AI could transform African agriculture but access remains a major challenge

News AI could transform African agriculture but access remains a major challenge FILE - Farm workers harvest sugar cane on the property of Charles Senekal near the South African town of Mkuze, Kwazulu-Natal, Nov. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay, File)   -   Copyright © africanews Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. By Rédaction Africanews and AP Last updated: 14/08 - 15:24 Artificial intelligence Senior FAO official for Africa Meshack Malo described artificial intelligence as a powerful tool for farmers, stressing the need for Africa datasets, language models, research capacity and agritech firms, to enable the continent to be not only the consumer but the driver of the technology. In an interview, FAO’s Deputy Regional Representative for Africa Malo said, “for weather and climate services, we've seen a great leap because in Africa that ability to combine historical weather information, satellite and earth observation data was not there and that is now really being used.” He added, “the AI is becoming such a powerful tool, but I have to say that it is not there to replace the extension workers so that maybe governments or the private sector can pull out of extension work. They still remain important and human oversight remains very essential.” The Deputy Regional Representative also pointed out that less than 10 percent of farmers in Africa are benefiting from digital agriculture services, stressing that AI system exists does not mean that the smaller farmers and those in the rural areas are benefit from it. He noted the limitation of connectivity is the challenge. Malo also noted that traditional market information system was only able to tell farmers about the prizes of the current day. He said, “AI is allowing us to really move forward. We can even ask how things look tomorrow.” He continued , “this information will make the farmers to make a different decision. They can make them to keep crops, put them in the warehousing.” The FAO official stressed in agribusiness sector, “this is one of the transformative areas in which we are really looking at this application, playing a big role and making Africa, particularly, leap from in the area of information in the agribusiness sector.” On the challenges, Malo said, “the infrastructure in Africa, particularly in the areas of reliable electricity, affordable connectivity, appropriate devices really remain uneven particularly in rural areas.” Second is data, he pointed out, “AI really requires good data and not only good, but relevant data. So within the African landscape, the agricultural data sets are frequently fragmented, particularly across Ministries, meteorological services, research. And so this hinders.” He also emphasized on skills, “farmers and extension agents require the skill to be able to use this effectively. Although we have young people who can bridge this gap, some government and intentional moves have to be made so that this skill adds up to make sure that it is useful.” Looking ahead, the FAO official said, “I hope that we will not be asking how only Africa is using, but Africa to have that capacity to shape the AI.” He said, “we need African data set. We need African language models. We need Africa research capacity and we need Africa agritech companies. So my vision is that in that, then we don't become only consumers of AI but we become drivers of it.” Related articles From Research to the Field: Transforming Africa’s Seed Systems 14/08 - 12:37 Share More About Artificial intelligence farming Agriculture Related articles From Research to the Field: Transforming Africa’s Seed Systems 14/08 - 12:37 On the same subject BUSINESS Go to video Agriculture: West Africa seeks to speed up the movement of seeds 28/08 - 10:15 NO COMMENT 01:00 Gamescom 2026 opens in Cologne with record exhibitors and visitors 27/08 - 15:45 BUSINESS 02:35 Kenyan farmers use fertiliser made by bugs to reverse soil degradation 26/08 - 16:31 NEWS 00:51 China-Africa media cooperation: Building skills for the AI era 21/08 - 18:54 NEWS 02:12 Duck brigade replaces pesticides on wine farm in South Africa 21/08 - 17:58 NEWS 02:37 Phone app helps Kenya's visually impaired get around 20/08 - 21:40 More stories 01:25 General Abdourahamane Tchiani Calm returns to Niger's capital one day after failed army mutiny 7 hours ago 01:02 Coup Vote counting underway in Guinea-Bissau referendum that could expand presidential powers 6 hours ago 00:56 United Kingdom Notting Hill Carnival kicks off in a burst of colour and Caribbean tradition 2 hours ago