Agricultural machinery, a leading role for Italy in Africa

It is estimated that Africa as a whole will reach 3 billion inhabitants by 2050 and 4 billion by the end of the century. This tumultuous growth will lead to a strong demand for food products that will have to be self-produced much more than today, which are largely imported.

There is no shortage of land: 60% of the Earth's fertile and arable land is in Africa but is unused. It ranges from 46% utilisation in Nigeria to just 10% in the Democratic Republic of Congo. There is therefore a need to bring into production so much available but currently uncultivated agricultural land. Elements that can find an answer in agricultural mechanisation where Italy holds a strong leadership.

For these reasons, the prospect of agricultural mechanisation in Africa was among the topics at the centre of the recent Eima in Bologna, the Italian exhibition dedicated precisely to tractors and agricultural machinery. "It is estimated," explained FederUnacoma (the association of Italian agricultural machinery manufacturers), "that there will be an important increase in demand for technology in the immediate future, that is, between now and 2027. Machinery imports will grow by 7% per year in Ethiopia and 12% per year in Congo'.

"Africa's agri-food development is a complex issue," explains Gianfranco Belgrano, director of Africa & Affari, which carried out a study for Eima and FederUnacoma. "There are many countries, from China to Turkey, that are already committed to supporting Africa's development process. But they are engaged on other fronts, the infrastructure and energy fronts. Italy can play an important role thanks to its leadership and know-how both in the field of agrifood production and in the agricultural mechanisation sector, and position itself as a privileged interlocutor precisely in these sectors. There is also great attention from international institutions, and there are opportunities such as the large African free trade area, the Special Economic Zones (Zes) or even the Mattei Plan that can offer opportunities to produce or assemble agricultural machinery in Africa or start partnerships with local entities to promote training (including on the use of machinery and tractors)'.

There are already a few examples. It is in this direction that Ice Agenzia's Lab Innova for Africa project goes. Lab Innova is a wide-ranging technical-managerial training project for African countries, which envisages specific skills development paths (also in the agro-mechanical field) and promotes partnerships on the continent for our companies. "The work we are about to carry out is therefore complex but extremely fascinating," commented FederUnacoma President Mariateresa Maschio, "because it envisages joint Italian-African planning and a concrete presence in the continent's territories. On the other hand, no technology is the result of engineering science alone, but is the fruit of much knowledge, from technical and scientific to economic and sociological".