Ben Guerir – The fourth day of the science week of UM6P gathered experts gathered to discuss the future of digital agriculture in Africa, and dissolved the immense potential and the considerable challenges of the continent to agricultural transfer.
Ken Lohento, specialist for digital agriculture at the regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) for Africa, pointed out striking statistics. He revealed that only 5% of small farmers in Africa south of the Sahara regularly use digital technology, while a vast majority cannot benefit from agricultural innovations.
This digital gap is further complicated In the case of infrastructure challenges, around 50% of the municipalities lack reliable access to electricity.
Lehonto spoke today during a session about Agritech and Digital Divide about strict contrasts between the nations on the entire continent. “Africa is not a country,” he said.
While countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, Morocco and Tunisia have shown considerable progress in the adoption of digital agriculture, others such as Togo, Niger, Chad and Guinea are exposed to considerable obstacles.
Mustapha El Bouhssini, Entomology Professor and Associate Dean for Research at the UM6P Collregation of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, spoke to Morocco World News (MWN) about how digital agriculture and agricultural ecology can shape the future of farming in Morocco and Africa.
“Precision agriculture is with digital agriculture,” he explained, describing how modern technology enables farmers to optimize resource use through precise soil analysis and targeted use of inputs.
The integration of artificial intelligence and mobile applications revolutionizes the farm management, he, he argumented.
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Digital innovations now enable farmers to photograph the symptoms of the plants with their phones in order to receive immediate instructions for nutrient deficiencies or advice on pest control measures.
While larger farms already benefit from progressive technologies such as drones and sensors, the costs for smaller farmers remain a considerable obstacle.
Moroccos Agritech -multi -promising initiative
The agricultural sector in Morocco offers promising developments in this digital transformation.
El Bouhssini said that the country is aiming to “implement agriculture over a million hectares in the coming years”, a crucial step because Morocco was subjected to a continuing seven -year -old drought.
With 100 engineers who work throughout Morocco, Al Moutmir Extension Service from UM6P reflected Morocco’s commitment to the technology transmission
Regarding the Ökoagriculture El Bouhssini listed that your research at UM6P focuses on “pest management rates”.
“These are environmentally friendly means to control diseases and pests instead of only relying on pesticides,” he added.
Since African nations work on achieving nutritional security, experts agree that success requires a balanced approach that combines digital innovations with sustainable practices.
This includes the precision application of essential nutrients such as phosphorus, in which the huge phosphate reserves of Morocco play a crucial role in supporting continental nutritional security and at the same time ensure environmental protection through intelligent resource management.
Both the agricultural experts from International and UM6P today claim to strengthen Africa’s agricultural crossing.
In the meantime of UM6P on the path of Africa’s agricultural transformation, El Bouhssini said: “We hope that we really contribute to nutritional security in Africa by adding the required amount of phosphorus and other fertilizers and other inputs.”
