Africa’s agricultural future is shifting from tradition to technology. Across the continent, farmers, startups, and innovators are improving how food is grown, processed, and distributed. From precision farming and drone monitoring to AI-driven market tools and climate-smart practices, AgTech is now an active force driving the next agricultural revolution. The question is no longer if Africa can embrace this transformation, but how fast it can scale it sustainably.
The development of technology is redefining how African farms connect to markets, credit, and climate solutions. Most of these are being achieved through the generation of AgTech innovators who are leveraging data, digital platforms, and tools to help farmers produce more, earn more, and waste less. The rapidly falling costs of sensors and smartphones, accessible solar power, and new financing models are enabling smallholder farmers to access technologies once reserved for large-scale farms.
In this article, we examine the AgTech trends driving this transformation and how they can enhance food systems, empower farmers, and position Africa as a global leader in agriculture.
AgTech is the short form for Agricultural Technology, which refers to the use of technology and innovation to improve the efficiency, profitability, and sustainability of farming.
AgTech encompasses a wide range of tools, including sensors, drones, data analytics, mobile apps, digital finance, and biotechnology. Its primary focus is to help farmers make informed decisions, minimise losses, and produce more with fewer resources. The agricultural innovations in the past focused on mechanisation and the development of improved seed varieties. Digital transformations have emerged today to change the way food is produced and distributed. Smallholder farmers, who comprise a significant portion of the agricultural sector, are being empowered by these digital tools, not only commercial farmers. The tools provide access to finance, inputs, and markets, offering a way for improved involvement and participation, which will lead to sustainability.
Across the continent, several AgTech startups are addressing the longstanding challenges in African agriculture through the following means:
1. Precision Farming: Precision farming, also known as precision agriculture, is a technology that uses GPS, sensors, satellite imagery, and software to manage variability in fields. It allows farmers to apply water, fertiliser, or pesticides in just the right amount, at the right spot, and at the right time, instead of treating every part of a farm identically. This approach fosters efficiency, reduces waste, and raises yields.
Bureau Veritas has 13 pilot programs in Africa and provides precision farming services in plantations (rubber, palm oil, banana, cocoa) across African countries. Nigerian startups and organisations, like Farmonaut, are deploying precision farming for smallholder farmers, increasing productivity and reducing waste. In South Africa, commercial farmers are using GPS-enabled machinery and soil sensors to reduce input waste and improve the accuracy of field operations.
2. Smart Irrigation & Solar Pumps: Smart irrigation uses data (soil moisture sensors, weather forecasts, water sensors) and automated or semi-automated systems to deliver water efficiently. Solar pumps are pumps powered by solar panels that can pump water for irrigation or other needs within the farm. They are instrumental in off-grid or electricity-poor areas.
They help reduce the dependence on rainfall, lower the cost of pumping water, and reduce maintenance in some cases. In Burkina Faso, several smallholder horticultural farmers in the Kadiogo Province benefited from a solar pump subsidy program, which significantly improved agricultural productivity and resilience in small-scale farming communities. Similarly, Finaré Farm in Niger, through the use of solar-powered water pumping, expanded its irrigated land, allowing crop rotation/diversification and increasing yields.
3. Digital Platforms Connecting Farmers to Markets: These are online/mobile / USSD / app platforms that bridge the gap between farmers and markets by helping farmers sell their produce, get better prices, reduce intermediaries, show buyers what they have, find inputs, or provide input vouchers. They offer real-time information on prices, weather, and financial access.
AFEX Commodities Exchange operates a digital commodity exchange platform that improves access to financing, inputs, storage (warehouses), and better markets for farmers; it has reached over 500,000 farmers in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda.
4. Drones and Remote Sensing: Drones are increasingly used for crop monitoring, pest control, and spraying, allowing timely intervention that was previously impossible at scale. Remote sensing involves using various spectral images to detect plant stress (water, nutrients, disease), assess field variability, and even map for planning.
Rwanda and Kenya leverage drone technology for efficient agriculture management. In Kenya, PlantVillage uses image-based disease detection (leaf images) plus satellite data to monitor plant health. The benefits of drones include reduced pesticide use, improved crop health, and enhanced ability for early detection of threats, advancing sustainable farming practices.
5. Climate-Resilient and Genetically Improved Seeds: Genetically improved seeds are developed to be more resistant to climate change and are also biofortified (nutritionally enhanced). These enable farmers to get more consistent yields under climate change. Amid climate change challenges, breeding drought and heat-tolerant seeds is vital. Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture, Sen. Abubakar Kyari, stresses the development of climate-smart seeds as critical for food security and economic growth. Research institutions are tasked with producing high-yielding varieties suited to changing conditions, helping smallholders sustain productivity despite harsh environments.
6. AI and Data-Driven Decision Making: Artificial intelligence is transforming agriculture by providing predictive analytics for weather, soil health, and pest outbreaks. Nigerian agri-tech CEO Timi Oke of AgroEknor highlights digital agriculture’s potential to increase yields by up to 40%, enabling farmers to monitor crops via mobile devices and optimize resource use. Such technologies promise growth in food security, provided farmers receive adequate training and infrastructure support.
The benefits of AgTech are faced with challenges that influence its adequate adoption across Africa.
1.Connectivity and power: Many rural zones lack reliable internet or affordable electricity, limiting sensor and platform use.
2. Cost and financing: When tech is affordable, upfront costs for irrigation, sensors, or equipment remain a barrier without finance.
3. Policy and infrastructure: Land tenure uncertainty, weak rural roads, and inconsistent regulation of digital platforms all raise adoption costs. These are well-documented constraints across Africa’s agri-technology adoption literature.
While these challenges often dominate discussions around AgTech adoption in Africa, mindset and readiness to change are just as critical.
Dr Emmanuel Odumusi, co-founder of Edfrica and a digital transformation strategist, highlights that the “real issue comes down to the farmer’s mentality and mindset.”
This perspective emphasises that successful AgTech adoption depends as much on cultural and behavioural readiness as on infrastructure or policy.
Emerging technologies such as blockchain for transparent supply chains and biotechnology for improved crops are on the horizon. Creating an ecosystem to support the scaling of innovation is essential for embedding AgTech in Africa’s agricultural transformation.
Africa stands at the dawn of a new agricultural evolution powered by emerging AgTech trends. With policy support and investment, technology adoption will be critical to building resilient food systems and driving sustained economic growth across the continent.
