NEC Africa announced on Wednesday it has kicked off a project with Cote d’Ivoire’s Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production that aims to improve and upgrade agricultural efficiency with digital technology.
The agricultural sector accounts for about 30% of Cote d’Ivoire’s GDP, and about 50% of the population is engaged in agriculture. However, in recent years, the prices of seeds and fertilizers have risen sharply due to conflicts, natural disasters, and pandemics throughout the world, and many farmers have been unable to procure sufficient supplies of necessary materials, which has become a crucial issue for Cote d’Ivoire in terms of food security.
The NEC project aims to harness digital solutions ensure a fair supply of agricultural materials, such as seeds and fertilizers, and stable harvests through more efficient farming support.
To that end, NEC Africa is providing its “e-Voucher” solution, in which ID cards and smartphones visualize the distribution status and history of agricultural supplies. The ID cards are registered with biometric information to prevent unauthorized use of coupons.
NEC will also utilize its agricultural ICT platform CropScope to build a database covering 30,000 hectares of farmland to provide organized information on the location, size, and crop types of fields managed by farmers. NEC said this will support crop growth monitoring and field inspection tasks for agricultural advisors.
NEC added it will provide farming advisory functions that suggest optimal fertilization and harvest timing, contributing to stable crop production.
The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Côte d’Ivoire utilizing funds from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank, which provided loan aid to the government in 2022 in the form of a co-financing arrangement aimed at “emergency food security”.
NEC said it will “continue to leverage digital technology and contribute to sustainable agriculture and food security in developing countries through public-private partnerships.”
