Agriculture is a vital sector for African economies. With the digital transformation amidst a technological revolution on the continent, digitizing the agricultural sector has become crucial for many countries across the continent.

The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Digital Green, a U.S.-based non-profit focused on digitizing agriculture, to empower farmers through digital solutions.

The announcement, made by Digital Green on Facebook on June 2, outlines a five-year collaboration aimed at maximizing agricultural and socio-economic benefits for farmers, particularly women and youth, in the operational regions of both organizations.

The initiative will establish a knowledge-sharing platform built on FarmStack, an open-source data and content-sharing network. This platform will leverage APIs, URLs, and CKAN integrations for seamless information exchange.

"We're thrilled to announce that we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency to maximize the agricultural and socio-economic benefits for farmers, women, and youth in the operational regions and Woredas of both organizations," Digital Green wrote on their Facebook page. "This five-year MOU aims to outline collaborative efforts in digital agriculture, youth job creation, women empowerment, market information systems, resource mobilization, and data sharing."

Ethiopia's digital transformation strategy includes digitizing the agricultural sector. The government partnered with local agritech firm Lersha to create digital profiles for over 1 million small-scale farmers, granting them access to various digital agriculture services.

"Together, we will implement initiatives to digitize farmer registries, enhance digital agricultural extension channels, and improve market access, ultimately benefiting farmers, women, and youth across Ethiopia," Digital Green added.

Adoni Conrad Quenum