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Reports on Emerging Technologies officially launched at Africa Innovation Summit

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Reports on Emerging Technologies officially launched at Africa Innovation Summit

Reports on Emerging Technologies officially launched at Africa Innovation Summit
Photo credit: Dronevolt

Advances in modern technologies are occurring at an accelerating pace, ranging from the fields of robotics, nanotechnology and biotechnology to materials science and artificial intelligence.

Globally, these technologies are bringing about transformation in all dimensions of life, and this provides an opportunity for Africa to harness these technologies to advance its socio-economic development agenda and position itself as a frontrunner in the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR).

Hence, on 8 June 2018, three reports were launched by Honourable Mr. Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa, Minister of information, Technology and Communications of Rwanda and the African Union (AU) High Level Panel on Emerging Technologies (APET) at the Africa Innovation Summit II held in Kigali, Rwanda. The reports focus on malaria control and elimination, increasing Africa’s agricultural productivity and enhancing Africa’s energy security.

Recognising the role of science, technology and innovation, the APET was established by the AU to provide advice on emerging technologies and has since identified three emerging technologies that have the potential to benefit Africa; (i) Gene Drives for Malaria Control and Elimination in Africa; (ii) Drones on the Horizon: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture; and (iii) Micro-grids: Empowering Communities and Enabling Transformation in Africa. In addition, APET has called for functional regulatory systems at national and regional levels in order to ensure timely and safe application of these technologies for Africa's economic development.

Speaking during the official launch of the three reports, Honourable Mr. Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa, Minister of Information, Technology and Communications of Rwanda commended the High Level Panel for the achievement of this milestone. He further reiterated his government’s commitment and urged other Member States to harness emerging technologies for accelerated socio-economic transformation of the continent. Hon. Rurangirwa was speaking on behalf of His Excellency Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and Chair of the African Union.

Chair of the High Level Panel Prof. Yaye Gassama Dia emphasized the need to strengthen regulatory systems in order to ensure timely access and effectiveness of these technologies. She also stated that there are perceived risks associated with these technologies and further research is encouraged with full participation of African scientists, policy makers, with active engagement of the target communities.  

“Advances in science, technology and innovation, particularly in gene technology, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics, offer unprecedented opportunities to speed up Africa’s development and transformation process. High-tech, reliable technologies at affordable cost, exist to address many problems in agriculture, energy production and health,” Prof. Yaye said.

Prof Yaye Gassama Dia was speaking while presenting the three reports to the Guest of Honour, Honourable Mr. Jean de Dieu Rurangirwa, of Rwanda. Prof. Yaye is also the Vice President of the Senegalese Academy of Sciences, former Chairperson of the African Ministerial Conference on Science and Technology (AMCOST) and former Senegalese Minister of Scientific Research.

Earlier during the summit, the Chief Executive Officer of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) Agency, Dr. Ibrahim Assane Mayaki, noted that African scientists are actively involved in innovations and have necessary competences to apply the three technologies to address Africa’s challenges and opportunities for transformation.

“[I]n order to effectively advance science, technology and innovation, Africa needs to adopt a co-evolutionary approach in which technology development should go hand in hand with regulation. The function of regulation is to promote innovation,” Dr Mayaki argued.

The three reports will serve as valuable resource in unpacking emerging technologies and building a culture of science, technology and innovation in Africa. The APET has made its recommendations on the three emerging technologies taking into account the capacity strengthening needs, regulatory and ethical considerations, and requirements for domestic and international investment.

APET further argues that Africa cannot afford to play the “waiting-game” in putting together regulatory requirements for technologies that are on the horizon but should be actively involved and come up with harmonised policies, guidelines and standard operating procedures taking advantage of its regional integration agenda.

The APET calls upon research and development institutions and entrepreneurs to examine these recommendations, and further calls upon African governments, regional organisations and partners to support them in taking this work to the next level.


Drones on the Horizon: Transforming Africa’s Agriculture

This report provides a contextualized review of drones as a vital precision agriculture-enabling technology and its range of relevant uses for providing detailed and on-demand data in order to enhance decision-making by farmers and hence facilitate much needed support.

Drones for precision agriculture is a farming management concept which is based upon measuring and responding to inter- and intra-field variability in crop and animal production. It is not just the application of new technologies, but rather it is an information revolution that can result in a more precise and effective farm management system. Drones, described as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or unmanned aerial system (UAS), the latter including the sensor, software, and so forth, have many applications. These include, but are not limited to, land mapping and surveying, land tenure and land use planning, inspection monitoring and surveillance, cargo delivery, scientific research, management of agricultural assets and insurance and crop/infrastructure damage assessment.

The deployment of drone technology in Africa has its own challenges, which may be classified under four broad categories; namely technological, economic, social, and legal and regulatory. These include capability, reliability and battery autonomy; commercial batteries for small UAVs allow 24-40 minutes flight fully charged before battery replacement is required. UAV’s reliance on communications from a ground operator for control make them vulnerable to signal loss from interference, flying out of range or hacking. While the demand and provision of UAS services is increasing exponentially where crops are grown as monoculture on large holdings, the adoption of UAV technology in the framework of small-scale, multi-crop farming systems in African countries remains a challenge.

More importantly, a skilled workforce is required by the UAV industry whose competences range from planning flight itineraries, piloting UAVs, operating GIS and data analysis software, interpreting data, and providing agronomic or spatial planning advice. There exist social challenges, which span a range of issues including security, the right for privacy, data acquisition, storage and management, causing harm or nuisance to people and animals, damaging property, employment, etc. UAV regulations are still in its infancy in Africa, the making and the presence of too restrictive, or even disabling regulations governing the import and use of UAVs can hinder the development of a very promising industry, which could attract and engage educated youth in rural areas. In some cases, government agencies or the private sector are already working on solutions that are described in this report.

In conclusion, this report considers drone technology for precision agriculture as a potential game-changer for the African continent. The report recommends that the adoption, deployment and upscaling of UAS in the context of precision agriculture is considered as a priority. Key areas to be considered in upscaling the technology and realising its potential include capacity-building, enabling or supporting infrastructure, regulatory strengthening, research and development and stakeholder engagement. In this regard, the AU High Level Panel recommends the following to the AU organs, member states and Regional Economic Communities (RECs):

At the national level:

  • Assess the opportunity cost of UAV technology including external factors and balance it against expected outcomes such as food security, improved health and the potential for drones to make agriculture attractive to the youth.

  • Ensure that stakeholders are engaged in all aspects related to the introduction of UAV technology so that potential resistance is understood and dealt with systematically.

  • Conduct public awareness around UASs and their civil applications to clearly distinguish between civil and military uses and thereby improve public acceptance. Safety, security and privacy concerns need to be dealt with as part of this process.

  • Address cost and technical barriers to adoption through either subsidies, licensed SMEs or cooperatives and build a supportive framework for drone governance and regulation to facilitate adoption (including licensing and registration).

  • Encourage and support public-private partnerships for UAV technology uptake.

  • Ensure that appropriate national UAV regulations are put in place. Appropriate regulation should strike a balance between competing public security concerns on the one hand and the need to encourage innovation, economic development and youth entrepreneurship on the other. In this context, encourage National Civil Aviation Authorities to establish enabling regulatory frameworks for UAV technology to be deployed and up-scaled to serve precision agriculture.

  • Allocate resources for R&D (cost & benefits) and capacity building to build a critical mass in all aspects of drone technology such as licensed pilots, scientists and regulators.

  • In the context of smallholder farmers, support crop intensification via stimulating the planting of the same crops simultaneously in contiguous areas to form larger and more rational holdings, which could reap the benefits of UAV technology for precision agriculture.

At the continental level:

  • Develop a continental regulatory framework for the use of UAVs in Africa, and harmonize policies across countries and regions (regional economic communities)

  • Enhance South-South and regional collaborations, partnerships, networks and knowledge-exchanges to facilitate the upscaling and use of drone technology

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