Mr. Wole divulged this information during his panel session on the 26th of February, 2020. The session dubbed ‘Roundtable: Agritech Youth Empowerment’ was hosted by MyFarmbase Africa, an Agritech platform that leverages technology for research, advocacy, and sustainable agriculture consulting. The startup aims to leverage all at its disposal to boost food production in Africa.

MyFarmbase invited Wole Oshin, Ag. Head AgriBusiness, Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc; Aliu Iyanuoluwa, CEO/Co-founder MyFarmbase Africa; Segun Oworu, Digital Farming project Lead, Bayer Middle Africa Ltd.; and Angel Adelaja-Kuye, Consultant to Ogun State.

See also: Event Review: Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC) 2019

“The AFDB would invest N300 million in Nigeria, the pilot country to help smoothen the kick-off of the processing zones,” said Mr. Wole.

He further explained that the pilot would begin in the middle of the third quarter of 2020, and the private agro companies in the country will spearhead the program.

To further smoothen things for the agricultural value chain in Africa, the AFDB will be partnering with the fintechs in the continent. Fintechs will leverage the partnership to drive financial solutions across the agro value chain.

The agro-processing will focus on Maize, Soya, rice, aquaculture, cocoa, poultry, cassava, and livestock farming.

More on MTFC:

• UNDP Launches Cultivate Agro Initiative for Innovative Agritech Startups
• How Logistics Can Scale Agro Trade in Africa
• The Future of Technology in Agriculture
• Dealing with Agricultural Challenges in Africa
• UAE’s Interest in Non-oil Trade Relations with African Countries

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The winners will gain access to UNDP’s global network of experts, agro community membership, financial support, research, and development opportunities. Other benefits of participating include a collaborative process that ensures commercially viable and investable solutions and partnerships between participating agritech startups.

Cultiv@te Agro Initiative aims at bringing together global-leading agritech startups, experts, and market insights for sustainable agriculture. The participants will be judged based on impact, innovation, relevance, feasibility, and clarity.

Application closes on the 14th of February, and UNDP will announce successful applicants on the 24th of February. In the first stage, UNDP will select 78 teams and shortlist the final 52 teams afterward. Each shortlisted team will solve 1 of 13 challenge statements under three themes;

• Urban agriculture: How do you leverage innovative technologies to rethink and create a sustainable food production system for the urban population?
• Rainfed agriculture: How can you maximize agricultural productivity to meet the challenges posed by climate change?
• Livestock farming and aquaculture: How do you ensure safe, sustainable livestock farming and lessen the environmental impact of current practices?

All 52 teams will have to solve 13 challenge statements targeted at 12 countries, which include Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya, and Sudan. The teams will also attend the Global Launch to hold in Singapore in July. Register for the Cultiv@te Initiative here.

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The distribution of agro commodities in Africa continues to be inefficient, leading to excessive spoilage and the high cost of logistics. These challenges in the African logistics system affects the productivity of the agro sector.

Africa has the potential to produce cash and food crops in massive quantities. Asides the need for technology and finance to scale agriculture, logistics also contributes a major role to this effect. Logistics is needed to aggregate large quantities of agro commodities from across Africa for exportation. Hence, the need to establish a modern logistics system for agro trade.

See also: The Future of Technology in Agriculture

Although Africa has large amounts of arable lands for cultivation, a large part of these lands are unreachable. This is due to insufficient inter-connecting infrastructure within and outside the continent. As a result, the cost of transporting agro commodities is relatively high when compared to the cost of production. 

Logistics play an important role in Africa trade but unlocking the potentials require innovation and digital solution. The improved distribution could come through government policies and private company involvement to relieve the burden on agro-dealers. 

There is also need for investments in basic infrastructure such as roads, ports, trucks, dockyards, air cargo, and warehousing. This will ensure that the farm produce reach the final consumer. These infrastructures are essential to facilitate inter-regional trade of agro produce.

At Meet the Farmers Conference 2019, William Stenhouse the Vice President of Agility Africa will be speaking on “The Role of Logistics in Agriculture”. 

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Technology will bring about innovation, the introduction of modern farm practices and a total revamp to the agro sector. 

The introduction of AI Agriculture Bots enables easy harvest of crops at faster rates for maximum production volumes. This bot will perform typical functions of harvesters and relieve the stress involved by 99%. 

Also, cameras and satellites are on spot in future farmlands. These gadgets monitor the growth of farm produce and allow farmers to know what is happening on farmlands. This will reduce theft and monitor the growth and survival of crops.

See:How to Deal with Agricultural Challenges in Africa

Another modern technology that will impact the future of agriculture is the use of machine learning and IoT. More drones and robots will also become rampantly used in farmlands around the world. 

Imagine farmlands totally managed by robots. A farm where robots plough, till the ground, monitor and harvest the crop is what the future of agriculture looks like. 

In developed countries, irrigation and typical crop supervision are carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles are built on machine learning and AI.

And finally, IoT just made the Agro future fantastic. Imagine controlling all this technology, predicting data and running daily farm activities with just a simple remote control – Fantastic right! Yes, the future will be. 

Thus, as we advance into the 4th industrial revolution, the agro sector will not be left behind. Rather, it will evolve into a sector fully enhanced with technology.

The future of Technology in Agriculture will also be a major lecture delivered by Hannu Kulju at the 2019 MTFC conference that holds in six days. 

You can attend to learn more by clicking here to register.

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Meet the Farmers’ Conference is an annual agro event that aims to enhance economic diversity, promote technology in agriculture to catalyze output, and create a sustainable agro-economy for global food security by promoting trade relationships between Africa and the Middle East.

Innov8Agric Challenge is a major highlight of Meet the Farmers Conference – an initiative of Crenov8 DMCC, a multinational digital and management consulting firm. The Challenge is aimed at promoting innovative ideas for early stage Agric entrepreneurs from all sectors of the agriculture ecosystem who are applying creative and innovative methods to improve the state of agriculture across Africa. As part of its goals, the challenge will help the participants raise funds from investors, pitch their solutions to a global audience and open investment opportunities for Agritech startups in Africa.

See also: UAE’s Interest in Non-oil Trade Relations with African Countries

The startups selected to pitch at the Grand Finale are Crop2cash; a Nigerian- based startup that connects farmers to capital and profitable markets, Acquameyer Drone Tech; a Ghanian- based AgTech startup that provides farmers with drones to spray, plant, and analyse soil and crops in real time and Lentera Africa; a Kenyan- based AgTech startup enabling farmers adapt to climatic changes through technology.

Over 1000 startups submitted applications for the 2019 edition of Innov8Agric Challenge and the selected finalists will get all-expense paid trips to Dubai for the Grand Finale of the challenge and an opportunity to grants, access to further funding opportunities, business expansion and access to experts and mentors in the business of Agriculture. This pitch competition will take stage during Meet the Farmers’ Conference which is scheduled to hold on 27th and 28th November 2019 at the Address Hotel Marina, Dubai, UAE.

Are you an agro stakeholder or startup interested in attending the conference? Register here

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History has it that coffee originated from Ethiopia but was transported by some Yemenis who obtained the beans from Somali traders traveling to the Middle East. This happened as far back as the mid-15th century, serving as evidence of the trade relationship between both regions. 

In 2016, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce reported that non-oil trade between Africa and the UAE amounted to $24 billion. The UAE serves as a major re-exporting hub for African commodities.

The government provides ease of doing business by making the process seamless and digitized. Inter-regional trade is supported by a wide range of initiatives aimed at facilitating export-import relationships.

See also: The Role of Dubai as an International Trade Hub for Businesses in Africa

Dubai in the UAE has become a preferred location for conferences focused on non-oil trade between Africa and the Middle East. 

One of such conferences is Meet the Farmers Conference, an annual agro conference that brings together agro stakeholders from Africa to connect and partner with off-takers in the UAE. Its mission is to provide African farmers with opportunities to access global markets, using Dubai as a trade hub.

Now in its third year, the conference is focusing on the theme, Creating a Sustainable Future. The conference will be held on the 27th & 28th of November 2019 at the Address Hotel Marina, Dubai UAE.

The Special Guest of Honor of Meet the Farmers Conference (MTFC 2019) is H.E Juma Mohamed Al Kait, the Assistant Undersecretary for Foreign Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy. He will be speaking extensively on the UAE’s Interest in Trading with African Countries. Attend the conference to learn about the several initiatives that promote bilateral trade between Africa and the UAE.

Click to register here.

More on MTFC:

• Creating a Sustainable Future In Agriculture
• The role of African Farmers in Achieving Zero Hunger and Global Food Security
• World Bank & Kenya’s Ministry of Agriculture Launches Agritech Incubator Program
• Finnfund Invests US$2.86 million In Tanzania’s Africado Farm
• Nigerian Agricultural Sector Introduces Smart Seed Labeling Technology to Eliminate Low-Quality Seeds

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MTFC seeks to bring together farmers, agro stakeholders and investors to discuss the theme ‘Creating a Sustainable Future for Food Security, Trade and Technology’. The conference is the perfect opportunity to connect, learn and network with policymakers, top agro stakeholders, investors, farmers and off-takers from across Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council.

See also: Nigerian Agricultural Sector Introduces Smart Seed Labeling Technology to Eliminate Low-Quality Seeds

The conference will provide insights into different topics like agro commodity trading, import and export duties, financing, shipping, insurance, etc. It will create an opportunity for agro importers from the GCC to trade with exporters from Africa. The sole aim of the conference is to tackle the agro imbalance between both regions.

Registration is still ongoing for participants, sponsors and exhibitors to apply. The event will feature keynote addresses, panel sessions, networking, and the Innov8 Agric Challenge – a pitch competition.

Don’t miss out on this opportunity. Click here to apply.

More on MTFC:

• The role of African Farmers in Achieving Zero Hunger and Global Food Security
• Agribusiness Spotlight: Cevital Agro Industrie
• AATF partners IRRI to Scale Hybrid Rice Production in Africa
• Where this is found in Africa Series – an Expository of African Cash Crops
• MTFC – Abuja 2019

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In 2018, the United Nation estimates that more than 820 million people in the world were still hungry, challenging the goal to achieve zero hunger by 2030. Another disturbing finding by the FAO states that about 2 billion people in the world experience severe food insecurity. In the face of these challenges, African farmers still work tirelessly in the rain and sun to cultivate lands for food production. As insignificant as it may seem, African farmers play a very crucial role in promoting global food security. 

The second UN Sustainable Development Goal is to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. Achieving this goal in Africa will require sustainable agricultural practices and better access to food, land, technology by the small scale farmers who constitute 70% of the population.

The World Health Organization defines food security as when all people at all times have access to sufficient safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. Food insecurity, on the other hand, is more than just hunger – it is as a result of severe food deprivation. 

Agricultural production in Africa is relatively low, compared to other continents. More than half of the world’s uncultivated arable lands (about 65%) are located in Africa, yet the continent remains food insecure. Spending $35 billion annually on food importation has led to a negative trade balance in Africa. These statistics affect indigenous farmers, some of which live in abject poverty and depend on agriculture as an only source of livelihood. Low yields, lack of quality seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and advanced tech-enabled farm tools are few attributes to food insecurity in Africa. 

Africa can feed the world and farmers have a huge part to play to achieve this through sustainable agricultural practices. Proffering solutions to the challenges facing African farmers is key to mitigating food security in the world. The development of human resources will help achieve food security in the world. 

Investing in farmers equals investment in the agricultural sector. Human capacity development of these farmers in low-income communities is fundamental to tackle other indirect causes of hunger. 

Africa has enormous agricultural potential that can be harnessed to feed the 9 billion people that will be in the world by 2050. In commemoration of the World Food today, we call everyone to take action for food security. Arise and secure the future of African farmers to produce healthy food and achieve zero hunger in the world.

More on MTFC:

• Where this is found in Africa Series – an Expository of African Cash Crops
• Agribusiness Spotlight: Cevital Agro Industrie
• UN Appoints Aliko Dangote and Akinwumi Adesina to Tackle Global Malnutrition
• AATF partners IRRI to Scale Hybrid Rice Production in Africa
• Dr. Taiwo Olayinka Afolabi

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MTFC 2019 will host top stakeholders in the agricultural value chain across Africa and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in a highly-powered gathering of top stakeholders in the agriculture value chain holding in Dubai, this November. The conference offer our stakeholders the opportunity to connect, learn and network with business leaders from across Africa and the GCC.

We are aware of the $110 billion market gap readily available for Africa to fill in the GCC. MTFC aims to tackle this imbalance by creating an avenue for agro stakeholders from the GCC and Africa to form strategic trade partnerships that will help them meet the Food security demand, with Dubai as a hub.

MTFC doesn’t just aim to facilitate profitable and sustainable business partnerships, it also aims to provide insights to different topics like; agro commodity trading in Dubai and GCC, import and exports requirements, laws and policies, financing, shipping, insurance, etc. for all participating stakeholders.

The 2019 edition is themed: Creating a Sustainable Future; Food Security| Trade| Technology and is scheduled to hold on the 27th and 28th of November 2019, at the Address Hotel, Dubai Marina, UAE.

Ahead of the main event, we have been hosting Media Launch events across various cities in Africa. We have been able to leverage the media launch events to announce the objectives of MTFC 2019 to the public and also get them geared up ahead of the event proper. These Media events have held in Lagos, Addis Ababa, Abuja, Nairobi, Swakopmund, Kigali and Abidjan.

Registration is still ongoing for attendees, sponsors, and partners who wish to attend. Process your registration here or via email to mtfc@crenov8.com.

Our goal is to see Africa feed the world, together; we can make this a reality!

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Our major goal with the media launch was to communicate the vision and objectives of the Conference to the attendees, investors, media and agribusiness stakeholders in Nigeria. The event served as a precursor to the third edition of the event which will hold in November 2019.

Organizer’s Presentation at the Media Launch

Meet the Farmers Conference is our annual agro event where we play host to top agricultural value chain stakeholders, agro exporters and government officials from Africa and the GCC. The conference is an opportunity to connect with large scale agribusiness stakeholders from Africa and the GCC to learn, network and form profitable trade partnerships that will enable them tap into the the region’s food security agenda and proffer long-term solutions.

Cross- section of the Participants at the Media Launch.

The Lagos media launch was graced by our partners, participants, government officials, farmers, industry top stakeholders like, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria Agribusiness Group,  Farmcrowdy Group, Lagos Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Connect Nigeria, FarmKonnect, Farmcenta, Farmfunded and several media bodies, etc.

The event granted the participants the opportunity to learn and understand the goal of the conference and effectively network ahead of the main conference in Dubai, UAE. It also gave them the opportunity to find out means of partaking in the agro-trade relationship between Africa and the Middle East.

Participant speaking at the Launch

The Lagos Media Launch ahead of the Meet the Farmers Conference 2019 is the 6th for the year, having completed similar Official Launch events in Namibia, Addis Ababa Ethiopia, Nairobi Kenya, Kigali Rwanda and Accra Ghana. The Abuja lap of the event will hold on Thursday, 9^th August 2019.

We announced that the third edition of Meet the Farmers Conference 2019 will hold at the Marina Hotel, Dubai UAE, on the 27th and 28th of November 2019 with the theme “Creating a Sustainable Future; Food Security| Trade| and Technology.

Registration is still ongoing for attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and partners. Interested? Click here or email mtfc@crenov8.com.

We believe that Africa can feed the world, partner with us to make this a reality!

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