By KT Reporter
Uganda and other East African countries can significantly improve food production and food security by making better use of existing technologies, especially digital tools such as artificial intelligence (AI), according to a new regional report.
The 2025 Annual Trends and Outlook Report (ATOR 2025), titled “Moving the Technology Frontiers in African Agrifood Systems,” says the region already has many technologies that could help farmers produce more food, reduce losses, and cope with climate change.
However, these tools are not widely used because of weak institutions, limited financing, and poor coordination.
For Uganda and its neighbours, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Ethiopia, AI and digital agriculture tools offer practical solutions to everyday farming challenges.
AI-powered weather forecasts can help farmers decide when to plant, satellite images can detect crop stress early, and digital platforms can link farmers to markets, extension services, and affordable inputs.
These tools are especially important in a region where most farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture and are highly vulnerable to climate shocks.
Published by AKADEMIYA2063 through ReSAKSS, the report notes that the future of food systems in East Africa will depend not just on having modern technologies, but on how well governments support their use.
This includes investing in digital infrastructure, strengthening farmer cooperatives, improving extension services, and ensuring that smallholder farmers, who make up the majority in Uganda, can access and afford these innovations.
The report also links technology adoption to the Kampala Declaration, which came into force on January 1, 2026, under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
For Uganda and East Africa, this means using science, innovation, and data to raise productivity, lower farming costs, and increase value addition across food value chains.
According to Dr Ousmane Badiane, Executive Chairperson of AKADEMIYA2063, progress in agriculture will not come from one major invention. Instead, it will come from combining AI, improved seeds, mechanisation, climate-smart practices, and strong institutions that support farmers and agribusinesses.
The report finds that East Africa’s slow agricultural transformation is not mainly due to a lack of ideas or technologies. Rather, it is caused by policy gaps, weak delivery systems, and limited access to finance and information, particularly in rural areas.
Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania are highlighted as countries with growing potential to use AI and geospatial technologies in agriculture.
Kenya, in particular, is nearing readiness due to its strong digital ecosystem, while Uganda has a solid foundation in mobile technology and farmer networks that could support wider use of AI in farming if backed by targeted investment and clear regulations.
Countries like South Sudan face greater challenges, but the report notes that even fragile states can benefit from AI-enabled tools where basic infrastructure exists, especially in early warning systems for droughts and food shortages.
The report also highlights opportunities that are particularly relevant for Uganda and East Africa, including small-scale irrigation, water harvesting, livestock innovations, insect farming, aquaculture, and value-added products.
These technologies can reduce pressure on land, create jobs for young people, and help small businesses grow along the food supply chain.
To guide the next decade of agricultural transformation in Uganda and East Africa, the report outlines five priority actions: Strengthen agricultural research institutions and extension services, ensure farmers, cooperatives, and small agribusinesses can access new technologies, invest in digital infrastructure, climate data, and AI-driven decision tools.
It further recommends the promotion of climate-smart and resilient farming practices and improvement in governance, coordination, and accountability in the agriculture sector. The report arrives at a critical juncture, as Uganda and other East African countries commence implementing the CAADP Strategy and Action Plan (2026–2035), which seeks to enhance food production, trade, and investment while reducing hunger and poverty.
According to H.E. Moses Vilakati of the African Union Commission, the report provides practical evidence on how AI and other advanced technologies can be used responsibly to strengthen food systems, improve livelihoods, and build resilience to climate change.
Overall, the message for Uganda and East Africa is clear: AI and digital tools can transform agriculture, but real impact will only come if governments, the private sector, and farmer organisations work together to make these technologies accessible, affordable, and relevant to local farmers.
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