TIAST Group believes in adding value to agriculture through science and technology and its vision is leveraged on Industrial technology. One may ask what Industrial technology is, it basically the study of procedure that makes production faster, simpler and more efficient. Industrial Technology is the amalgamation of engineering and manufacturing technology that employs creative and technically proficient individuals who can help a company achieve efficient and profitable productivity.
However, in recent times there has been some new advancement in technology, through in-depth research and development, for instance, the use of more modernized technology by TIAST Group to extract cassava starch from fresh cassava to get the native starch. This groundbreaking achievement is a result of the investment made in innovation as well. We must take note of the impact of innovation in agriculture on a country’s economy.
Innovation is more important in modern agriculture than ever before. The industry as a whole is facing huge challenges, from rising costs of supplies, a shortage of labour, and changes in consumer preferences for transparency and sustainability. There is increasing recognition from agriculture corporations that solutions are needed for these challenges. In the last 10 years, agriculture technology has seen a huge growth in investment, with $6.7 billion invested in the last 5 years and $1.9 billion in the last year alone. Major technology innovations in space have focused around areas such as indoor vertical farming, automation and robotics, livestock technology, modern greenhouse practices, precision agriculture and artificial intelligence, and blockchain.
At the end of the day when technology is adopted into an economy’s agriculture, value addition becomes the take of the day, because the farmer will want to make more money and the buyer will want variety and still get satisfied.
Why then is value addition in agriculture important?
Many rural areas that are faced with a declining number of farm jobs consider the food processing sector as a source of potential income and employment growth (Brown and Petrulis). By adding value to farm products, this food processing sector is seen by some analysts as a key element for rural growth, as well as a way to enhance farm income and provide rural jobs (Barkama and Drabenstott).
In addition, there will be a multiplier effect of the value-added commodity on the foreign exchange reserves received by the country exporting them, for instance, if a ton of raw cassava is exported for $70 a ton of processed value-added cassava will be 3times the price of the raw product. This means more money.
People in the value addition business associated with production should think of themselves as members of a food company that processes and markets the product to consumers. Often, this may involve building processing plants in the producers’ geographical regions to process locally produced crops or animals. However, another model has occurred, which involves building the processing plant wherever it is most feasible and profitable, such as closer to where the final products will be marketed.
It is very important to note that industrial technology thrives on innovations, because no industrialized economy is without innovation, however, these efforts help to grow the economy of a country. This is why TIAST Group is here to leverage on the opportunities in Africa to help develop the African economy by adding value to Agriculture through science and technology.
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