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At a special event highlighting the partnership between the African Development Bank and Korea held on the sidelines of the Bank's annual meetings, the role of drone technology in boosting food productivity in Africa has been highlighted. fully highlighted.
A pilot project, underway in Tunisia, aims to reduce food imports. UAV technology is used to collect and badyze data, as well as to monitor irrigated areas and control pests.
The Bank launched the project in cooperation with the Busan metropolis in Korea with support from the Korea-Africa Cooperation Fund (KOAFEC).
The session in Malabo brought together Korea's Ambbadador to Equatorial Guinea, HE Kwak Ji Hwan, Korean technical experts, senior Bank officials and representatives of the private sector.
"We see Korea as a strategic partner in technology transfer, particularly ICT technologies, drone technologies and technology to improve crop varieties," said Martin Fregene, director of agriculture and agriculture. of the agribusiness of the Bank.
Four hundred and sixty drone pilots must be trained in 14 months.
The use of industrial drones, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, pest control, security and the delivery of supplies to remote areas was discussed extensively.
According to Fregene, after the completion of the pilot phase, the project will be extended to other countries and regions of Africa. "We expect that in many cases, drone technology can increase up to five times the yield of land."
In 2017, Africa imported $ 64.5 billion worth of food products. Feed Africa is one of the Bank's five key priorities, launched in 2016, to transform and industrialize Africa's agriculture and make Africa a net exporter of food by 2025.
The city of Busan presented the use of drones in agricultural and urban management and their current application in Africa, with a focus on agro-processing zones (SAPZ), a special flagship program of Feed Africa, which will be rolled out in 16 African countries over the next decade. next four years.
The last annual meetings of the African Development Bank Group took place in Busan. At the Korea-Africa Economic Development Forum (KOAFEC), the Korean government signed a bilateral agreement providing $ 5 billion in support to Africa. It renewed its Korea trust fund with the Bank with an additional $ 18 million, bringing the fund to about $ 100 million to support capacity building for Africans.
Professor Banji Oyelaran Oyeyinka, Special Advisor to the President of the Bank for Industrialization, briefed delegates on the Bank's ongoing work for the establishment of special zones for agricultural transformation in Africa using technologies advanced and investment in human capacity development.
The partnership between the Bank and the Republic of Korea began in 1980 when Korea joined the African Development Fund (ADF). During the 13th Korea contributed nearly $ 88 million to the replenishment of the Fund, an increase of 6.84% over the previous one.
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