Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Alleviate Food Insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Digitization in agriculture is currently one of the most important developments to meet the growing economic, ecological and social demands in the agri-food sector of developing countries. The aim of this work is to analyze the impact of Al adoption on food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The results obtained from propensity score matching, a non-parametric method of impact assessment on 33 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period 2010- 2020, show that on average, adoption of Al significantly reduces food insecurity in SubSaharan Africa. The results are robust to several additional robustness analyses and specifications. All other things being equal, the application of Al in the agricultural and food sectors contributes to increasing the efficiency, productivity and resilience of food systems. Apart from the optimism offered by the adoption and use of Al to combat food insecurity, disparities remain between countries. We suggest that African governments, firstly, invest more in technological infrastructure and make it accessible to small-scale farmers. Secondly, develop training and coaching programs to enable farmers and food sector players to make effective use of Al-related technological tools. Thirdly, multiply partnerships between African players and international organizations and research centres to further exchange best practices and promote the sharing of technologies and knowledge in order to reach optimal potential.