion that shines through for which has resulted in yield increases of
inspiring other young people to get into up to 100% (see Kenyan Smallholders Adopt
entrepreneur’s presentation science and technology. Sharing his Market-Oriented Production).
interview on LinkedIn, he received over
particularly resonated with the 250 reactions in just 1 week – using his A fond farewell
social media audience: “Did network to extend the reach of Spore. Sesi It is with great sadness that the Spore
and Huijbers are just two of a number of team acknowledge that Spore is coming
you eat insects for lunch today impressive entrepreneurs featured in this to an end. However, the archive of arti-
and other recent editions of Spore. Others cles will continue to be available online
at the #AGRF2019? Great include Ngabaghila Chatata of Thanthwe (https://tinyurl.com/tsktwcw). As the
Farmers (https://tinyurl.com/ur6tqgg). current editorial team, we and our net-
#circulareconomy presentation
Promoting CSA approaches (green- work of ACP correspondents, have been
by @HuijbersTalash on using houses and drip irrigation), Chatata has proud to be a part of the Spore story, to
transformed her horticulture farm into report on such a wide portfolio of topics
#insects 4 #livestockfeed”. an agribusiness hub that is incubat- and to network with an extensive range
ing over 3,000 youth and smallholder of partners and organisations. We thank
Capturing the dynamism of young farmers a year and is producing over you, our readers; without your support
ntrepreneurs such as these in our jour- 100 t of high-quality fruit and vegetables and interest in receiving the information
nalistic collaborations for Spore is a real year-round for supply to local hotels and provided in Spore, the publication would
pleasure for us as a team of writers and supermarkets in Malawi. And featured not have endured – over 3 decades is a
editors. The energy and enthusiasm of in this edition, from Kenya, 28 year old lasting legacy indeed. ■
SPORE 195 | 7
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
REDUCING FOOD IMPORTS
St. Lucian youth cooperative
mushrooms into success
Using temperature-controlled technology and sustainable farming techniques,
Marquis River Farm has replaced St. Lucia’s imports of foreign mushrooms with
domestic production, while growing local demand by 400%.
Natalie Dookie
T
o help address St. Lucia’s vast fruits
and vegetables import bill, and the
region’s high youth unemploy-
ment rate, philanthropist Peter Dillon set
up Marquis River Farm – a youth-owned
cooperative – in 2014. In addition to pro-
viding the land and capital to help start
the cooperative, Dillon and his wife Pattie
trained 15 young men and women, who
were previously unemployed, on how to
farm profitably. The cooperative operates
© JO BOXALL
on a profit-sharing, worker-ownership
model where net profits are split three-
ways: re-payment of the start-up loan A youth-owned cooperative is selling up to
which is interest-free, building the farm’s 900 kg of mushrooms a week in St Lucia
savings, and profit sharing among the
workers.
With St. Lucia importing mushrooms including arugula, pea, radish, mustard
valuing on average €0.19 million per and beet shoots. Constantly innovating,
year, Dillon decided that this high value Marquis also recently began producing a
crop presented a good opportunity for 680-907 kg/week liquid seaweed extract, taking advantage
import substitution and founded the of readily available sargassum seaweed,
brand Simply Mushrooms. When mush- of mushrooms is sold by Marquis which has become a nuisance to coastal
room production started in 2014, local River Farm life. With production of seaweed fertil-
demand was 205-227 kg/week; today, iser – approximately 1,360 l per month
the cooperative sells 680-907 kg/week. “The mushrooms are grown indoors, in – the farm is well on its way to becoming
The varieties grown are white (50%), climate-controlled refrigerated shipping fully self-sufficient.
brown (40%) button mushrooms known containers outfitted with air conditioning Dillon wants to take his youth coop-
as creminis, and portobello (10%). units, which shield them from the envi- erative business model Caribbean-wide.
Restaurants, hotels and private homes ronmental stress of a tropical climate. The “This project is not only profitable but
account for most of Simply Mushrooms containers are also hurricane-resilient, it is sustainable, modular and scalable,
sales, as well as local supermarkets, constructed close together, with firm making it easy to implement. There are
including a weekly supply to all nine foundations. The units are solar-powered, many benefits of agricultural import
Massy Stores, the largest supermarket which has resulted in the farm’s electric substitution, such as foreign exchange
chain in St. Lucia. As a result of Simply bill reducing from EC$8,000 (€2,704) savings, and increased employment
Mushrooms’ production, St. Lucia per month to EC$4,000 (€1,352),” Dillon especially in rural areas for young people
stopped importing mushrooms in 2018. explains. and women,” he says. Actively seeking
Most mushroom species need a cool The farm uses the 3 t of high-grade investors, Dillon wants to set up organic
environment with temperatures of compost generated as a waste product mushroom cooperatives in Antigua and
around 21°C to grow so the cooperative from the mushrooms to sustainably Barbuda, Grenada, and St. Vincent and
invested in the required technology. cultivate salad greens and microgreens, the Grenadines. ■
8 | SPORE 195
PA C K A G E D P R O D U C E
Cotonou’s convenience foods
Whilst addressing the problem of post-harvest losses, entrepreneur
Aldred Dogue discovered the ready-to-cook vegetable market and
established Africa Food Mill to meet growing demand.
Inoussa Maïga
I
n Cotonou, 23-year-old Aldred Plan Award from the Young People’s [the design] quite there yet. The goal is
Dogue sells pre-prepared, ready- Chamber of Commerce in Benin, along to get in touch with a company that can
to-cook vegetables that have been with 500,000 FCFA (€760). In 2018, he was provide packaging that best promotes my
washed, cut and frozen straight from the awarded the Anzisha prize worth US$7,500 products,” he says.
field, to some 20 supermarkets. “Most (€6,800). The acclaim of winning the In the near future, Africa Food Mill
of my customers are people who work, awards has helped him reach out to poten- hopes to raise around €253,600 to estab-
who do their shopping in supermarkets tial investors, and the prize money has gone lish a factory. “At the moment, we’re
and who have a certain amount of buy- towards renting a space so that he no longer doing almost everything by hand, so out-
ing power,” confides Dogue, who targets processes the vegetables from home. put is not yet on par with demand. I also
middle and upper-class consumers. Dogue acknowledges that there are still want to be able to start transforming fruit
The young entrepreneur has taken challenges to overcome. “I still don't have such as mango and pineapple into dried
his time achieving his ambitions. “I the packaging I want. When I compare it fruit and juice,” he explains. His ambition
started with carrots, green beans and with imported products, I don't think it’s is to enter the Nigerian market with his
cabbage. I made product prototypes vegetables within the next 5 years. “I've
that I proposed to supermarkets,” he Founded by Aldred Dogue, Africa Foods Mill planned to buy refrigerated lorries for
explains. “In the beginning [2017], I was works with 300 small producers to provide that. And after 8 to 10 years, I will repli-
processing barely 200 kg a month.” Two ready-to-cook vegetable supermarkets cate my model in other countries.” ■
years after its launch, Africa Food Mill
transforms nearly 2 t of vegetables every
month, which are bought from some
300 small-scale farmers grouped into
four cooperatives. “We have a contract –
I'm a regular client for these farmers and
I only work with them. We agree on a
price that suits them and that suits me,”
says Dogue.
While studying nutrition and
food technologies at the Université
d’Abomey-Calavi, Dogue was also
working with farmers whose produce
was perishing before reaching the mar-
ket, and who asked him to help reduce
their post-harvest losses. “I carried out
a market survey and realised that there
was a potential for ready-to-use vegeta-
bles,” explains the young entrepreneur,
who started buying the producers'
© ADONIS DOGUE/AFRICA FOODS MILL
unsold vegetables. “Even though their
sales problem is not totally resolved, I
think that I am a safe solution for them.”
Dogue has several national and interna-
tional distinctions to his name. In August
2017, 3 months after launching Africa
Foods Mill, he received the Best Business
SPORE 195 | 9
SMART-TECH & INNOVATION
© SEEKEWA
VOUCHING FOR FARMERS
Crowdfunding
platform supports
Ivorian producers
In Côte d’Ivoire, a fundraising platform
offers consumers the possibility to
financially support small farmers in
exchange for harvests at a discount.
Sophie Reeve and Vincent Defait
I
nterest-free financing is being provided to farmers by local
consumers and international organisations through an Through Seekewa’s crowdfunding platform, local consumers and
Ivorian online voucher system; in exchange, the smallholder international organisations are connecting Ivorian farmers with agri inputs
farmers sell their produce to the investors at below-market and equipment
prices. The crowdfunding platform, developed by fintech
start-up Seekewa, helps small farmers to create an online pro-
file, which describes their farming activities as well as their access to the plot, the presence of a water source or an irriga-
material and financial needs for their production goals. tion system, etc. “The analyst uses our app, Seekewa Insight to
Investors registered with the platform purchase electronic assess the farmer’s skills. For a project to be eligible, it must be
vouchers for a minimum of US$25 (€22.85), which are then run by a farmer who has the skills. We ensure that the project
converted into ‘points’ that the investor allocates through is technically feasible and will be economically profita-
the website against the farmers’ required goods and ble,” says Serge.
services – such as seeds/other inputs, agricultural 102 In Brihiri, in the south of the country, Sanogo Awa
equipment or labour. Seekewa uses the credit projects have been and her husband used to grow rice on a plot that
provided through the voucher to purchase the ser- financed in Côte was too small for them to earn a decent living. “I
vices. “We don’t give farmers monetary loans, but d’Ivoire through needed to expand my field to one additional hec-
instead supply the equipment and services they Seekewa tare,” she says. Seekewa allowed her to raise the
need in order to improve their production,” explains necessary funds to buy an extra plot of land and
Serge Zamblé, president of Seekewa. increase her productivity. “I now have better profits
“We have partnerships with suppliers who give us very and can help my community,” she continues.
fair wholesale prices. In the centre of the country, for instance, Launched in February 2018, Seekewa has so far financed
machetes are sold near villages for 3,000 FCFA [€4.59]. Our 102 projects in Côte d’Ivoire, increasing the production of
supplier charges us 1,250 FCFA [€1.91] for them. This means crops such as aubergines, cocoa, maize, onions, rice, peppers
that we can supply farmers with a machete for approximately and tomatoes. A total of €80,000 has been raised to support
2,000 FCFA [€3.06],” says Frédéric Zamblé, managing director farmers with contributions from around 50 private individ-
of Seekewa. “Our two main sources of income are discounts uals and organisations, including the insurance company
from wholesalers for the purchase of equipment and inputs, ASCOMA, Compagnie Ivoirienne D’électricité, the German
and margins achieved by selling on the harvested crops,” development agency, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
explains Serge. Zusammenarbeit, and the International Organisation for
The farmer has 1 year to repay the costs of the services, with Migration.
the understanding that Seekewa will purchase their harvest. The objective of the start-up is to finance at least 1,500 pro-
The investor can then buy the harvested crop at a discounted jects by 2021 and to supply at least 10,000 households in Côte
price or donate it to a school or a hospital, for instance. d’Ivoire with fresh produce. “We are thinking of expanding our
When a farmer is interested in joining the platform, Seekewa activities to Benin, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. Within 5 years,
sends one of their analysts to assess the farm’s needs and the we want to be the leading supplier of fresh food produce in
potential for return on investment by analysing the soil, ease of West Africa,” states Serge. ■
10 | SPORE 195MACHINE LEARNING IoT
Offering crop advice Tracking fishponds
A KENYAN TECH company is using
and financing in Kenya a mobile app, Samaki (Swahili
for fish), to help farmers monitor
the conditions of their fish ponds,
and collect data for daily record
A Kenyan agricultural fintech company is using machine keeping and sampling, all of which
learning, remote sensing and mobile technology to boost is then relayed to farmers’ phones
in real time. The company, Upande,
yields and maximise smallholder farmers profits by specialises in Internet of Things
providing them with customised advice and financing. (IoT) based sensors and special
cameras that monitor key conditions
in a fish pond including the level
and temperature of water, and pH,
Bob Koigi oxygen and nitrate levels. Thresholds
are set for each sensor, which
W
automatically alert a farmer by email
ith bundled financing, insur- phones, enabling the company to engage or SMS when there is a change in
ance, advice and access to with farmers, regardless of their literacy condition. The data also enables
inputs, Apollo Agriculture level or remote location. Outstanding farmers to analyse fish growth and
has been supporting small-scale maize questions and/or concerns from farm- monitor the efficiency of their farms
farmers since 2016. To access a loan from ers not addressed in the IVR calls are to ensure they are making a profit.
Apollo Agriculture, farmers send a free answered by calling a toll-free call centre.
message to a USSD code; the company The bi-weekly calls are often made later
then uses data collected by field agents, in the day, when farmers are generally
as well as satellite imagery, to map the finished with their farm duties, but cus-
location and size of the farm and create tomers can request a call-back at a time Digital extension
a unique profile of each farmer. Using that is more suitable to their schedule.
machine learning models that process Maize and bean farmer, Alfred Ayoko, Farming advice at
this data, Apollo Agriculture automatically recollects how instrumental the calls
evaluates each farmer’s creditworthiness were in rescuing his maize during a Fall your fingertips
and, once approved for a loan, customers Armyworm invasion in 2018. “When the
pick up their financed inputs at their near- worms invaded our farms and started IN ZIMBABWE, a mobile app
est agrodealer. Each loan is also bundled wiping out our produce in record time, is reducing the challenges
with insurance in the event of yield losses. Apollo Agriculture sent us advice on how associated with the delivery of
Pre-recorded interactive voice response to control the pest through simple prac- traditional extension services.
(IVR) calls deliver content on farm- tices like intercropping [beans with their Kurima Mari provides farmers with
ing techniques – developed by Apollo main maize crop]. They were also very information on the advantages
Agriculture’s agronomy team – to farmers’ swift in assisting us with access to pesti- and disadvantages of different
cides [in the form of an add-on loan] from crop varieties and livestock types,
© APOLLO AGRICULTURE
the companies that they partner with to financial services, and contact
tame the spread,” Ayoko recalls. He adds details of dealers to simplify access
that the voice calls have filled a gap left by to markets. Since 2016, over
extension officers who, as a result of gov- 10,000 farmers and 1,000 extension
ernment cuts, have been less available to workers across Zimbabwe have
offer advisory services to farmers. registered with the app. It also
Benjamin Njenga, co-founder and direc- contains an in-depth offline library
tor of operations at Apollo Agriculture, for diversified agriculture literature,
explains that Apollo’s digital approach and a self-help toolkit for farmers
has reduced the cost of reaching farmers which includes video tutorials,
and allowed them to reach more farmers therefore complementing the
within a shorter period of time. Apollo existing work of extension officers.
Agriculture is now expanding into other The app is available in English,
Using machine learning, satellite imagery, and crops including potato and sorghum, and Shona and Ndebele languages,
digital processes, Apollo Agriculture is providing partnering with more organisations to enabling greater access for farming
inputs, advice, and insurance to farmers improve access to markets for farmers. ■ communities across the country.
SPORE 195 | 11CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE
SUSTAINABLE STIMULANT
Restoring quality for Zimbabwe’s
coffee-farming communities
Terracing and tree management are being adopted by Zimbabwean farmers, amongst
other environmentally-friendly land management techniques, to revive coffee
production and sustainable livelihoods.
Tonderayi Mukeredzi
F
armers in eastern Zimbabwe are conserve crop moisture. Despite growing programme, to bolster high-quality
receiving training and mate- coffee for over three decades, Muganyura coffee production in Zimbabwe and
rials to produce coffee using admits that the new, sustainable coffee other coffee-producing regions, such as
climate-smart, sustainable practices. farming methods are helping him to Colombia and Puerto Rico.
Through a 5-year AAA Sustainable increase productivity. “For many years, Yann De Pietro, Nespresso’s sustain-
Quality™ training programme (2017- we have been struggling to revive coffee ability and digital manager says that at
2021), run by Nespresso in partnership production until TechnoServe came to the start of the programme, adoption
with TechnoServe, smallholders are provide us with environmentally-friendly of good farming practices was very low
improving the quality and quantity of ways of growing coffee,” says Muganyura, with only 3% of farmers adopting more
their coffee crops using land manage- who has seen coffee production increase than half of the practices. However, after
ment practices, such as agroforestry. among local smallholders from 10 to 30 t training was delivered in 2017 and 2018,
“We used to randomly apply fertil- since 2018. the volume of export-quality coffee
isers but we have been taught new ways Miriam Mwarazi, another coffee farmer doubled from 26 to 51%. According to
to build soil nutrition, such as through and member of the Batanai women’s Daniel Weston, Nespresso’s head of sus-
the use of composts. Last season, I used coffee growing group, was previously tainability, the company bought 20 t of
17 composts after training and for my using unsustainable farming techniques. coffee from the smallholder farmers in
current coffee crop, I used 24 composts,” “I used to carry huge knapsacks to spray 2018. “This project is not only bringing
says David Muganyura, who grows coffee the crop but we were taught integrated back some of the world’s best coffee – it
on a 2-ha plot. Muganyura is also growing pest management, which involves using is bringing back economic opportunities
banana trees as shade cover for the cof- insect trappers. Hence, I no longer use in Zimbabwe’s hard-hit rural areas,” says
fee plants to moderate temperature and sprays because they are harmful to the William Warshauer, president and CEO of
environment,” she explains. “The train- TechnoServe.
Zimbabwean coffee farmers are implementing ing programme has taught us to terrace Midway Bhunu, TechnoServe’s pro-
new, sustainable coffee farming methods to our land to protect it from landslides or gramme manager for the Nespresso
increase productivity erosion, and to use mulching to preserve Zimbabwe Reviving Origins programme
moisture in the fields,” says farmers are implementing nurseries
Mwarazi adds. to increase production on their farms. “We
Although Nespresso have established group level nurseries
has no contract with for shade trees as well as locally-adapted
the farmers, being a indigenous trees, which provide shade
part of the AAA pro- and coexist easily with coffee plants dur-
gramme enables them ing long dry spells, and where farmers
to sell their coffee to the don’t have adequate rainfall or irrigation,
company, which pays a they need shade,” says Bhunu. Seventeen
premium to the farmers nurseries have been prepared from
if they grow the crop which 5,000 shade trees will be planted
© TONDERAYI MUKEREDZI
sustainably. Nespresso at the beginning of the rainy season in
says it will invest over November/December. “We have also
€9 million over the provided harvesting and processing work-
next 5 years, as part shops to the farmers to achieve the quality
of a ‘Reviving Origins’ Nespresso is looking for,” Bhunu adds. ■
12 | SPORE 195Green wall SOIL CONDITIONING
Defence again
desertification
Kenyan farmers reverse
AN 8,000 KM wall of trees is being
built in Africa through more than
soil damage to boost
20 countries, from Senegal to Djibouti,
and aims to stop the impending
desertification of the Sahara. A decade
climate resilience
on from its launch, the wall is 15%
complete, with 11.4 million trees planted Smallholders in Kenya are receiving training in good soil
in Senegal alone. In Burkina Faso, practices and the application of 100% organic inputs to
Mali and Niger, more than 2 million
seeds have been planted from over scale up soil restoration and reduce plant stress under
50 different species of trees. This buffer changing climatic conditions.
should stabilise and keep soils moist,
slow the drying and scouring effects of
the wind, and create a micro-climate
© JAMES KARUGA
to allow crops to grow around the Sophie Reeve
trees. Once finished, the wall will be
B
the largest living structure on the
planet. “It’s not a wall that separates. ean, coffee, rice and maize farm-
It’s a wall of hope, a wall of life,” says ers, as well as fruit farmers in
Niger’s former Minister of Environment, Kenya, are accessing affordable,
Almoustapha Garba. organic inputs to boost their soil health
and climate resilience. The products
contain biodegradable materials, such as
seaweed and plant extracts, which help
to balance soil pH, increase moisture KOFAR founder Francescah Munyi helps a coffee
Weather-proof retention, and boost soil fertility to help farmer to apply organic inputs to her crop
crops survive harsh weather conditions.
maize Since 2016, over 20,000 farmers have “What motivates me to work is to see
been trained in good soil practices and the small-scale farmers who rely entirely
Drought tolerant in the application of these products. As on farming being able to increase their
a result, banana and coffee farmers have earnings and, at the same time, knowing
developments doubled their yields, while bean, rice and that now the farmers who have used our
maize farmers have seen at least a 40% products have cleaner and safer food to
FARMERS IN ETHIOPIA are phasing increment within one season of organic eat,” says KOFAR founder, Francescah
out old varieties of maize that struggle fertiliser use. Munyi, who initially came up with the
under drought conditions, to cultivate a Developed by Kenyan start-up, KOFAR, idea when she saw that productivity on
newer, drought-tolerant variety. BH661, in collaboration with the University her mother’s farm was flagging. “At first I
a hybrid developed by the Ethiopian of Texas and Kenya research institu- was sceptical about the KOFAR products,
Institute of Agricultural Research tions, the formulations include K-Tiba but 1 year later my fears have been put to
(EIAR), uses the International Maize (Reclaim); this soil stimulant works to rest, I even refer all my friends to KOFAR,”
and Wheat Improvement Center’s reverse the damaging effects of contin- says coffee grower John Murimi. Increased
drought-tolerant inbred lines and one uous chemical inputs and enhance crop use of the inputs is also encouraging farm-
of EIAR’s lines. In experiments carried growth by reducing sodium content in ers to move away from synthetic fertilisers
out by EIAR, BH661 demonstrated a the root zone. Another innovation is Tawi which, in turn, is helping to reduce emis-
10% better on-farm grain yield, higher Plus, a foliar treatment which is used to sions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide:
biomass production, shorter maturity, increase carbohydrate levels within a “I used to use 7 bags of chemical fertiliser
34% reduction in lodging (breakage of plant and increase yields. A 120 ml bot- per planting season, now I only use one!”
stalk near ground) and 10% better grain tle of Tawi Plus costs KSh 1,200 (€10.46) exclaims Joseph Munene, a rice farmer
yield, compared to previous varieties. and contains strains of the high-nutri- from Bahati.
“If we experience a drought, it may be ent seaweed kelp found in temperate The company is now looking for sup-
not that bad thanks to BH661’s drought oceans, as well as growth stimulants and port to scale out the training and sale of
tolerance,” says local farmer Sequare specific vital trace elements, to improve its products across Kenya and the wider
Regassa. plant health and reduce plant stress. Eastern African region. ■
SPORE 195 | 13INTERVIEWS
E D W A R D M A B AYA
Digitalisation:
a complementary
process
Edward Mabaya, manager of agribusiness development at the African
Development Bank, explores what is needed to scale digital projects in
Africa’s food market to achieve development on the continent.
Susanna Cartmell-Thorp
Why do you feel digitalisation is so impor- Agriculture, at its core, has not changed
© AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
tant for agriculture? much for the last 100 years; crops still
To answer that excellent question, one need fertiliser, good seed, sunshine,
needs to step back and recognise that soil and water to grow. As development
agriculture is central to the economic partners we need to continue to work
development of the African continent. on delivering these core ingredients to
A large percentage of the population in improve agricultural productivity on
Africa relies on agriculture for liveli- the continent. What is new with dig-
hoods, and yet Africa is still importing italisation is that we can deliver these
about US$50 billion (€45 billion) a solutions faster, cheaper and more effi-
year worth of processed food annually ciently to smallholder farmers in ways
despite the vast agriculture production that could not have been done before. So
potential. Along with this big challenge, digital solutions are an enabler and it is
there is the huge opportunity of feed- important to keep reminding ourselves
ing Africa; the food market in Africa is that digitalisation is not a replacement to Agripreneurial start-up Investiv, has been
projected to reach about US$1 trillion our previous activities, but is a comple- supported through the Bank’s initiatives to
(€0.9 trillion) by 2030. mentary process to allow us to provide embrace technology like drones to increase
So, while Africa has not yet achieved more targeted solutions to farmers more productivity
its green revolution, it is well poised to rapidly and cost-effectively.
take advantage of the digitalisation revo- of African Agriculture, in 2018 there were
lution. In a way, this is the first revolution What are the main challenges to scaling at least 365 ICT and digital solutions
that Africa seems to be fully on board digital solutions for achieving impact and actively operating in the African agri-
with. In recent years, internet connec- what needs to be done to overcome them? cultural space reaching out to around
tivity and mobile phone penetration First of all, I am excited about the pros- 32 million smallholder farmers. These are
have been rising faster in Africa than pects of these new and different solutions impressive numbers for something that is
anywhere else in the world and there is that are bringing a breath of fresh air to a relatively new, but they are nowhere near
a lot of innovation taking place across sector like agriculture which seems to be reaching the hundreds of millions more
the continent. Thus, there is a unique dealing with perennial problems of low smallholder farmers who are needed to
opportunity to use this momentum and productivity, pests, diseases and climate transform agriculture in Africa.
to use this digital frontier to pull along change. We have numerous solutions Most of these solutions are still very
the agricultural sector for continental across the continent and, according to much in the pilot phase and we know
development. the CTA/Dalberg report, The Digitalisation that Africa needs more than just pilots;
14 | SPORE 195© AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK
Edward Mabaya explains what the African
Development Bank is doing to support
we need projects that can be scaled up platform that is big enough so that the governments and the private sector in
fast. There are numerous challenges for different, unique applications share introducing and scaling up digital solutions
achieving scale, some of which are high- information and data, allow the farmer along the agricultural value chain
lighted in the report, but I want to speak to benefit the most, and ensure that the
to two key challenges – limited financ- same information is not collected each
ing and the lack of large-scale platforms. time a farmer registers with an applica- The report was useful in mapping out the
With financing, we know every rev- tion. These large-scale platforms must landscape of digital agriculture across the
olution requires somebody to bank roll be interoperable, meaning that they continent – it provides a comprehensive
it in order to achieve scale. Most of the are able to exchange and make use of description of who is doing what, where
ICT projects that we have out there are information across different products or they are doing it, and at what scale. Before
stepped up small and medium-sized systems. Governments have a unique role this report came out, most players in this
enterprises (SME) that have developed to play in developing these large-scale space were acting on very limited infor-
unique digital solutions that seem to be platforms. Any new applications or tools mation. Now, with all this information
applicable but, for them to reach a larger that are useful to farmers can be linked to about the players, the tools and the issues
number of farmers, large-scale financing the platform. We cannot achieve scale if to be addressed, it is much easier to design
is needed for project expansion within every small project is uniquely interested projects in different countries.
a very short time. We see a key role for in keeping information to themselves. I am delighted to have been part of
development finance institutions, such The creation of large-scale platforms is the team that peer reviewed this report,
as the African Development Bank. To critical to scaling up digital solutions to which now serves as a reference manual
that end, we have recently launched the achieve the transformative impact that is for many institutions that are working
‘Digital Solutions for African Agriculture’ needed across the continent. within the digital agriculture space. For
flagship initiative, which will support my team in the African Development
governments and the private sector in How will the recent CTA/Dalberg digital- Bank, The Digitalisation of African
introducing and scaling up digital solu- isation report inform the African Develop- Agriculture report has been a useful
tions along the agricultural value chain. ment Bank’s work on digitalisation? document, especially by informing gov-
Regarding large-scale platforms, most The timing of this report could not be ernments about the numerous potentials
SMEs are interested in developing their any better; at the same time that this report that digitalisation presents. We are using
own databases and retaining as much of came out, we launched our flagship pro- the report already in the early stages of
that information for themselves as pos- gramme on ‘Digital Solutions for African designing projects and I think we will
sible and monetising that data. However, Agriculture’ and are still very much in the continue to utilise it as a key reference
we know that scaling up requires a early stages of developing that initiative. document. ■
SPORE 195 | 15INTERVIEWS
PA R M E S H S H A H
Building an alliance
for disruptive agri-tech
Global lead for rural livelihoods and agricultural jobs at the World Bank,
Parmesh Shah, shares his opinion on how Africa can enhance its food systems
through digitalisation for agriculture (D4Ag) collaboration and innovation.
Susanna Cartmell-Thorp
the availability of credit and insurance that we can provide ongoing incubation
© SUSANNA CARTMELL-THORP
services is still very poor because we are over time. We chose Kenya because it is
still relying on bricks and mortar models already a hub for the innovative fintech
of financial inclusion (i.e. physical spaces system; but whilst there are many inno-
like commercial banks as opposed to vative companies in the ecosystem on
online/mobile banking). The final thing the financial side, they are not yet linked
is about data; a lot of data being collected to agriculture. We find that Kenya has the
is not converted into advisory services best conditions, worldwide, to achieve
Parmesh Shah outlines how the World Bank is for smallholders very quickly. So, if we this initially but we are planning to then
working to get digital platforms to connect with can tackle all these challenges, we feel launch smaller versions of this platform
1 million Kenyan farmers that Africa can really transform its food in other countries, like Ethiopia, Nigeria,
system. Rwanda and other places, which also
The World Bank provides knowledge and have elements of this ecosystem in place.
financing to help close the global digital Kenya’s most promising agri-tech inno-
divide in least developed countries. What vations will be supported by a World Bank The recent D4Ag CTA/Dalberg report has
are digital solutions doing to help transform initiative, which aims to get 1 million Kenyan proposed a global alliance model to try and
Africa’s food system? farmers on a digital platform over the next address this issue. How does the World Bank
The four main issues which digital 3 years. Is this not overly ambitious? see the development of such a platform?
solutions can address in Africa’s food We have been working for the last We fully endorse the key rec-
systems have to do with productivity, 6-8 months on how we can bring ommendations made in the D4Ag
markets, financial inclusion and data- the excitement in the innovation and report suggesting a global alliance for
based service delivery. Africa is at one start-up world on fintech to agricul- digitally-enabled agriculture as this
third of the average global productivity ture. We have two projects in Kenya sector will not develop unless a wider
for many commodities; the main reason where we work across all 45 counties coalition of stakeholders comes together
for this is low availability of key inputs, with 1 million farmers to increase their to support innovation. The coalition
as well as services, which are provided productivity and profitability. Earlier in needs to include the data, IT and tel-
in a very traditional way. However, digi- 2019, we also participated as a partner ecom companies, as well as agri-tech
tal solutions can disrupt this and ensure in the Disruptive Agriculture Technology start-ups and innovators, producer
that we reduce the productivity gap. Knowledge Challenge event where we organisations, agribusiness companies,
For example, there are a lot of com- brought together digital innovators and commercial banks, fintech innovators,
modities being produced in Africa but stakeholders in Kenya from across the governments, research institutions and
prices are low because there is no aggre- agri-tech spectrum under one platform, other development finance agencies.
gation; digital solutions allow prices enabling sourcing of more disrup- This alliance will create an enabling
to be communicated quickly, enabling tive solutions, which will be piloted ecosystem for disruptive agri-tech and
communities to aggregate faster and with 100,000 farmers in World Bank- digitally-enabled agriculture. And in
command a larger share of the markets supported projects. Kenya, we are working on developing
and the value chain. Similarly, in spite of Our main task now is to create trust this alliance as a proof of concept for
good financial inclusion overall in Africa, between all the platform players so how this could work. ■
16 | SPORE 195Dossier
TRANSFORMING
AGRICULTURE
WITH ARTIFICIAL
INTELLIGENCE
At a time where the world needs to produce more with
fewer resources, artificial intelligence (AI) could help to
transform agriculture worldwide.ANALYSIS
D I G I T A L A G R I C U LT U R E
Making the most
of machine learning
on farm
The ability of agricultural equipment to
think, predict and advise farmers via a variety
of artificial intelligence (AI) applications
presents Africa with the potential to achieve
food security.
Tiane Cline AtlasAI integrates satellite information and AI
to provide data on agricultural outcomes, as
shown with maize yields in Kenya
“
AI is the broader concept of the predictive abilities of AI and machine crucial for insurers who need to know
machines being able to carry learning in order to access finance and the likelihood of crop failure; lenders
out tasks in a way that is con- insurance, predict yields and tackle pests need to know the likelihood of default,
sidered smart. The smart processes and diseases, to run more profitable and and traders need to know where surplus
include machines being able to func- ‘smarter’ sustainable farms. and deficit regions are. But few, if any,
tion automatically, reason and learn by data sources exist that provide this kind
themselves,” explains Claudia Ayin, an Data matters of mass information at a broad scale.
independent ICT consultant. Machine In order to develop effective AI solu- African scientists can now have access
learning is the aspect of AI that allows tions and understand how smallholder to free and open source satellite data as
computers to learn by themselves. farmers use AI and machine learning, a result of a deal signed by the African
“Machine learning is therefore a branch agri-tech companies need high-quality Union with the European Commission’s
of AI that is able to process large data data. The future of farming therefore Copernicus programme in 2018. But
sets and let machines learn for them- lies in collecting and analysing quality using satellite data to predict weather
selves without having been explicitly agriculture data in order to maximise patterns is no easy task. IBM, for example,
programmed,” she adds. efficiency. processes data from multiple satellites
According to MarketsandMarkets, an Availability of data is crucial. For exam- using Watson’s Decision Platform for
Indian research company, in 2018 the ple, climate uncertainty increases risk Agriculture, which aims to combine
worldwide AI in agriculture market was for farmers. “It’s not raining less, it’s just predictive analytics, AI, weather data,
valued at €545 million and, by 2025, is more variable,” explains Wesley Black, a and Internet of Things sensors to give
expected to reach €2.4 billion as more farm planner from Bloemfontein, South farmers insights on ploughing, planting,
and more smallholder farmers adopt Africa. “AI will become essential when spraying, and harvesting. Each satel-
new, data-driven technologies. With it comes to helping small-scale farmers lite provides a digital image at different
the help of data scientists and big tech tackle climate change.” So for climate intervals, be it vegetation, soil and water
companies, small-scale farmers in ACP resilience, crop and livestock insur- cover, sea and land surface temperature
countries are increasingly benefiting from ance is a key element. However, data is or weather patterns. Using varied AI ›
18 | SPORE 195You can also read
