The African Union Commission (AUC) has convened a three-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya, to advance implementation of the African Union Digital Agriculture Strategy across IGAD and Food Systems Resilience Program (FSRP) countries.

Held from August 11–13, the workshop brought together representatives from Regional Economic Communities, participating FSRP countries, AU institutions, technical organisations and development partners to strengthen coordination and build a more integrated digital agriculture ecosystem.

The discussions focus on aligning national and regional digital agriculture initiatives with the AU’s broader digital transformation and agricultural development priorities.

Building Interoperable Digital Systems

Kennedy Ayason, Principal Rural Infrastructure, Digitalization and Land Tenure at the AU Commission, said Africa’s rapid adoption of digital agriculture presents major opportunities but warned that uncoordinated innovation could create fragmented systems with limited impact.

He stressed the need for harmonisation between Regional Economic Communities, FSRP countries and the AU Digital Agriculture and Digital Transformation strategies.

Participants are therefore examining ways to improve interoperability between digital agriculture platforms, strengthen data governance and security, and enable secure data sharing across borders.

Putting Farmers at the Centre

Kenya’s Agriculture Engineering Secretary, Eng. Laban Kiplagat, said digital agriculture must ultimately improve farmers’ lives and opportunities.

He highlighted Kenya’s experience with digital extension platforms, e-subsidy systems, crop intelligence tools and farmer registries, which have helped improve access to agricultural services.

Digital technologies can also help farmers access climate information, market prices, advisory services and other essential support through widely available tools such as mobile phones.

Kiplagat also highlighted Kenya’s National Agriculture Sector Investment Plan (NASIP), aligned with the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the Kampala Declaration, as an important step towards translating continental commitments into national action.

Strengthening Africa’s Digital Agriculture

The workshop builds on progress under the FSRP, particularly its digital components supporting evidence-based planning, coordination and accountability.

Greater alignment between FSRP systems, REC initiatives and national platforms is expected to strengthen CAADP implementation and monitoring of Africa’s food systems transformation.

Participants are also emphasising digital sovereignty and resilience as African countries face climate change, food insecurity and market volatility.

The AU and its partners are seeking digital agriculture systems that are interoperable, inclusive, affordable, secure and farmer-centred. Stronger cooperation, they say, will help African countries generate and use agricultural data more effectively while improving services and opportunities for farmers across the continent.