A lot is being done to improve Africa’s agriculture; unfortunately, two things have come to show that we have been wasting time, efforts, and money all across the continent. These are evident in research by scientists and declarations at conferences. There are several studies on what Africa should do to improve farm production, but they are all on shelves, where policymakers do not read them. Documents containing declarations from conferences have also been left to gather dust.
Despite the fact that whatever is put out is never used, it is surprising that officials are seen all over African airports rushing to attend conferences or workshops that have been planned to solve the continent’s problems. All that one can say is that these officials, perhaps see these travels more as tourism than helping to pull Africa out of its woes. As for researchers engaged in studies, one wonders why they even bother, except that for some of them, it is the only way they can climb the academic ladder. So, whether their efforts help to change anything or not, once they earn the academic titles, the deepest wishes are fulfilled which is all that they desire.
One effort of researchers at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), eight years ago on how to fight post harvest losses, has remained on the shelves. This study suggested that, if African countries adopted cost-effective technologies, it will help smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa to tackle postharvest losses and increase their income. Unfortunately, poor farmers across the continent still suffer from post harvest losses. It is like nothing happened!
One wonders why it does not prick the conscience of African policy makers that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) once said postharvest losses reduce the income of the continent’s farmers and value chain actors that depend on farmers by about 15 percent. This was expected to wake them up to look for what can be done to solve the problem, but for them life goes on.
The IFPRI report highlighted the scale of postharvest losses, and the gains farmers could make by using novel technologies such as Purdue Improved Cowpea Storage (PICS) bags, metal silos and zero energy cool chamber (ZECC). Whether the policy makers read this is open to debate.
It is therefore surprising that more efforts continue to be made by scientists to help Africa. The latest is 2025 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR), which says that accelerating progress towards unlocking sustained productivity, growth and food security in Africa, requires coordinated interventions to strengthen the system-wide application of existing technologies. This will enable their widespread, efficient use. A good message for policy makers, but whether they will read it in order to implement it, is another matter.
The ATOR 2025, titled “Moving the Technology Frontiers in African Agrifood Systems,” published by AKADEMIYA2063 through the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS), identified hundreds of digital tools with immediate and long-term potential for transforming agrifood systems.
“Digital farming, precision agriculture, remote sensing, AI, biotechnology, and organisational innovations cannot only reduce transaction costs, strengthen efficiency and support climate-smart productivity gains, but also enable innovative complementary institutions and governmental processes,” the report said. What is heartwarming is that the report said Africa’s agrifood future will be shaped not only by the technologies that exist, but also by how effectively they are governed, financed, adapted, and embedded in inclusive institutions. It also pointed out that, with strategic investment in science and digital infrastructure, empowered producer organisations, climate-resilient innovation pathways and strong accountability systems, Africa can move beyond technology adoption toward technology leadership, to shape global responses to climate change, food insecurity, and sustainable development.
The report said successful adoption and scaling depend on supportive institutions, coherent regulatory frameworks, predictable policy environments, and well-organised diffusion pathways. This is something that our policy makers should seriously take note of.
An analytical framework that was applied, highlighted three complementary pathways – technological progress, improvements in technical efficiency, and reductions in transaction costs – and shows that productivity gains have been constrained less by the absence of innovations than by weak institutions and barriers to widespread adoption. They also reviewed a wide range of underused emerging technologies, including AI and geospatial tools, biotechnology, digital agriculture, mechanisation, value addition, irrigation, livestock, insect-based systems, and aquaponics, as well as experiences from Europe, China, and Latin America.
The report found that impact depends on governance, financing, and inclusive diffusion, combined with sustained R&D investment, coherent regulatory frameworks, empowered producer organisations, and effective public–private partnerships. Using the first-of-its-kind, “Untapped Potential Index (UPI)” identified African countries with the greatest opportunity to scale AI- and geospatial-enabled transformation in agrifood systems.
“South Africa and Botswana lead in AI and geospatial technology deployment within the agrifood sector, while Kenya, Egypt, Ghana, and Mali are approaching readiness. South Sudan, Niger, and Zambia have the highest UPI values, reflecting high transformation needs and adequate enabling conditions combined with low current adoption of AI and geospatial tools, significant yield gaps, and high hunger levels; these countries possess decent readiness infrastructure, but low current adoption of AI and geospatial tools,” the report said. A new ranking in the report, the Agricultural R&D System Capacity Index (ARDSCI), proposes a novel approach to highlight where investments are translating into real research capabilities and scientific outcomes. An application of the index using data from selected West African countries shows significant strides for Ghana, reflecting a high proportion of PhD-qualified researchers, substantial investment per researcher, and sustained growth in research intensity.
The report also highlights opportunities for broader use of small-scale irrigation, water harvesting, and resource-efficient technologies, with innovations such as insect farming, circular-economy solutions, aquaponics, organic-waste valorisation, and integrated nutrient management reshaping resource-use and production systems, while creating new economic opportunities, especially for youth and small enterprises.
It recommended the strengthening of the innovation ecosystems and science institutions, as well as the long-term investments in research, regulatory coherence, and sustainable financing as being central to unlocking scientific and technological potential.
It also called for increasing and stabilizing funding, supporting regional collaboration, investing in next-generation research talent, linking R&D to wider agrifood innovation systems, and improving performance metrics to help reposition agricultural R&D as a driver of Africa’s inclusive and climate-resilient development.
In addition, the report called for the promotion of inclusive mechanisms for technology dissemination, empowering producer organisations, SMEs, digital innovators, and youth-led enterprises to broaden access to the impact of emerging technologies.
It is also hoped that there will be the expansion of digital and climate intelligence infrastructure, which together with investing in geospatial tools, digital twins, AI-driven analytics, and real-time data systems will be essential for managing climate risks, improving planning, and optimizing resource use.
The report also called for the prioritising of climate adaptation and resilience in technological agendas. Climate-smart technologies across crops, livestock, water systems, and circular economy domains will remain essential for safeguarding productivity under changing conditions.
It is hoped that all that has been suggested alongside a strengthened Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) monitoring and data systems, will support implementation of the Kampala Declaration, which entered into force on January 1, 2026.
“The Kampala ambitions can be achieved through sustainably raising productivity, cutting costs, and boosting capacity for product and process innovation along agrifood system chains,” said Ousmane Badiane, executive chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063.
Badiane also said “the latest Annual Trends and Outlook Report demonstrates that the ‘technology frontier’ is not a single breakthrough, but rather the integration of biological, digital, engineering, ecological, and institutional innovations within a supportive political economy.”
The African Union’s commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy, and sustainable environment, (AUC-DARBE), Moses Vilakati said “this edition of the Annual Trends and Outlook Report provides timely evidence on how frontier technologies can be governed and scaled to deliver food security, inclusive growth, and climate adaptation across the continent.”
Vilakati said: “It is our hope that the report will serve as a strategic reference for policymakers, planners, investors, researchers, and practitioners, and contribute meaningfully to building more productive, resilient, and equitable agrifood systems across Africa.”
There is no better way of putting this than he has said. Sadly, this will not happen, and the report will end on shelves. Over the next few months, similar meetings will be held all over Africa, just like how researchers will occupy themselves with studies that will never be used. A sad reflection of what Africa has become.
