East Africa Advances a Unified Digital Innovation Agenda for Agrifood Systems Transformation

Held in Addis Ababa, the East Africa Regional Digital Innovation Workshop for Agrifood Systems Transformation brought together government representatives, national digital agriculture focal points and FAO experts to strengthen coordination on digital initiatives across the subregion. 
The workshop provided a platform for participating countries to exchange experiences, review progress and identify shared priorities to advance regional collaboration on digital solutions for agrifood systems.

Agriculture remains central to livelihoods and national economies in East Africa, employing over 70 percent of the population, yet the sector continues to face challenges related to climate variability, limited access to markets and inputs, data gaps and low productivity. Digitalization offers significant opportunities to address these constraints by improving productivity, service delivery and the resilience of smallholder farmers. FAO is supporting countries to build coherent, scalable and inclusive digital innovation ecosystems to accelerate this transformation.

Representatives from Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda presented national digital agriculture initiatives and roadmaps, highlighting efforts to strengthen agricultural data systems, modernize advisory and extension services, expand geospatial tools and improve farmer registration processes. Despite diverse approaches, countries identified common needs, including stronger policy frameworks, improved interoperability and increased investment in digital infrastructure.

FAO specialists from headquarters, the FAO Regional Office for Africa and Country Offices showcased corporate digital tools such as the Agro-informatics Platform, Farmer Registry, Hand-in-Hand Initiative and Digital Villages Initiative, illustrating how FAO’s global digital ecosystem can support national strategies and harmonized regional action.

The workshop concluded with agreement on next steps, including a regional stocktaking exercise and capacity needs assessment to inform a unified subregional action plan aligned with FAO global initiatives. The event reaffirmed the commitment of East African countries to harness digital innovation for more inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems, with FAO continuing to support coordinated implementation across the region.