Adoption of farmer-centered technologies can drive Africa’s economic growth — AATF boss

The 2025 Africa Agriculture and Technology Conference (ACAT2025) commenced this week at the Kigali Convention Centre, drawing over 800 stakeholders from across the continent. With the theme “NextGen Ag-Tech Solutions for Africa’s Farmers,” the four-day summit is spotlighting the power of technology to transform Africa’s agriculture and lift smallholder farmers from subsistence to scale.

In his keynote, Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Dr. Mark Cyubahiro Bagabe, underlined the need for tailored knowledge and tools to equip African farmers in navigating the increasing complexities of food production. He emphasized that the first step toward empowering farmers lies in enabling informed decision-making through access to data, modern equipment, and relevant training.

Also speaking at the event, Dr. Canisius Kanangire, Executive Director of the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF), stressed that agricultural transformation hinges on farmer-centred technologies—solutions that are both scalable and accessible. He highlighted AATF’s two-decade-long effort in coordinating public-private partnerships to facilitate technology adoption among Africa’s farmers.

A major theme throughout the sessions was the digital divide still hampering progress in rural areas. Stakeholders acknowledged barriers such as limited internet access, digital illiteracy, language gaps, and poor infrastructure maintenance. However, optimism was buoyed by emerging innovations including AI-based agronomic tools, drone-enabled input delivery, and localized advisory services.

Farmers in attendance advocated for co-design approaches to ensure tech solutions meet real-world farming needs. They urged policymakers to fund farmer-led innovations, involve farmers from ideation to deployment, and create policy frameworks that enable adoption at scale.

In response, AATF announced a strategic partnership with AgriEdge, aimed at accelerating the development and deployment of digital agriculture tools tailored to the African context. This collaboration will allow for greater knowledge sharing, innovation exchange, and capacity building between farmers, researchers, and developers.

As Africa stares down the dual pressures of population growth and climate unpredictability, ACAT2025 is poised to drive a paradigm shift—from top-down tech deployment to grassroots-driven innovation.
Source: Tribune Online

Expert Review for Agri-Food Stakeholders
The discussions at ACAT2025 point to a critical inflection point in Africa’s agri-food transformation. Here’s what stakeholders should note:

1.  Farmer-First Innovation is No Longer Optional
   Technology must start where the farmer is—not where developers wish them to be. Co-creating solutions with farmers improves adoption rates, utility, and long-term sustainability. Funders and policymakers must mandate farmer inclusion in product development lifecycles.

2. Digital Infrastructure as Agri-Input
   Poor internet, lack of electricity, and inadequate last-mile services are as limiting as low-quality seeds. Governments and the private sector must treat digital infrastructure as essential agricultural infrastructure, especially in rural zones.

3. The Business Case for Simplified Tools
   Simplicity drives scalability. Developers should focus on user-friendly, language-adaptable, and low-bandwidth-compatible tools that integrate seamlessly into the daily routines of smallholder farmers. This includes voice-enabled platforms and AI chatbots in local dialects.

4.  Invest in Mindset Shifts Alongside Technology
   Technology adoption is not just a tools issue—it’s a behavioral change challenge. Extension services must evolve to include digital literacy, change management, and peer learning models to help farmers confidently embrace tech-driven practices.

5. New Revenue Models Through Farmer-Led Innovation
   There’s untapped potential in funding local inventors and grassroots entrepreneurs solving micro-level problems. Development agencies and agri-investors should create innovation challenge grants, farmer hackathons, and rural incubators to commercialize viable farmer innovations.

6. Policy as the Enabler (or Bottleneck)
   Supportive regulation is needed to de-risk investment in rural agri-tech, enable public-private partnerships, and enforce data privacy standards. Policies should also ensure that technology doesn’t widen inequalities between large-scale and smallholder farmers.
   

Conclusion
The 2025 ACAT conference sets a new tone: Africa’s agricultural digital revolution will be sustainable only when farmers move from being tech recipients to tech co-creators. For real change, governments, donors, and agri-tech developers must align around inclusive innovation pathways—ones that consider both the technology and the systems needed to scale it responsibly.