Tech draws Ivory Coast youth back to the fields
Innovation Takes Flight in Ivory Coast’s Passion Fruit Fields
The world’s premier cocoa producer is now turning to drones to keep its perishable crops healthy and its farmers profitable.
Drone Sprayers Reduce Time, Cut Costs
- Speed increase: 10 minutes per hectare versus two days with hand‑held planters.
- Affordability: 27 dollars per square hectare – a fraction of the 16,000‑dollar cost of a full‑size pesticide‑drone.
- Community outreach: Engineers, start‑ups and research institutes are training farmers in new technologies.
Robotics Hints at a New Agri‑Tech Boom
In Abidjan, students raced to design farm‑robots for the future. The competition is part of a larger drive to tempt the nation’s young population back to the plough.
Although less than 30 percent of farms are mechanised, the Ivory Coast’s digital transition ministry is launching a centre for manufacturing cutting‑edge inventions and training farmers. Urielle Diaih warned that without modern technologies the farming sector could die out.
Start‑ups Offer Data‑Driven Guidance
- Jool: Software that predicts the best crops and detects disease before it spreads. Yield gains of over 40 percent.
- Investiv: Cameras and drones that generate inexpensive, actionable data on pest presence.
- Facilitators are encouraging farms to adopt “Agriculture 4.0” – a blend of robotics, AI and analytics.
The Future Is Here, But Who Can Pay?
While high‑tech drones can cost up to nine million CFA francs, entrepreneurs are creating rental and leasing options that let small farmers access equipment without breaking the bank.
With this modern approach, Ivory Coast is poised to keep its dominant position in global cocoa, while nurturing a new generation of tech‑savvy agriculturalists.
