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The Davié agricultural technology park in Togo, run by the Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA), opened its doors to Togo's agricultural producers and livestock breeders on Wednesday, September 11, 2024. This open day, organized in partnership with CORAF as part of the FSRP and iREACH projects, enabled participants to discover the latest technological advances developed to improve agricultural and livestock production systems.

During her visit to the park in Davié, Dr Caroline MAKAMTO SOBGUI, Technical Operations Manager for the iREACH project, was delighted with the progress made at the Davié park. She praised the innovations on display, ranging from plant technologies to animal technologies, which were still absent last year. "Togo has done a remarkable job in setting up this technology park. Agricultural technology parks are interfaces between the world of research and producers. They enable agricultural players to familiarize themselves with innovations which, without these platforms, would remain confined to research laboratories. It's a platform facilitating interaction between players in the agricultural world around agricultural technologies to facilitate their scaling-up", she declared. 

Innovations to transform agriculture

Agricultural technology parks, set up in 9 West and Central African countries by CORAF, are dynamic platforms that bring agricultural innovations closer to producers. At Davié, several technologies were highlighted, including short-cycle climate-smart seeds, technologies for aquaculture, rabbit, pig and poultry farming, agronomic practices and agri-food processing solutions.

" For ITRA, it's a question of showing the agricultural world that we are working to develop varieties that are resistant to climate change, in order to help producers improve their yields," insisted Dr Lardja Douti, General Manager of ITRA, emphasizing the importance of this day. 

This technology park plays a key role in bringing researchers and growers together, bridging the gap between theory and practice. Research results, tested on different varieties and soil conditions, are presented to growers in a practical environment where they can evaluate and adopt these technologies for their own farms.

Towards technology adoption

" I saw a lot in the park that I can share with my collaborators so that it will bring improvements to our lives on the Gadzagan Agricultural Planned Development Area (ZAAP). For example, I was so impressed by the variety of chili pepper that was presented here that we'll be coming back to get the seeds for our production. We have places to grow them and little by little we're going to adopt them," said Monique AGBAKLA, President of the Gadzagan ZAAP, during her visit to the Davié technology park during the open day. 

" I produce corn, cassava and soybeans, as well as pigs. I'd like to thank the government and CORAF for all the efforts they've made to help producers," confided Atadji Barry, president of the maritime region's livestock farmers, who attended the open day.  

In addition to this open day, regular visits are planned for potential users of the technologies and innovations on display. ITRA, with the support of CORAF, is working in partnership with the region's universities and agricultural schools to help improve the training of tomorrow's agricultural players, while reinforcing the widespread adoption of agricultural technologies.

It should be noted that the Davié agricultural technology park initiative began in 2023 with technical and financial support from the FSRP and iREACH projects coordinated by CORAF. 

Several other agricultural technology parks are being set up in Togo to bring producers closer to available technologies and innovations, so that they can integrate them into their production systems. Thanks to these agricultural technology parks, Togolese producers have concrete tools at their disposal to improve productivity and respond to current climatic and economic challenges.