Conference session: Tuesday 22 June 15:00 CEST. Join this session and help shape policy recommendations that build on experiences of using emerging info and financial tech to improve seed system inclusiveness.
This session has taken place. A recording will be shared on this website in due course.
Strengthening seed systems involves improving seed availability as well as access to seeds; including not only physical access, but also information on what seeds to buy and where to get them; and financial resources to invest in those seeds with limited risks.
This has long been a hurdle in seed systems, especially for the last mile of marginal farmers; but recent advances in digital technologies are creating new opportunities to more closely align supply and demand for seeds, to provide personalized information for smallholder farmers at scale, and to improve financial instruments such as credit and insurance to improve investments in high-quality seeds.
This session will have interactive discussion on supporting key players, ICT tools, and fintech for seed systems to reach farmers at the last mile, as well as the policy recommendations needed to ensure such support.
Joseph Chegeh from ACRE Africa—an organization that develops, tests and implements new solutions to improve farmers’ resilience from agricultural and climate risk—will speak on how his organization leverages fintech and infotech to promote stress-tolerant varieties across Kenya.
Rikin Gandhi from Digital Green will showcase how to roll out such early stage design pilots to scalable ICT tools using deep learning architecture.
A discussion introduced by Berber Kramer from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) will focus on how these digital technologies can be used to strengthen seed systems’ inclusiveness, particularly for women and the youth.
Speakers
- Berber Kramer, ISSD Africa Topic Lead: Gender Dynamics in Seed Systems, IFPRI
- Sabdiyo Dido, Head of gender and inclusiveness at Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)
- Rikin Gandhi, CEO, Digital Green
- Joseph Chegeh, Agronomist, ACRE Africa
Get ready for the session:
- https://acreafrica.com/leveraging-champion-famers-entrepreneurial-know-how-to-reach-last-mile/
- https://www.cgiar.org/news-events/news/acre-africa-and-ifpri-receive-award-from-lacuna-fund-to-develop-unique-agricultural-datasets-through-smartphones/
- https://acreafrica.com/driving-smallholder-farmers-sustainability-through-digital-solutions/
- https://www.digitalgreen.org/gender/
- https://www.digitalgreen.org/ethiopia/
- https://www.digitalgreen.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Engagement-Factsheet-South-Sudan.pdf
- https://agra.org/gender-and-inclusion/
- https://issdafrica.org/gender-and-seed-systems/
- https://issdafrica.org/2020/10/08/webinar-october-15-inclusive-seed-delivery-moving-from-gender-diagnoses-to-testing-solutions/