Harnessing data and innovation for Africa’s agrifood transformation

About 200 participants gathered virtually for the Africa regional event of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum 2024 on Harnessing Data and Locally-driven Innovation for Inclusive Sustainable Agrifood Systems Transformation in Africa. Hosted by the FAO Regional Office for Africa as part of the World Food Forum, the event highlighted the opportunities and challenges of using data to drive innovation across Africa’s agrifood systems.

In his remarks, Abebe Haile-Gabriel, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Africa, underscored the importance of digital innovations for the region’s agrifood sector. "Data and digital innovations offer effective opportunities to address food security and economic growth challenges," he said. "By harnessing the power of data, we can improve productivity, make better decisions, innovate, and optimize value chains."

The event featured a fireside chat facilitated by Ade Freeman, FAO Regional Programme Leader for Africa, with insights from experts Dr Getaw Tadesse, Director of the  Department of Operational Analysis at Akademiya2063, and Nelson Mupfugami, Director of Agricultural Statistics of Zimbabwe. Tadesse emphasized the critical role data plays in formulating policies grounded in evidence and facts. However, he raised concerns about the quality, accuracy, and tracking of data across Africa, highlighting a gap between data supply and demand. “Good data can support good policies based on evidence, but the disconnect between institutions and policymakers remains a significant challenge,” Tadesse noted.

Opportunities and challenges in data utilization for agrifood systems transformation

Speakers on the panel section of the event recognized the need to adopt emerging technologies that offer remarkable opportunities for data generation and utilization. Christian Irakoze, co-founder of Eza Neza, an agribusiness that specialises in hydroponics and greenhouse farming in Rwanda, said his company uses data analysis throughout the business, from production to sales including sensors to collect data from the greenhouses, that feed into his business decision-making. He has been focusing on hydroponics innovation to produce strawberries for domestic and export markets. "Data is really important to us across the value chain," said Irakoze. He also encouraged best practices and success stories to be shared to encourage more young people to get involved in data collection and analysis throughout the agriculture sector.

“Data is critical for better understanding farming and promoting access finance for smallholders,” echoed Daniel Annerose, CEO of Manobi Africa.  His company uses data and digital platforms to organise value chains for increased agricultural production. He warned that “data will belong to those who finance the data collection” and urged African countries to invest in their own data systems to ensure sovereignty over the information that drives policy decisions.

A number of forum participants also highlighted the need for African countries to unlock potential in the agrifood sector by removing negative barriers and ensuring smooth data sharing, accessibility and usability, particularly for many rural farmers who are making their living in agriculture and food systems.

Data governance and ethical considerations

Bjorn-Soren Gigler, Head of Data Economy, Digital and Green Twin Transition at the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), highlighted the importance of creating an enabling environment for data-driven innovation. "The enabling environment is critical. GIZ has supported the development of data governance frameworks which enable effective regulation, the establishment of digital public infrastructure and capacity building to help countries better mobilize data," said Gigler. "We must also remember that people are at the centre of our work. Democratising data is important work - ensuring data infrastructure operability and increasing data skills, such as how to analyze data and take action based on it, are essential for success," he emphasized.

Angella Ndaka, a human-technology interaction researcher at the Centre for Epistemic Justice in Kenya, brought attention to critical ethical concerns surrounding farmers’ data collection and use in agrifood systems. "Data equity is important, particularly as artificial intelligence use is spreading," she said. She stressed the need for inclusive data that captures the realities of marginalized communities, including smallholder farmers who often lack access to digital tools and do not benefit from their data.

Ndaka also raised concerns about "tainted" data, noting that some data is manipulated to suit the interests of donors or funders. "We must ask ourselves, are we addressing gender and cultural norms in data capture? Are we capturing indigenous data that reflects local realities?" she asked.

The ethical dimension of data use, particularly regarding ownership and governance, was a key theme throughout the forum.

A collaborative approach for sustainable solutions

In his closing remarks, Ade Freeman emphasized the forum’s solution-oriented discussion. He reiterated the critical importance of data for evidence-based decision-making across public and private sectors, as well as civil society. “It’s not just about data availability, it’s about data quality for good decision-making,” Freeman stressed.

Freeman called for stronger institutional arrangements to ensure data is used ethically and inclusively. "We need accountability to make sure that data serves the public good, especially in addressing issues such as food security and agribusiness growth," he added.

He also underscored the need for integrative solutions and actionable next steps, noting that the forum heard perspectives from government, business developers, researchers and experts. "Digital tools and access to data must be prioritized," he said. "We need clear incentives for data-sharing so that individuals and institutions contribute to the public good."

As the digital transformation of Africa’s agrifood systems continues, the forum made it clear that ethical considerations, quality data, digital public infrastructure and inclusive policies are essential for the continent to achieve sustainable development and economic growth. Participants agreed on the need for continued collaboration between governments, businesses, researchers, and development organizations to ensure that Africa's agrifood systems can meet the challenges of the future.

"This event will guide FAO’s future programmatic work, notably on data systems and digital agriculture, and open new opportunities for collaboration with partners across Africa and beyond," Haile-Gabriel said, reflecting the shared commitment to leveraging data and innovation for a more sustainable, inclusive agrifood system in Africa.