By lowering food waste, expanding the channels available for information sharing, and developing platforms that make it simple for farmers to obtain financing for crop diversification, technology may contribute to the global effort to end hunger, as captioned by Entrepreneurng report.
Listed below is how this problem could be solved:
1. Reduction in loss of food or crops
According to some, food and crop waste is the biggest issue in Africa because the continent produces more than enough food to sustain its inhabitants. That makes sense because a sizable portion of crop loss is attributable to post-harvest losses.
At this level, the main issues are inadequate methods of storage and transportation. After production, the journey between the farm and the target markets frequently causes spoilage and a decline in the quality of farm food due to inadequate road networks, which inevitably lowers the price smallholder farmers receive for their harvest. The good news is that more people are beginning to develop solutions for the clear issue.
Technology is already being applied to reduce food waste in Nigeria. Cold Hub, a storage startup, uses solar technology to store and extend the shelf life of perishable items. To lessen the effects of food waste on the continent, technologies like this should be used everywhere throughout Africa.
2. more platforms for farmers to receive information should be created.
This is one of the most crucial areas where technology can make a significant difference in continents where food losses happen at the beginning of the value chain.
Data must direct farmers’ agricultural activities if they are to increase productivity and minimize losses. Access to current information is just as crucial for making the best judgments as facts. At Thrive Agric, this has always been at the core of what we do. Using mobile technology, we communicate with our farmers on the ideal planting dates for optimum yield, climate updates, and fertilizer application methods. This needs to be done more often throughout Africa.
3. There should be an Increase in the number of digital platforms being developed to finance agriculture.
The biggest challenge that farmers around the world confront is limited access to financing. This restriction makes farming activity development and diversification challenging and almost impossible, which eventually results in low yield and low food output.
Yet in recent years, technology-driven loan platforms have proliferated across numerous continents and nations. We understand that expanding food production, which involves money, is the only way to guarantee food security in Africa and the rest of the globe.
Conclusion
It is an intent to think around methods we can make Agriculture lucrative for them, enhance food production, and ultimately create an Africa that can feed itself because we know that the burden of food production in Africa primarily rests on the backs of smallholder farmers.