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Today, Botswana is just one example of the many African countries that have set out detailed plans for their economic future centered around the implementation of Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies and their potential to improve agricultural yields and open up new industries to move value chains onto the continent.

Partnering with E-Space Africa, Botswana is forging ahead in the agricultural industry, leveraging E-Space’s low Earth orbit and Smart-Internet of Things (IoT) applications to gain real-time data. These data help farmers manage and monitor their crops and advance digital farming innovations. In partnership with the International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) and the Bulgarian space company EnduroSat, Botswana has plans to launch its first satellite in 2025, which will use advanced software and imaging technologies to provide soil and ground data for the country’s mining and agricultural industries.

Current context

In recent years, many African regions have reported unprecedented droughts (Zambia experienced its worst drought in 40 years in 2023, and Southern Africa received less than half of its typical rainfall at the beginning of 2024), extreme weather (exceptional rainfall in Sudan and South Sudan), recurring crop disease, inadequate infrastructure, and extreme temperatures (Africa is warming at a faster rate than the global average). Developing specific blueprints for climate mitigation could help counteract these challenges and reduce impact on agriculture yield. One example is a new climate-smart bean being developed in Kenya, which matures more quickly than traditional bean varieties, making it possible to harvest more per season and avoid losing out on production due to a lack of rain. Between 9-12 bags of beans can be harvested per acre of land, compared to 5-7 with traditional beans, significantly helping Kenya meet annual demand.

Beyond climate change challenges, Africa needs to rapidly ramp up its agricultural production to keep up with its increasing population growth. One in five people in Africa faced hunger in 2023, compared to one in 11 worldwide. By 2030, Africa will be home to one-fifth of the world’s population, and FAO estimates that if current trends continue, Africa will be home to half of the world’s 582 million chronically undernourished people. Africa currently imports $55 billion worth of food annually, which could double to $110 billion by 2030 if agricultural productivity remains the same.

However, 4IR technologies offer an unprecedented opportunity for Africa to overcome these challenges and meet local demand with local production—and ultimately to become a net food exporter, which could bring transformative economic benefits. The African Development Bank recently estimated that Africa’s food and agribusiness industry will be worth an estimated $1 trillion by 2030. In my book, Africa’s Fourth Industrial Revolution, I argue that African countries can lead the way in the agricultural industry by leveraging 4IR technologies to transform food production and agricultural innovations.

The transformative impact of 4IR technologies

Artificial intelligence (AI) can play a powerful role in Africa’s agriculture industry, from identifying diseases and pests and reducing costs to analyzing the most efficient way to allocate resources including water, diesel, and fertilizer. Combined with drone technology, AI can help farmers scan vast amounts of land to compile aggregate big data that can be analyzed using AI and IoT, all of which can reduce costs and inputs while maximizing yields. For example, a South African start-up called Aerobotics allows farmers to receive personalized assistance for optimizing resources and reducing costs. In Botswana, a deep learning agritech solution using drones, satellites, and cameras has been employed to identify pests, detect diseases, and predict soil organic carbon levels.

In East Africa, there are opportunities to use 4IR technologies to leapfrog to new food production methods that minimize the consequences of increasing agricultural inputs such as soil degradation and biodiversity loss, according to Didier Toubia’s article for the World Economic Forum. This can be done by investing in new protein production techniques, including precision fermentation, cellular agriculture, and algal production. The transformative impact of 4IR technologies within the agriculture sector can also reach beyond farmers: Insurance companies can provide better services to farmers through IoT weather tracking, irrigation and water services can use drone images to improve water management systems, and warehouses can use digital records to better track crop storage.