Dr. Ralph Elsäßer was commissioned as team leader by GFA in the frame of the Policy and Regulation Strategy for Digital Africa to develop the Continental Digital Agriculture Strategy for Africa (DAS). The strategy was finalized in 2023 for the two AU departments AUC-DARBE and AUC-IE and await ratification of the 55 AU member states.

The DAS consits of four elements:

• Situation Analysis Report – a structured assessment of the baseline situation for digitization of the national agricultural systems of each of the 55 member states.
• The AU Digital Agriculture Strategy (DAS) – Definition of Vision, Mission, Objectives and goals; provision of guidelines for the development of National Digital Agriculture Strategies (NDAS) for the 55 member states.
• Implementation Plan with strategic objectives, activities and tasks, estimated budgets and potential implementation partners.
• Monitoring-Framework.

A series of meetings with FAO, ITU, AGFRA, IFAD, NEPAD, SmartAfrica, World Bank, AfDB, Commonwealth, ECOWAS, COMESA, UMA, ECCAS, SADC, EAC, CEN-SAD, USAID, GIZ, ENABEL, AFD, GSMA, ATO, ILO, UNDCE, CGIAR, CTA/OACPS, GFAR, OECD, UNDP and national Ministries for Agriculture, Fishery, Livestock, Environment and Technology/Innovation facilitated the elaboration of the strategy on the basis of the various standpoints and knowledge bases, which delivers impulses for the Digital Transformation of the African Agriculture on continental, regional and national level.

Press Release….