Leverage Technology Investment GFC 2024

Several actions are key to driving good job creation through investment in green transition technology, including: Structural transformation: Investing in solar technology and systems that include lights, as well as radios and phone chargers for off-grid households; investing in IoT technology to enable remote monitoring and control; green trade agreements, tax incentives and financing tools that reduce costs for clean energies. Agency and awareness: Investing in green skills (defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as technical knowledge, expertise and abilities that enable the effective use of green technologies and processes in professional settings); apprenticeships to bridge green skills initiatives with employment opportunities. Resilience: Social dialogue to include workers in the process of transition and employment guarantees in green development projects; wage subsidies and income support throughout the transition; risks mapping to understand risks of mitigation action (see: Economic Equity Framework). Investing in technology to upgrade a traditional sector – agriculture Agriculture is a dominant sector in many middle- income countries and contributes a significant amount to GDP , particularly in Africa. However, agriculture is a fragile and volatile sector due to weather and climate dependency, the outbreak of pests and diseases, price fluctuations and long production cycles. This makes countries that are dependent on agriculture highly vulnerable to both natural and market-driven shocks. New innovations in technology can help reduce sector vulnerability and provide new opportunities. For example, Benin has around 200,000 smallholder cashew farmers, contributing 15% of national export earnings, making the cashew industry a key economic priority for Benin. However, a lack of data on cashew cultivation hampers decision-making to boost production. Using advanced satellite imagery, deep learning algorithms, and ground datasets, researchers created the first national map of cashew plantations in Benin, causing cashew cultivation to nearly double between 2015 and 2021. Several actions are key to driving good job creation through upgrading the agricultural sector with technology, including: Structural transformation: Investing in GPD-guided machinery, drones, sensors and IoT devices to monitor soil conditions; investing in big data and AI to analyse weather patterns; investing in automated machinery, such as harvesters and seeders. Agency and awareness: Creating public-private partnerships and unlocking funding for agricultural innovation centres; increasing access to and accessibility of mobile apps, SMS services and e-wallets to track market information, view weather forecasts and access financial services; promoting digital skills. Resilience: Financial support such as subsidies and low-interest loans for workers to purchase or lease agricultural technology; regulations to prevent unfair pricing or restrictive agreements by oligopsonistic agri-tech companies; targeted programmes to ensure access to tech resources for marginalized groups. Leveraging Technology Investment for Good Job Creation 10