Innovating For Resilient Agriculture Across Africa

Beyond the fundamentals of food security, agriculture remains central to many African economies, providing employment and income for large segments of the population. 

Agriculture contributes around 50 percent of employment and almost 30 percent of GDP across Africa, according to World Bank estimates. 

Perhaps more striking is that, despite increased urbanization, more than half the population still lives in rural areas and that agriculture remains “the source of livelihood for 70 percent of people,” according to the African Union. 

The sector is, however, fraught with significant challenges. Low productivity, poor infrastructure and widespread informality mean that most agricultural ventures are fundamentally precarious – and becoming more so in the context of climate change. Unpredictable weather patterns such as erratic rainfall and prolonged droughts, juxtaposed with extreme weather events such as floods are placing growing pressure on farming systems, particularly for small-scale farmers already operating under fragile conditions. 

In 2024, southern African countries faced a severe drought, resulting in harvest failures and livestock deaths in countries such as Zambia and Malawi. The drought was later followed by floods in many parts of the region, which not only affected agricultural output, but also displaced thousands of people. Floods battered the continent that year, submerging half a million hectares of cropland in Nigeria alone. 

Infrastructure damage also affects access to markets, fertilizers and other inputs – and again, climate change is set to have long-term impacts. Research estimates that in some parts of Africa, yields of cereal crops such as maize and millet, two important staples and sources of income, will decrease by an average of 6 percent by 2050 and up to 24 percent by 2090 due to heat stress and drought.1 There has never been a more crucial time to build resilience in African agriculture – to improve the ability of farmers and other agricultural players to absorb external shocks. 

Digital and climate-smart agricultural innovations 

Innovation has always been important in various types of agricultural technology. Even relatively small changes, such as moving from handheld ploughing to more mechanized agriculture, can increase agricultural productivity and income over time. However, innovation is becoming even more essential for addressing the challenges of climate change. 

Climate-smart agricultural technologies are emerging as important tools that can help farmers adapt to changing environmental conditions while maintaining productivity. These innovations include drought-resistant seed varieties, controlled growing environments or protected cultivation, improved irrigation systems, as well as digital tools such as sensors that monitor soil conditions, temperature and moisture levels in real time. 

Digital technologies are particularly promising. By providing farmers with timely information on weather conditions, crop health and input use, digital tools can help improve decision making and reduce risk. Soil probes that continuously monitor moisture, chemical levels and other soil characteristics have been used by farmers to keep track of their plants and make rapid decisions in challenging conditions. Meanwhile, platforms such as DigiFarm, ViaziSoko and M-Shamba in Kenya have enabled access to inputs, credit and markets via mobile payment systems. 

Controlled environments like growing tunnels and shade nets not only improve yields, such as for citrus products in South Africa, but also raise quality and shorten maturity time, thereby reducing production costs. They create a more stable microclimate under the shade by reducing both heat stress and frost risk, providing protection from extreme sunlight and rain. Controlled environments also allow farmers to comply with stringent plant health and quality standards demanded by export markets. 

Combining some of the elements above, digital technologies are often paired with climate control technologies. Controlled growing environments can be used alongside digital temperature monitoring systems for either fresh produce or animals, for instance where poultry houses are equipped with temperature monitoring systems. 

However, the benefits of innovation depend on whether technologies reach the farmers who need them most. Innovation in agriculture is often geared toward high-tech solutions, but smallholders often face barriers such as high costs, limited technical knowledge and weak infrastructure. For example, the capital costs of installing shade nets at scale are often prohibitively high for smallholder farmers. 

Similarly, the cost of internet access and unreliable rural connectivity hinder the uptake of digital technologies. This is particularly stark for smallholder women farmers, who bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts in Africa, while facing greater barriers to accessing technologies, finance and extension services. 

There are several innovations geared particularly toward smallholder farmers. Kenya’s Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI)3 combines digital remote-sensing through satellite imagery with financial products to address climate vulnerability during dry spells. However, without supportive policy programs and institutions – like Ethiopia’s Agricultural Transformation Institute4 which specifically aims at “improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers” or Kenya’s Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization5, which supports smallholder farmers with agronomic recommendations via SMS – technological innovations may be confined to commercial farms or pilot projects. 

Final thoughts 

Agricultural resilience is not an end in itself; it is a means to achieving greater goals such as food security and sustainable livelihoods. Building resilience in African agriculture requires more than simply introducing new technologies. It also requires significant investments in digital infrastructure, access to finance, training, extension services and rural infrastructure. 

Public and private actors must work together to ensure that innovations are accessible and adapted to local conditions. Innovations such as Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI), an insurance platform, and DigiFarm are directly geared toward the needs of the smallholder farmers that they serve. If supported by appropriate policies and institutions, climate-smart technologies and digital tools can help farmers adapt to environmental uncertainty while improving productivity and livelihoods across the continent. 

Phumzile Ncube 

Phumzile Ncube is Senior Researcher at the DSI/NRF South African Research Chair in Industrial Development, University of Johannesburg. She holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Johannesburg. Her research focuses on agro-industrial development, global and regional value chains, with a specific focus on the southern African region. She has engaged in academic and policy-related research with institutions such as UNU-WIDER, UNIDO and ERSA.