Low farm tech use among Africa’s women farmers – Report

Despite the growing population of women farmers in the agricultural sector of Africa, only 25 percent adopt technology in their activities, a report by the World Economic Forum shows.

The report titled, ‘Agritech for Women Farmers: A Business Case for Inclusive Growth’ reveals that while about 50 percent of farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa are women, with only 25 percent use technology in farming, leaving the other half stuck with crude methods.

“Interviews with sector experts highlight that, traditionally, women have not been seen as primary customers of agritech, and most efforts to make technology accessible to them have focused on charity or social impact,” the report said.

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It highlighted that agritech can help improve access for women farmers, noting that women produce about 60 percent to 80 percent of food in developing countries including Nigeria, signifying their importance for food security.

The report calls for gender-inclusive agritech designed to address the needs, challenges and opportunities of both men and women with the view to promote gender equality between men and women farmers.

“This approach includes creating digital solutions that are accessible and easy to use for women, offering training and support to enable uptake of these digital solutions, and building environments where these technologies can enhance women’s involvement in agricultural decision-making processes,” it noted.

The report said despite their substantial contribution to global food security, women often face harsh working conditions that adversely affect their health and have limited decision-making power throughout the value chain.

Therefore, it called on more women to embrace technology in farming processing to avoid health challenges that come with strain from farms.

“Women are mostly involved in highly labour-intensive agricultural tasks ranging from sowing to winnowing to harvesting,” it added.

Over the last decade, agritech has emerged as a transformative force for building more efficient agricultural supply chains while creating socioeconomic impact at the farm level, the report explains.

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Also, it urges more women to adopt ICT-enabled technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and the internet of things (IoT) that enable farmers to make data-driven decisions by collecting real-time information about soil conditions, pest detection, crop health, weather patterns and other factors that impact agriculture.