*Tens of the young African entrepreneurs participating in the Abuja Business Forum are leaders interested in the development of the agricultural sector in Africa. Among them, a group of Burkinabe youth who have launched a project to promote agriculture in their country.
African youth explore agriculture opportunities
But while their project is struggling to get off the ground, they rely on partnerships with other young entrepreneurs to boost their initiative.
“I met young people from East Africa, South Africa. And it’s about creating a network and seeing how much we can work together. It’s always nice to have contacts all over Africa when you’re doing business,’‘ said Safiatou Nana, CEO, Solarkoodo, Burkina Faso.
Eureka, an East African start-up specialized in increasing dairy yields, is working to change the dire situation in Africa.
Poor weather conditions and climate change are affecting cow production, already decimated by disease. Yet, the drugs used to solve the problem do not produce the expected results.
“I propose something innovative, for example, to grow food without water. The other thing is to have better methods of controlling pests and diseases. Farmers need to be told that it is possible to keep fewer cows, but to produce a lot of milk or beef. So you can produce more with less, but information is essential in this sector.’‘
A sector with untapped potential, while more than 60% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is made up of smallholders. Agriculture contributes about 23% of the region’s GDP.