This archive report was first published on 17 November 2019.
November 17, 2019
Senegal's Dakar Institute of Technology (DIT) has launched a pioneering AI boot camp to equip local students with data analysis skills and help struggling farmers in West Africa adapt to climate change.
Among the inaugural batch of nine students is Fabrice Sonzahi, a 30-year-old data analyst from Ivory Coast, who hopes to bring his AI skills to Ivorian startup ATA Solution, which advises farmers on maximizing scarce resources like land and water.
"I am convinced that by analyzing data, we can give farmers better solutions," Sonzahi said.
The DIT, which opened in September, is running its first 10-week boot camp in partnership with French AI school VIVADATA. Its mission is to train local people in using data to solve pressing issues like the impact of climate change on crops.
West African countries are among those hardest-hit by climate change, with populations that depend largely on agriculture losing their livelihoods due to worsening floods and droughts.
"For models of climate change, the basic calculations use physics. Now you can add AI, which lets you have better results to know what is going to happen and where," said DIT director Nicolas Poussielgue.
The DIT plans to launch a bachelor's degree in big data and a master's in AI in 2020, each with 25 students.
Not all the boot-camp participants are focused on agriculture, but it is one of the key areas in which AI has the potential to make a difference in West Africa, besides health and education.
