In Cote d’Ivoire, the agricultural sector accounts for about 30% of the gross domestic product (GDP), and about 50% of the population is engaged in agriculture. However, in recent years, the prices of seeds and fertilizers have risen sharply due to conflicts, natural disasters, and pandemics throughout the world, and many farmers have been unable to procure sufficient supplies of necessary materials.
In response, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the African Development Bank provided loan aid to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire in the form of a co-financing arrangement aimed at “emergency food security” (*1). This project was implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture of Côte d’Ivoire utilizing funds from this financial support. It aims to support the smooth distribution of agricultural inputs and improve agricultural production through digitalization.
Specifically, NEC will provide two services “e-Voucher,” and the agricultural ICT platform “CropScope” (*2). Furthermore, NEC will enable centralized management of these services using unique IDs assigned to each farmer.