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AGRICULTURAL TRENDS
IN FOCUS
13.01.2016
On the way up
Africa’s agricultural sector is in transition: Efficient agricultural equipment, new mobile apps
and further education make work easier for small-scale farmers and increase their yields.
It is a brand new experience for Charles Mbola, Eliah Kaoma and Moses Katongo: They are checking the oil level
in a tractor. The three small-scale farmers have always cultivated their fields by hand up to now. Today they are
standing beside a red Massey Ferguson tractor in a maize field near Lusaka, Zambia. Moses Katongo carefully
pulls the dipstick from the filling spout and reads the oil level. An engineer from agricultural equipment
manufacturer AGCO explains how to top up the oil or adjust the grubber. “The tractor allows me to harvest three
times as much,” says Moses Katongo. “What’s more, the sowing process is finished in a couple of hours. It takes
several days to do it by hand.”
TRAINING ON DEMONSTRATION FIELDS
The maize field is part of the AGCO Future Farm opened in 2015. BayWa r.e. contributed a small photovoltaic
plant to the project. Small-scale farmers from southern Africa come here to learn how to operate, service and
maintain modern agricultural machines. They use demonstration fields measuring 50 x 50 metres to sow and
harvest maize, soya, peanuts and manioc. The site also has a training centre. The curriculum includes how to
cultivate soil in a more sustainable manner, how to prevent post-harvest losses and how to factor in crop rotations
during cultivation.
Both sides benefit from the cooperation. AGCO employs 40 people to cultivate the fields. The company also
launched a school garden growing competition for children to spark an interest in agriculture, and the children
pass on their newly acquired knowledge to the community. In turn, the agricultural equipment corporation sells
more equipment on the ground, helps farmers to increase their yields and boosts the local economy. Like AGCO,
other companies have identified Africa’s economic potential and are supporting technological progress. The
continent is booming. There has been a fivefold increase in gross domestic product (GDP) per head since the turn
of the millennium. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) predicts a GDP
increase of 4.5 percent for 2015 and five percent for 2016. Five of the ten fastest-growing economies in the world
are located in Africa, namely Ethiopia, Congo, Ghana, Mozambique and Rwanda. The OECD, the Inter-American
Development Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have observed that a new middle
class is emerging in urban areas and this is contributing to increasing levels of domestic demand. While
con-sumers spent an estimated US$680 million in 2008, this figure is set to rise to US$2.2 billion by 2030.
It is expected that economic growth in Africa will increase to five percent in 2016. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, excluding
South Africa, are expected to carry the momentum. © Peter Adams
“Africa is no longer considered the poorhouse of the world. It’s a continent in transition. The economy is booming
in many countries,” says Stefan Liebing, Chairman of the German-African Business Association. He is calling on
us to view our neighbouring continent in a new light and look beyond the stereotypes of a continent plagued by
famine and poverty. Africa is made up of 54 countries with considerable social, cultural and economic differences.
The economy is growing in many sub-Saharan African countries. Forerunners like Ghana and Ethiopia benefit
from foreign direct investment, economic reforms and the rising consumption of the middle class. There is no
shortage of young, motivated workers either: 41 percent of Africans are aged under 15 years. By 2040, one in
every five youths in the world will live in Africa.
LOTS OF ABANDONED AGRICULTURAL LAND
Economic potential in agriculture is particularly strong. Sixty percent of the world’s available, yet-to-be used arable
land is located in Africa. Up to now, only 15 percent of all potential agricultural land is actually farmed; a large
portion is neglected. At the same time, the soil in many countries is good and the mild climate would enable two
harvests per year. However, most of Africa’s around 700 million farmers are subsistence farmers. They primarily
focus on growing enough food to feed themselves and their families. They lack the modern agricultural machines,
high-quality seed varieties and suitable fertilizer to sustainably and efficiently cultivate their fields. They farm small
parcels of land measuring up to two hectares and move on when the land is exhausted.
Africa relies on imports despite its enormous agricultural potential. The continent imports 30 million tonnes of
grain, rice and maize every year. The prices of goods are up to 75 percent above European prices due to
transport costs.
Africa requires the expertise of industrialised countries in order to feed itself, according to Shenggen Fan, Director
General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). “Developed countries, including those in
Europe, have a facilitating role to play in advancing this transformation of African agriculture. This includes sharing
technologies that improve agricultural productivity sustainably, promote effect market linkages, and encourage
South-South dialogue and intra-regional learning. ”
The agricultural shift is already in full swing in ten African countries: Production and yields per hectare are
increasing in Zambia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Ghana, Nigeria, Mali and Burkina Faso.
POTATO PRICES FROM A MOBILE PHONE
The digitalisation of the continent is also a very positive development. There is nowhere else in the world where
the market for mobile phones, tablets and laptops is growing so rapidly. More than half of the 1.1 billion Africans
now own a mobile phone. These are usually simple devices with a keypad and no screen, but they are
fundamentally changing day-to-day life in Africa. People always have an up-to-date weather report and they use
the phones to pay or transfer money. Texting services can compensate for the often inadequate information
infrastructure in many areas, including in agriculture.
Even farmers running cowsheds far removed from big cities in the Kenyan highlands can obtain tips for livestock
farming via an app or text and thereby acquire expertise. These services send recommendations from
veterinarians, for example, about when to vaccinate cows or optimal feeding. To this end, users are required to
register the individual data of their cows. Ten thousand dairy farmers use systems like this, but this is just one
example. Numerous mobile and online services make work easier for African farmers. For example, they have an
app that provides information about prices for beans, bananas or sweet potatoes, meaning that intermediaries,
can no longer rip them off. Weather services warn farmers about storms, droughts and rainfall. Other services
allow farmers to network, helping them to bundle their products and share profits as soon as a buyer is found.
Digital technology may even replace pack animals before long: Jonathan Ledgard, Director of the Afrotech Lab at
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), wants to use drones in Africa in the future to
transport up to 60 kilograms of cargo, such as perishable goods, spare parts or pharmaceuticals. And he is
championing this by means of a technology competition and support for droneports (see info box).
Donkeys usually haul the goods. This is why farms can often only sell their yields in their own village. Anything
that is not sold spoils. “The packhorse needs to learn how to fly,” says Ledgard. In the long term, Ledgard wants
to use drones to reach villages that not even trucks have managed to access due to the potholes in the roads.
The researcher hopes that this idea could give trade in goods the boost it needs to take off.
The digital engine driving society: It is estimated that by 2017 Africa will have twice as many web-enabled smartphones as it
does today, a huge 334 million. Around 30 percent of the population will use a smartphone and 97 percent will have a mobile
contract. In contrast, forecasts for the USA predict only 220 million smartphone users for 2017. Mobile phones are the engine
driving society and the economy. In 2015, 56 million people in Africa used mobile payment services such as M-PESA to
withdraw and transfer money. Sources: The Deloitte Consumer Review. Africa: A 21st Century View, 2015; eMarketer 2015;
Safaricom/M-PESA 2015.
BayWa – Active in Africa
BayWa AG and Barloworld Limited from Johannesburg (South Africa) have founded a joint venture for agricultural
equipment in sub-Saharan Africa. The first sales company under the joint venture started operating at the end of 2015 in
Lusaka, Zambia. Increased presence in Zambia and sub-Saharan Africa is planned. In addition to agricultural equipment,
the company offers services such as spare parts, maintenance and mobile repairs. Collaborations and projects are also
being initiated to help small and medium-sized operations to mechanise. Education is also important, for young mechanics,
for example. Here, BayWa is working closely with model farms, for example, the AGCO Future Farm close to Lusaka and
with the Agriculture Knowledge & Training Center, north of the Zambian capital.
„Africa is no longer considered the poorhouse of the world. It’s a continent in transition. The
economy is booming in many countries.“
Stefan Liebing, Chairman of the German-African Business Association
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The average number of agricultural tractors per 1,000 hectares of land in Africa. In contrast, there are 241 tractors per
1,000 hectares in Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, South Korea, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
Precious cargo approaching
Drones gliding over the African steppe: It sounds like science fiction, but it could soon become reality. Jonathan Ledgard,
Director of the Afrotech Lab at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), is working hard to turn this
idea into reality. He is one of the co-founders of the ‘Flying Donkey Challenge’ technology competition, which encourages
designers, logistics specialists and robotics experts to develop energy-saving transport drones. Together with architect Sir
Norman Foster, he is also heading the Red Line droneport initiative. A network of African droneports is being planned.
afrotech.epfl.ch