News

From October 21 to 25, 2024 in Lomé, CORAF organized, under the sponsorship of the Ministry of Agriculture, Village Hydraulics and Rural Development, as well as Togo's Ministry of Higher Education and Research, the 4ᵉ edition of the Market for Agricultural Innovations and Technologies (MITA).

This MITA, coupled with the 1st edition of the West and Central African Youth Sleep and the 1st edition of the Abdoulaye TOURE Agricultural Innovation Prize, registered 264 participants, including 42 online, 84 women and 73 young people. 

Participants came from 16 countries in West, Central and East Africa: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Gambia, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.

Held under the theme "Facilitating access to agricultural technologies and innovations for the integrated management of pests, plagues and diseases of plants and animals".this edition of the innovation market showcased 67 technologies and innovations. In addition to discussions in the exhibition hall and at the MITA 2024 fair site, participants discovered 53 technologies, including 38 crop varieties, 15 agricultural machines/tools and animal technologies, during a visit to the agricultural technology park of the Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA) in Davié (north of Lomé). 

1st West and Central African Youth Summit a success

MITA 2024 was also marked by the organization of the 1st Youth Summit. Bringing together more than a hundred young people, it was marked by the presentation of four (04) young agri-entrepreneurial projects in pitch form before a jury made up of representatives of financial institutions and business leaders, focusing on (i) Digitization of meat distribution, (ii) Ecotourism and Local African Gastronomy, (iii) Infant purées made from local fruit and vegetables, and (iv) the development of a biological insecticide to combat cocoa mirids.

Under the ABDOULAYE TOURE Agricultural Innovation Prize, also in its first year, six (06) prizes worth 10,000 US dollars (around 6,000,000 FCFA) were awarded to 6 recipients in recognition of their contribution to building a better future through cutting-edge agricultural innovations that have a positive impact on the activities of farmers in West and Central Africa. 

In addition to these highlights, the closing ceremony was marked by the signing of a collaboration agreement between CORAF and ICIPE. Through this agreement, the two institutions pledge to work in synergy to meet the challenges in the agricultural sector in order to guarantee food security in Africa.

At the close of MITA 2024, CORAF announced that the next edition will be held from October 20 to 24, 2025 in Mali under the theme "Technologies and innovations for integrated soil management". It will also be coupled with the Abdoulaye TOURE Agricultural Innovations Prize and the Youth Summit."

The MITA, which closed on a note of satisfaction from all participants and partners, notably the GGGI, the World Bank, USAID, ECOWAS/IDB, SDC and ROPPA, proved once again that "bilateral, regional and international cooperation is essential for sharing knowledge, resources and skills for the development of the agricultural sector".