ROME (Reuters) - Italian aerospace company Leonardo and agro-industrial group BF signed a deal with the government on Friday to provide agricultural projects to several African countries as part of Rome's development plan for the continent.
The accord is part of the so-called Mattei plan, a group of initiatives aimed originally at helping economic growth in nine countries including Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt and Algeria, which the Italian government hopes will curb immigration flows.
This month Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said her government would extend the four-year plan to Angola, Ghana, Mauritania, Tanzania and Senegal, bringing the number of countries to 14.
Technology provided by Leonardo to monitor from space crops, soil and water resources, will be paired with BF's agricultural projects to improve crop yield and tackle problems linked to climate change, soil erosion and poor resource management.
Leonardo Chairman Stefano Pontecorvo said the group would provide digital and satellite technologies through Telespazio, a joint venture with French peer Thales and its satellite unit e-Geos.
He declined to comment on the size of Leonardo's planned investment.
BF's Chief Executive Federico Vecchioni told Reuters it planned to invest 400 million euros ($412.24 million) over three years in addition to state-backed loans.
"The project aims to give the local populations instruments to manage in the best way possible their wealth of land, with a non-colonialist approach, offering locals the instruments and skills needed," Vecchioni told Reuters.
The government's diplomatic adviser Fabrizio Saggio said it was looking to sign many more agreements with other Italian companies in key sectors that had been identified with the African countries involved.
($1 = 0.9703 euros)
(Reporting by Giulia Segreti, editing by Gavin Jones)