Robots attract young farmers in Cote d'Ivoire

A robotics contest being held in Abidjan, the one-time capital of Cote d'Ivoire, aims to entice young people back into the farm trade.

By capturing their interest in technology, robotics and AI and their application in agriculture, the government hopes to make farming more inviting. And it should also beneficially affect harvests.

Agriculture is crucial for the Ivorian economy, with the country supplying 40 percent of the world's cocoa, yet farming's regarded as exhausting and underpaid. Unfortunately, although three in four Ivorians are below the age of 35, many have turned their backs on the land.

Competitor Pele Ouattara gives his personal reasons for participating.

Pele Ouattara: "I come from a family of farmers. My passion for robotics has actually added to my desire to improve the conditions in which my parents used to farm."

Cost appears to be the main barrier in the widespread use of robots, drones and digital solutions. For example, a small drone used for spreading pesticides on fields can cost U$16,000 upwards, the equivalent of six months turnover for a small farm. However, start-up companies are now offering such equipment for hire, making it accessible for farmers.

Faustin Zongo, who's been farming most of his life, is shocked by the device's efficient performance.

Faustin Zongo: "Usually, it takes at least two days to cover one hectare. So with the drone, I see that we have sprayed 5 hectares. I don't know how long it took, but it was no more than two hours."

A base for manufacturing and training in agricultural tech forms part of the government's plans to bring down hardware costs. In addition, private companies have recently been enabling farmers to have greater control over their harvests by using AI. The end result is that more young people are being tempted back to the land, as Nozene Ble Binate explains.

Nozene Ble Binate: "There are more and more young people returning to the land and who are interested - who come to us to use, to request the drone for their fields because they've realised that the real treasure lies in the land." View Less