David Mhlanga

Promise and Peril of Artificial Intelligence in Transforming Africa's Food Systems and Development Agenda

This book explores the opportunities for and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) for African food systems and development. It acknowledges that Africa stands at a critical juncture in its quest to achieve food security, end poverty, and build resilient economies under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Meeting the continent's food demand requires urgent innovation and systemic transformation in food systems. AI offers unprecedented opportunities to revolutionise African food systems by enabling data-driven decision making, optimizing production processes, enhancing climate resilience, and improving market efficiencies. This can be achieved through applications such as precision farming, smart irrigation systems, drone monitoring, automated disease detection, AI-powered weather forecasting and intelligent food supply chain management. However, AI is not without significant risks and challenges. Ethical concerns, including algorithmic bias, lack of transparency, and data ownership, pose threats to equitable access and social justice. This book examines the promise and peril of AI in reshaping Africa's food systems and broader development agenda. It gives a nuanced, multidisciplinary understanding of how AI can contribute to inclusive, climate-resilient, and sustainable development, while also critically examining the unintended consequences and structural barriers. It focuses on smallholder farmers, rural women, youth, and marginalized populations (affected by food insecurity and often excluded from digital transformation processes). Through case studies, empirical research and theoretical perspectives, the book provides a comprehensive and policy-relevant resource for scholars, policy makers, development practitioners, and agritech innovators seeking to navigate the complex intersection of AI, agriculture and development in Africa.