Dr. Astou Diao Camara, Director of ISRA-BAME, and Prof. Peter Quartey of ISSER, Team Lead for the FoW WCA Hub, with some project team members at the launch of the West and Central Africa Hub of the Future of Work initiative at ISSER, May 2024.
ISRA-BAME and the ISSER convened a webinar that brought together researchers from Cameroon, Mali, and Senegal, alongside participants from across West and Central Africa, to share evidence on how digital technologies are reshaping agricultural work in the region.
The webinar, themed Digital Technology and the Future of Agricultural Work in West and Central Africa, featured early findings from projects under the West and Central Africa Hub of the Future of Work initiative (FoW WCA). Discussions explored key issues including AI adoption in agriculture, digital transformation and regional cooperation, industrial innovation, and pathways for the inclusion of women and youth across the agricultural value chain. It was moderated by Astou Diao Camara, Director of ISRA-BAME.
“I believe this webinar will bring us new knowledge and strengthen collaboration with our partners ISRA-BAME and ISSER, as well as with other stakeholders in Central Africa,” said Dr. Marie-Gloriose Ingabire, IDRC West Africa Director.
She acknowledged the importance of joint sub-regional studies in providing a strong basis for comparative analysis and the identification of best practices.
“The findings shared in this webinar demonstrate the value of locally grounded, comparative evidence in shaping Africa’s agricultural transformation. The session is a testament to the Hub’s commitment to supporting the changing face of work with rigorous, policy-relevant research,” added Prof. Peter Quartey, Team Lead for the FoW WCA Hub.
Speakers presented a range of research. Alé Dioum (Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegal) presented on machine learning for climate resilience; Prof. Joseph Cabral (Consortium pour la Recherche Économique et Sociale, Senegal) on AI adoption in agriculture; Dr. Arouna Dissa (Rural Economics Institute, Mali) on digital technology and agricultural work; Dr. Ibrahim Abba (Institut des Relations Internationales du Cameroun) on regional cooperation and inclusion of women and youth; and Ndeye Amy Kebe (start-up Jokalanté) on industrial innovation.
Coordinated by ISSER in partnership with ISRA-BAME, the FoW WCA Hub focuses on strengthening regional capacity to respond to the changing nature of work, with particular emphasis on social protection and improving the socio-economic status of marginalised groups. The webinar was held on 19 December 2025 and conducted in French and English.
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