Cow facial recognition and AI-generated soil analysis are being leveraged to boost crop yields to avert Africa’s impending food crisis.
As Africa’s annual spending on imported food approaches $100 billion, farmers are increasingly turning to technology to solve shortages caused by population explosion and changing diets that are outpacing agricultural production.
The African continent has become increasingly dependent on foreign markets for daily necessities such as sugar, rice and wheat.
However, more than half of Africa’s total food imports are consumed by just five countries: Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, South Africa and Nigeria.
feeding a growing population
Africa’s population is estimated to reach nearly 2.5 billion by 2050, and is expected to double to approximately 3.8 billion by 2100.
Experts speaking at the first Gitex Kenya technology conference in Nairobi said artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies could help farmers improve productivity and reap economic benefits.
Bimal Shah, CEO of Bidco Africa, one of the continent’s largest food and beverage suppliers, said technology can help fight off climate challenges that are devastating to agricultural crops.
“None of us can change the climate. All we can change is how we interact with it and how we respond to it,” Shah said. “But when agriculture is shaken up, it has a big impact because everything is shaken up. If food prices change, everything else happens.
“Thanks to AI, we can do even more. Climate smart means predictive agriculture. We are based on huge amounts of data and weather forecasts. AI can use that to improve the quality of agriculture.”
From 2020 to 2025, much of East Africa experienced the warmest weather since 1981, with the Horn of Africa experiencing the most extreme temperature anomalies.
In East Africa, drought hit Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, and eastern Kenya, peaking in 2021-2022 and returning in 2024.
soil solution
One Kenyan company exploring agricultural solutions is Rhea Healthy Soil.
The company supports over 100,000 farmers across Africa, providing them with 95% accurate data reports generated using AI.
Small farms use Rea’s technology to improve sustainability by optimizing soil nutrients, preventing degradation and reducing overuse of fertilizers.
The technology is even more prescient as global shortages are a concern, with a third of the world’s seaborne fertilizers being transported through the Strait of Hormuz.
The waterway has faced severe disruption to the delivery of vital farm fertilizers since the outbreak of the Iran war.
face of the future
Another solution that farmers are exploring is harishi livestock. The AI-powered biometric facial recognition platform is designed to identify and track individual livestock.
Farmers upload smartphone photos of their cows to verify ownership without the need for expensive physical tags.
The software uses computer vision algorithms to analyze the unique biometric patterns on a cow’s face and muzzle, similar to how facial ID is used on cell phones.
Once matched, farmers can instantly obtain the animal’s vaccination records, age, pedigree, and ownership history.
Ramesh Muchikal, CEO of Rwanda’s Africa Improved Foods, said farms his company supports are using drones to assess which crops need special attention and spot signs of disease.
“We have many progressive solutions and the Rwandan government is very open-minded about what it can do to support responsible agriculture,” he said.
“In doing so, corn yields have tripled over the past seven years. By using drones, we can provide farmers with multiple pictures of what the crop is doing and which parts of the crop need fertilizer, additional support, or irrigation.”
Targeted solutions
However, this is not a one-size-fits-all approach. The market is flooded with mobile apps for the farming community, but many are useless in Africa because the algorithmic data comes from the US or China.
“We have seen the expansion of support services for farmers through AI, harnessing the power of local languages,” said Toure Rennaie, Chief of Staff of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. The organization is an African-led organization that supports smallholder farmers through regenerative agriculture, climate-smart seeds, and broader market access.
“We ran a pilot using AI in Ethiopia, but the advice we were given was for a farmer in Iowa growing several hectares of potatoes. I think it’s important as we develop these AI platforms and systems to make sure they are more inclusive and appropriate for the countries we are working with. There are huge opportunities in Africa, but we are a fragmented continent of 54 countries.”
Scientists are also investigating open source data and satellite imagery to help farmers increase productivity.
Zindi is a South African company that hosts the largest community of data scientists in Africa, using machine learning and AI to solve the world’s most pressing challenges.
Chief Executive Serena Lee said there was great potential if farmers were provided with the most valuable information.
“There’s a lot of open source data, but right now it’s important to connect it to the problems farmers face, and that’s much harder than we think,” she said.
“There are places where AI can drive efficiency, value and reach in many ways, but the only way to scale is to ensure we address the right problems farmers face.”
