Togo’s Guema Batama Wins Mali Innovation Prize for Squash-Harvesting Machine

Agriculture

Tuesday, 04 November 2025 18:12

Togo’s Guema Batama Wins Mali Innovation Prize for Squash-Harvesting Machine

(Togo First) - Togolese inventor Guema Batama, designer of a machine that harvests and shells squash, won the first prize in the category for innovations aimed at improving agricultural production and productivity at the Abdoulaye Touré Agricultural Innovation Prize. The distinction was awarded during the 5th edition of the Market for Agricultural Innovations and Technologies (MITA), held last week in Bamako, Mali.

Batama’s innovation was selected by the jury for its originality and practical utility. The machine notably reduces the manual labor involved in harvesting and post-harvest processing for squash producers, particularly for women, thereby improving the efficiency and profitability of the sector. The young inventor received a prize of $10,000, or nearly 6 million CFA francs.

Batama's initiative to resolve post-harvest difficulties was made possible with support from the West African Agricultural Productivity Program (WAAPP), launched by ECOWAS. According to the designer, the extractors have a capacity of between 7 and 10 cubic meters and can process squash without compromising seed quality.

The second prize in the competition was awarded to Faye Mariama of Senegal for her biostimulant, Silico Derma, an innovative product based on orthosilicic acid that effectively combats insects and pathogens. She received a reward of $5,000.

Kalifa Traoré, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CORAF, stressed that these innovations deserve sustained support from public authorities. He emphasized: "For technologies developed in laboratories and startups to reach producers on the ground, we must strengthen the linkages between research, extension, public policies, and the private sector."

Esaïe Edoh

REFORMS OVERVIEW

STARTING A BUSINESS (more info)

At the fifteenth position, worldwide, and first in Africa, under the Starting a Business index of the 2020 Doing Business ranking, Togo sustains its reformative dynamics with more reforms….

ENFORCING CONTRACTS (more info)

Compared to some years ago when it was one of the lowest rankers under the Doing Business’ Enforcing Contracts indicator, Togo, leveraging many efforts to improve its business climate, was able to jump significantly on the index in the recent years... .

CONTRACT EXECUTION (more info)

Creation of special chambers of commerce for small debts • Creation of chambers of commerce at the Court of Appeal • Civil and commercial cases now handled by distinct clerks • Establishment of commercial courts in Lomé and Kara • Lawyers and bailiffs now have access to the FORSETI COMMERCIAL platform • A maximum period of 100 days was fixed to settle a commercial dispute .

TRADING ACROSS BORDERS (more info)

In comparison to previous years,Togo has significantly improved its ranking under the“Trading across borders” indicator by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

In comparison to previous years, Togo has significantly improved its ranking on the “Trading across borders” index by adopting multiple reforms that focus mainly on the digitalization and reduction in delays, for import and export procedures related to import and export.

CONSTRUCTION PERMIT (more info)

After moving from the 133rd to 127th place under the 2020 Doing Business’ construction permit index, Togo intends to reiterate this feat in the coming edition of the global ranking. To this end, it has introduced this year multiple reforms.

GETTING ELECTRICITY (more info)

Over the past two years, Togo’s ranking under the Doing Business’ Getting electricity and water indicator has increased consistently. Owing this performance to multiple reforms aimed at making it easier for businesses to access power and water, Lomé plans to introduce even more reforms this year to keep up its improvements.

REGISTERING A PROPERTY (more info)

Out of all the 'Doing Business’ indicators, Property Registration is where Togo has improved the most since 2018. Indeed, after spending years in the lowest part of this ranking, the country now seeks to beat Rwanda which is the best performer on this index in Africa. To do so, Lomé has been introducing many reforms, with the latest batch implemented this year.

PUBLIC PROCUREMENT (more info)

From professionalization to digitization, through legislative regulations, Togo’s public procurement framework is constantly being modernized. Several reforms have been implemented to improve the sector much to the benefit of the private sector, which is the focus of the National Development Plan.

PAYING TAXES AND DUTIES (more info)

To improve its business environment, Togo introduced some important reforms related to the payment of tax and duties. From the replacement of some taxes to the cancellation of others through exemptions, the country has only one objective: offer the most attractive tax framework to investors and economic operators. To achieve this, the authorities relied on digitization.