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Abuja, Nigeria, 9-13 September 2024 – The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), in collaboration with Agropolis Fondation (AF), Gearbox Pan African Network (GB), and Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), will host the Annual Implementers’ Forum (AIF) 2024 for the Accelerating Inclusive Green Growth through Agri-based Digital Innovation in West Africa (AGriDI) project in Abuja, Nigeria. The forum, which will take place from 9-13 September 2024, marks a significant milestone in the AGriDI project’s mission to foster digital innovation in agriculture across West Africa, with a focus on inclusive growth, particularly for women and youth farmers.

“Digital innovations are transforming the way we produce food, add value to crop produce and enter new markets,”  says Dr Julius Ecuru, Manager, Research Innovation Coordination Units, icipe. “The AIF 2024 in Abuja is an opportunity to share our experience of how we are integrating digital innovations in the food systems transformation efforts in West Africa”, continues Dr Ecuru.  

Funded by the European Commission through the R&I Programme implemented by the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), AGriDI is a 4-year initiative aimed at creating an enabling environment for agri-based digital innovations in West Africa. The project is designed to increase the uptake of digital technologies by farmers’ cooperatives and SMEs, strengthen collaboration between research communities, industry, and policy actors, and enhance policymaking to support the scaling of agribusiness digital innovations.

Since its inception, AGriDI has implemented a competitive grant scheme, awarding EUR 2.73 million across 9 projects in West Africa. These initiatives focus on co-developing and adapting digital solutions, establishing market linkages, and supporting policy development for digital innovation. The project has already seen the development of impactful digital technologies such as the AGriCef mobile app in Benin, which controls the Fall armyworm in maize, and the SMARTSOIL app in Nigeria, which provides hyper-local soil information to farmers using artificial intelligence.

AGriDI’s contributions extend through its project partners, who are delivering critical solutions across the region. In Northern Benin, the Université de Parakou developed the AGriCef mobile app to combat the Fall armyworm (FAW) in maize, while the Ki@ app provides market updates directly to local farmers via SMS and voice messages. In South-Western Nigeria, the SMARTSOIL app by the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) leverages digital soil mapping and AI to deliver accessible and affordable soil information to farmers. Additionally, in Ghana, the Driving Market Access and Managing AG Value chains (DigiMakt) app profiles over 12,500 smallholder farmers, providing climate-smart agronomic advice, market information, weather alerts, insurance, and credit scoring. This innovation, led by Esoko Ltd., the Agri-Tech company of the year at the 2023 Ghana Agriculture and Agri-Business Awards, is enhancing financial inclusion in the Bono East and Oti regions. Another significant contribution is the recently launched MarketMap app by SOSAI, offering reliable market information for farmers, processors, and service providers in the agricultural sector.

In a region where 66% of employment is in the agri-food sector—of which 68% are women—AGriDI’s work is pivotal. Digital innovations are not only enhancing crop and livestock production but also improving market access, driving financial inclusion, and addressing climate change. The AGriDI project directly contributes to the implementation of ECOWAS’ regional development policies, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals on gender, food, energy, and innovation.

The AIF 2024 will provide a platform for AGriDI’s partners and beneficiaries to share lessons learned over the past two and a half years. Participants will engage in discussions on the digital innovation ecosystem in agriculture, the successes and challenges faced, and the sustainability of current innovations. The forum will also focus on the role of AGriDI in promoting gender inclusion and fostering collaboration between research, industry, and policy sectors. The key objectives of the forum are to discuss digital technologies that enable data access for agri-based decision-making, share knowledge on how data-driven decision-making can improve agri-SMEs and understand the policy landscape for data access in the region.

By the end of the forum, participants are expected to produce nine well-documented case studies, develop sustainability plans for each project, and draft concept notes for national workshops on digital innovation in agriculture. These outputs will be shared across West Africa and beyond, contributing to the broader goal of scaling successful digital innovations across the continent.

“As we gather in Abuja for the Annual Implementers’ Forum, we celebrate the tangible impact that AGriDI has had on smallholder farmers, agribusinesses, and policymakers. From smart soil mapping in Nigeria to market linkages in Ghana, our digital innovations are making agriculture more efficient, inclusive, and resilient. This forum will allow us to share our successes, address challenges, and ensure that our collective efforts continue to drive sustainable development across West Africa,” says Dr Jonas Mugabe, Project Manager, AGriDI.

As AGriDI approaches its final phase, the AIF 2024 in Abuja will be a crucial event for consolidating the progress made and charting the course for the future of digital agriculture in West Africa. The forum will bring together experts, policymakers, academics, and business leaders to explore synergies and partnerships that will drive the digital transformation of agriculture across the ECOWAS region.

Notes for Editors

The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (www.icipe.org), headquartered in Nairobi, Kenya, is the only research institution in Africa working primarily on insects and other arthropods. icipe’s mission is to ensure better food security, health and livelihoods in Africa, by producing world-class knowledge and then developing solutions that are environmentally friendly, accessible, affordable and easy-to-use by communities. These objectives are delivered through four thematic areas – human health, animal health, plant health and environmental health, resulting in a unique framework to tackle the interlinked problems of poverty, poor health, low agricultural productivity, and environmental degradation in a comprehensive manner.

The ‘Accelerating inclusive green growth through agri-based digital innovation in West Africa (AGriDI)’ intervention (www.agridi.org) supports innovations to address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable use, and management of biodiversity as well as responsible production and consumption among farming communities in West Africa. It is funded through the ACP Innovation Fund of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), financed by the European Union (EU), and implemented by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), under its Regional Coordination Unit of the Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif), in partnership with the University of Abomey Calavi, (Benin), and Agropolis Foundation (France) and Gearbox Pan African Network (Kenya).

The PASET Regional Scholarship and Innovation Fund (Rsif) is the flagship programme of the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET), an initiative by African governments to address systemic gaps in skills and knowledge necessary for long-term, sustained economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). PASET was launched in 2013 by the governments of Senegal, Ethiopia and Rwanda. Since then, the governments of Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria and Rwanda, have invested in PASET. Other key partners and contributors are the World Bank and the Government of South Korea. In 2018, the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), was competitively selected as the Rsif Regional Coordination Unit (RCU).