04.10.2024
Cocoa 2.0: Digital answers to climate change
Agriculture needs smart solutions in the face of climate change. To make this work, GIZ and the telecommunications company Orange are collaborating in Côte d’Ivoire.
Cocoa is Côte d’Ivoire’s top export with every second cocoa bean in the world coming from the West African country. But climate change is taking a toll on cocoa farming. Drought and heavy rain can destroy the crop and thus the livelihoods of farmers. However, there are solutions – and they are digital.
Digital solutions like microweather apps, energy-efficient farm management systems or AI-supported decision-making can help the cocoa sector and create job opportunities. By 2030, almost every second job in Côte d’Ivoire is likely to require digital skills.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Gmbh and the telecommunication company Orange Middle East and Africa have joined forces to empower local experts to develop social and environmental impact solutions tailored to local needs. Together, they are working to create a local talent pool and are supporting startups.
Digital jobs in agriculture
To this end, they are implementing practical curricula that pay equal attention to trends in the digital industry and to sustainable development in the agricultural sector. Young people will receive training in digital skills and will learn to develop solutions that improve the cocoa value chain while respecting the environment, for example by taking account of measures to reduce emissions. Orange and GIZ are also setting up well-equipped Orange Digital Center Clubs to provide training in different regions in the country. Around 2,000 Ivorian youth, including women and people with disabilities, will benefit from the training. Furthermore, 100 innovative ideas will be supported. 20 small and medium-sized companies and startups will receive technical or financial support in order to contribute to economic and agricultural sustainability.
All sides stand to benefit: Orange is expanding its digital services and finding skilled workers locally. The local economy will thrive as jobs are created, skilled workers are trained, young people are offered new opportunities and farmers have access to solutions that help them equip their farms to address the consequences of climate change.
The project builds on a successful collaboration involving the Orange Digital Centers, which already have a presence in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Between 2020 and 2023, GIZ and Orange jointly trained more than 60,000 people and helped to create more than 8,000 new digital jobs.
The new cooperation arrangement is supported by the develoPPP funding programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and its Special Initiative Decent Work for a Just Transition. It is cofinanced by the European Union within the framework of the Team Europe initiatives supporting sustainable cocoa and the low carbon transition.
