The Role of Digital Technologies in the African Agricultural Sector

Witbank, South Africa - May 26 2016: Commercial Maize Farming in Africa

The agricultural sector is fundamental to African economies and societies. Yet, African agriculture is characterised by low productivity, inadequate infrastructure, limited market access, and labour-intensive practices; production cannot meet demand. Digital technologies can help overcome these barriers and improve productivity in the agricultural value chain, sustainably strengthening the sector.

Digital technologies can be applied across all stages of agricultural value chains: from procurement and production to logistics and distribution. Digital platforms and smart farming approaches facilitate access to inputs, optimise production processes, and increase yields, while e-commerce platforms and AI enable access to new markets and optimise transportation and storage.
Solutions across the entire value chain are used to streamline payments, provide access to financing, enhance information and transparency, foster networking among actors, and offer training opportunities for farmers.
Nevertheless, structural challenges hinder the implementation of digital technologies. Limited digital infrastructure, insufficient research funding, restricted access to financing for farmers, inadequate education, and a lack of digital skills impede widespread adoption.

Policy Implications

Governments and private actors must work together to overcome these challenges. Public investments in infrastructure and research, improved access to financing, support for start-ups and innovation hubs, and targeted training programmes can sustainably drive the digital transformation of agriculture, which in turn increases productivity.

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Footnotes

References

Afreximbank (2024), Food Imports and Food Security on the African Continent: Addressing the Challenges, Kairo: Areximbank, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

AGRA (2024), Accelerating the Private Sector for Food Systems Transformation in Africa, Nr. 12, AGRA: Nairobi, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

D4D Hub (2025), The State of African Digital Infrastructure, Global Gateway, XALAM Market Brief, May, Zugriff 19. November 2025.

de Brauw, Alan und Erwin Bulte (2021), African Farmers, Value Chains and Agricultural Development: An Economic and Institutional Perspective, Palgrave Studies in Agricultural Economics and Food Policy, Springer International Publishing.

Druilhe, Zoé und Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé (2012), Fertilizer Subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa, ESA Working Paper Nr. 12-04, July, FAO, Zugriff 19. November 2025.

Ekanem, Solomon (2024), Top 5 African Countries with the Highest Number of Mobile Phones, in: Business Insider Africa, 27. August, Zugriff 7. August 2025.

FAO (2025), Inorganic Fertilizers. 2002–2023, FAOSTAT Analytical Brief Nr. 108, Rom, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

Hong, David und Stephanie Hanson (2016), Scaling up Agricultural Credit in Africa, Frontier Issues Brief Submitted to the Brookings Institution’s Ending Rural Hunger Project, Zugriff 19. November 2025.

Lowder, Sarah K., Jakob Skoet und Terri Raney (2016), The Number, Size, and Distribution of Farms, Smallholder Farms, and Family Farms Worldwide, in: World Development, 87, November, 16–29, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

Oxfam (2022), African States Slash Agriculture Budgets Amidst a Worsening Food Crisis, 17 July, Zugriff 11. August 2025.

Porter, Michael (1985), The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York: Free Press.

Ritchie, Hannah (2022), Increasing Agricultural Productivity Across Sub-Saharan Africa is One of the Most Important Problems this Century, Our World in Data, 4 April, Zugriff 18. September 2025.

Suri, Tavneet und Christopher Udry (2022), Agricultural Technology in Africa, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36, 1, 33–56.

World Bank Group (2025a), Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added (% of GDP), World Bank Open Data, Zugriff 5. August 2025.

World Bank Group (2025b), Employment in Agriculture (% of Total Employment) (Modeled ILO Estimate), World Bank Open Data, Zugriff 5. August 2025.

Editor GIGA Focus Africa

Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs / Editor GIGA Focus Africa

Editorial Department GIGA Focus Africa

Petra Brandt

Editorial Management

Meenakshi Preisser

English Copyeditor and Translator

How to cite this article

von Carlowitz, Philipp, Simon Züfle, and Emma Schmid (2025), The Role of Digital Technologies in the African Agricultural Sector, GIGA Focus Africa, 6, Hamburg: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), https://doi.org/10.57671/gfaf-25061

Imprint

The GIGA Focus is an Open Access publication and can be read on the Internet and downloaded free of charge at www.giga-hamburg.de/en/publications/giga-focus. According to the conditions of the Creative-Commons license Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0, this publication may be freely duplicated, circulated, and made accessible to the public. The particular conditions include the correct indication of the initial publication as GIGA Focus and no changes in or abbreviation of texts.

The German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) – Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien in Hamburg publishes the Focus series on Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and global issues. The GIGA Focus is edited and published by the GIGA. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the institute. Authors alone are responsible for the content of their articles. GIGA and the authors cannot be held liable for any errors and omissions, or for any consequences arising from the use of the information provided.

Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz

Associate

[email protected]

Dr. Simon Züfle

Emma Schmid

Digital technologies can be applied across all stages of agricultural value chains: from procurement and production to logistics and distribution. Digital platforms and smart farming approaches facilitate access to inputs, optimise production processes, and increase yields, while e-commerce platforms and AI enable access to new markets and optimise transportation and storage.
Solutions across the entire value chain are used to streamline payments, provide access to financing, enhance information and transparency, foster networking among actors, and offer training opportunities for farmers.
Nevertheless, structural challenges hinder the implementation of digital technologies. Limited digital infrastructure, insufficient research funding, restricted access to financing for farmers, inadequate education, and a lack of digital skills impede widespread adoption.

Policy Implications

Continue reading in German

Footnotes

References

Afreximbank (2024), Food Imports and Food Security on the African Continent: Addressing the Challenges, Kairo: Areximbank, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

AGRA (2024), Accelerating the Private Sector for Food Systems Transformation in Africa, Nr. 12, AGRA: Nairobi, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

D4D Hub (2025), The State of African Digital Infrastructure, Global Gateway, XALAM Market Brief, May, Zugriff 19. November 2025.

Druilhe, Zoé und Jesús Barreiro-Hurlé (2012), Fertilizer Subsidies in Sub-Saharan Africa, ESA Working Paper Nr. 12-04, July, FAO, Zugriff 19. November 2025.

Ekanem, Solomon (2024), Top 5 African Countries with the Highest Number of Mobile Phones, in: Business Insider Africa, 27. August, Zugriff 7. August 2025.

FAO (2025), Inorganic Fertilizers. 2002–2023, FAOSTAT Analytical Brief Nr. 108, Rom, Zugriff: 19. November 2025.

Oxfam (2022), African States Slash Agriculture Budgets Amidst a Worsening Food Crisis, 17 July, Zugriff 11. August 2025.

Porter, Michael (1985), The Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, New York: Free Press.

Ritchie, Hannah (2022), Increasing Agricultural Productivity Across Sub-Saharan Africa is One of the Most Important Problems this Century, Our World in Data, 4 April, Zugriff 18. September 2025.

Suri, Tavneet und Christopher Udry (2022), Agricultural Technology in Africa, in: Journal of Economic Perspectives, 36, 1, 33–56.

World Bank Group (2025a), Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing, Value Added (% of GDP), World Bank Open Data, Zugriff 5. August 2025.

World Bank Group (2025b), Employment in Agriculture (% of Total Employment) (Modeled ILO Estimate), World Bank Open Data, Zugriff 5. August 2025.

Editor GIGA Focus Africa

Prof. Dr. Matthias Basedau

Director of the GIGA Institute for African Affairs / Editor GIGA Focus Africa

Editorial Department GIGA Focus Africa

Petra Brandt

Editorial Management

Meenakshi Preisser

English Copyeditor and Translator

Regional Institutes

GIGA Institute for African Affairs

Research Programmes

Globalisation and Development

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57671/gfaf-25061

How to cite this article

Imprint

Prof. Dr. Philipp von Carlowitz

Associate

[email protected]

Dr. Simon Züfle

Emma Schmid

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