Rabat – OCP Africa, a subsidiary of Moroccan phosphate and fertilizer giant OCP Group, has partnered with Microsoft’s Africa Transformation Office with the aim of strengthening food security in Africa.
Announced at the 5th United Nations conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5) in Doha, Qatar, the partnership seeks to support smallholder farmers and other Agri-stakeholders across the continent by 2025.
OCP Africa will work with the technology company to scale up its digital agriculture platform by integrating innovative technologies, including the cloud and Agri data platform.
The platform will help improve farmer productivity while helping them manage their businesses. It will also ensure their access to products and Agri-services and facilitate their communication with stakeholders.
In addition, the collaboration will be an opportunity for OCP Africa to explore the use of big data, machine learning, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
“We believe that precision farming, driven by the adoption of advanced technologies in agriculture, will revolutionize food production and help end hunger and poverty in Africa,” said General Manager for Microsoft Africa Cluster Wael Elkabbany.
Read also: OCP CEO: Africa Has Potential to Solve World’s Food Security Issues
For Elkabbany, technology is the “key factor to enabling and increasing access to finance, equipment, and sustainability for rural farmers, empowering local farmers in Africa.”
He believes that OCP Africa and Microsoft’s partnership will have a direct positive impact on smallholder farmers, as well as improve agricultural production.
African agriculture is witnessing a “moment of transformation,” said CEO of OCP Africa Mohamed Anouar Jamali, stressing the valuable opportunities that farmers, and the industry as a whole, have.
The digitization of agricultural practices will help smallholder farmers optimize their decision-making, he explained, arguing that it will in turn optimize production.
“The partnership between OCP Africa and Microsoft will allow us to increase the services provided and scale up our digital platform, expand our reach, and have an even bigger impact on food security across the continent,” Jamali concluded.
The partnership comes at a time when the African continent is suffering from looming food insecurity, pushing the Moroccan fertilizer giant to launch various initiatives across the continent to enhance smallholder farmers’ resilience in the face of this crisis.
