“Our country has no choice but to move towards these modern solutions. » The tone is set. Saturday, in Yamoussoukro, Bruno Nabagné Koné, Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production, not only co-sponsored an inauguration, he defended a change of course for Ivorian agriculture. The establishment, located within the Félix Houphouët-Boigny National Polytechnic Institute (INP-HB), is the result of a partnership with the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University and OCP Africa. It results from cooperation initiated in 2023 between the Ivorian State and the OCP group. The ceremony was chaired by the Minister of Higher Education, Professor Adama Diawara.During a panel dedicated to training the new generation of digital agriculture leaders in Africa, Minister Koné cited concrete advances such as the traceability of cocoa producers, geolocation of farms and digital agricultural advice. He especially insisted on the weight of data and the need to train profiles combining agronomic skills and mastery of technologies.

The Minister recalled that Ivorian agriculture has long relied on artisanal, manual and poorly mechanized methods. He now considers it necessary to gain in precision and competitiveness, in order to better promote the work of producers.The Minister Delegate in charge of Food Production, Bernard Kini-Comoé, as well as the former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn, attended the event. The latter welcomed a South-South cooperation initiative and pleaded for its extension to other African regions. Minister Diawara, for his part, highlighted the employment prospects offered by digital skills. On a practical level, the first class of 50 learners, selected from nearly 4,000 applications, will return to school on November 9. The two-year course combines agronomy, programming and entrepreneurship, with a 170-hectare experimental farm where drones, soil analysis and water management will serve as learning areas.

The challenge of training is now on.It remains to transform the trial for the benefit of producers.