The African Development Bank (AfDB), yesterday hosted a workshop in Tunis to share lessons from its drone pilot project helping to improve agricultural productivity in the Sidi Bouzid region of central Tunisia.
The project, launched by the Bank in conjunction with the Tunisian Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, as well as the Busan Metropolitan City in Korea, has trained forty Tunisian drone pilots and involves deploying the technology to collect and analyze data, monitor and optimize irrigated systems, detect early diseases and combat pests.
More than 100 participants from the public and private sectors attended the workshop, which also explored the use of drones for preparation, supervision and evaluation of agricultural schemes, as well as best practices for scalability in other African countries.
The Bank also underscored its High Five priorities and other interventions designed to modernize agriculture in Africa.
In 2017, Africa imported $64.5 billion worth of food. ‘Feed Africa’, one of the Bank’s High 5 priorities is aimed at transforming and industrializing African agriculture, making the continent a net food exporter by 2025.
SOURCE: AGRONIGERIA