Morocco’s HBZ-Group start-up arm recognised at 2020 1st edition AfricaGoesDigital Forum for innovative precision agriculture pilot project.

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Dakhla, Western Sahara, February 2020

 

Earlier this week, executives from over +20 African startups, government bodies and institutions met in Dakhla, Western Sahara during an ‘experience capitalisation workshop’ organised by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) and AI For Climate Global Forum.

The gathering saw participants debate and reflect on their extensive and diverse experiences in the digitisation domain: from the development and deployment of a range of mobile applications to remote sensed imagery acquired via both satellite and unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

Many featured experiences in the use of digital solutions to support conservation efforts in protected areas, improve data analytics and help enterprises monitor infrastructure, real estate development, and oil and gas operations

 

Amongst the standouts of this edition, the Environmental and Agriculture Tech team at HBZ-Group (North Africa) for the design of a ground-breaking farm management software currently being piloted with the support of established Moroccan agro-leaders.

 

Lead member of HBZ-Group Start-Up Accelerator Soukaina Rabii presented the landmark report to members attending the panel on Climate Solutions. The report effectively showcased how the solution will allow farmers to coordinate activities and plans in real-time with agronomists and contractors in order to effectively support time-critical business decisions. (Note: Miss Rabii had previously been recognised with the 2019 Science Innovation for her proof-of-concept for a web-based e-Health application in Morocco and contributions to the health tech industry).

 

Simple yet creative and impactful, the solution onboards farmers on a mobile app, but the unique value lies in that it integrates one of the largest and most comprehensive set of cutting-edge devices and analysis tools including: field measurements, satellite images, algorithms and precise imagery captured by drones to help farmers assess water and input needs to optimise harvesting.

Low-cost, low-carbon yet high-impact and easy to scale, the solution offers a climate-friendly alternative to Morocco’s resource-intensive agriculture industry, which has struggled with water management, unreliable infrastructure, fragmented policy support and gaps in funding.

 

Other worthy highlights, participants in the workshops endorsed a proposal to form a unified body where individual enterprise assets could coalesce and result in powerful synergies, with the shared objective of accelerating the digital transformation of Africa (with a focus UAS-based services).

‘If achieved, this would create an opportunity to further consolidate the pan-African industry association of digital operators’, concluded Dr Abdelaziz Lawani, CEO of Global Partners and Assistant Professor, Eastern Kentucky University in the USA.