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Argentina Extends Agricultural Tech Resources to Sub-Saharan

Argentina Extends Agricultural Tech Resources to Sub-Saharan

In late August, ministers from Argentina and nine sub-Saharan countries (Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Senegal, Sudan and Cape Verde) came together signing agreements that formed agricultural tech partnerships, AG Professional reported.

Agricultural tech transfer talks have been in the works since 2011 and in the process, Argentina sent officials to Angola, Mozambique and Nigeria scoping out possibilities before offering a proposal. According to AG Professional, African delegates had also approached Argentina to create a collaborative tech program.

“Argentina is positioned as a leading country in science, technology, biotechnology and genetics,” Norberto Yauhar, Argentina’s minister of agriculture, livestock and fisheries, told SciDev.Net in the report.

“We aim to create a space for approaching the private sector in each country in order to increase bilateral trade flows and the presence of each country’s companies in various markets. We also hope to expert exchange missions in order to identify areas where technical assistance is needed to increase agricultural sustainability,” Yauhar said.

Since each country and their respective ministries have identified specific needs, Argentina will map a deal that fits best for each of the nine African countries. According to the report, livestock and grain technology will be highlighted in Nigeria while biotechnology, precision farming and tech advancement of crop rotation will be a focus in Senegal.

“Kenya has for many years worked with Argentina in trying to come up with a long-life vaccine for foot-and-mouth disease and we want to work on this even more closely,”
Felix Koskei, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for agriculture, livestock and fisheries said in the report.

Fish farming and technologies that relate to the development of cattle vaccines are top priorities for Kenya, Koskei added.