“AI, what should I plant this year?”

Hey,

Welcome to Green Jobs Rising!

Have you heard this phrase, ‘We are living in an AI era’?

I have recently seen people move from ‘Google it’ to ‘ChatGPT it’

AI holds immense potential to boost Africa’s economy and to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the continent.

Today, let's focus on agritech.

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, contributing about 17% on average to GDP, and according to the World Bank, employing about 60% or more of the workforce. 

Yet the continent still struggles with food insecurity and starvation.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, up to 80% of food is produced by smallholder farmers who often use traditional techniques and lack access to information that would help improve yields. 

The agritech sector is seeing most of the AI innovation, especially in Kenya and Nigeria where agriculture continues to play a significant role in the economy. 

AI is already being used for: 

• Agricultural advisory - providing timely, data-driven farm-level advice to farmers on planting, irrigation, pest control, and market prices

• IoT solutions - physical sensors placed in fields to track real-time data like soil moisture, nutrient levels, and temperature. This data is transmitted to apps that advise farmers when to irrigate or fertilise.

• AI & ML applications: Uses image recognition to diagnose pest, disease, and nutrient issues from photos of leaves. This reduces uncertainty in farming and increases resilience.

• Social media & chat groups - Farmers use WhatsApp/Telegram groups to share crop photos, get quick advice from peers or extension officers, and discuss market prices. 

Proven research shows that these tools have helped farmers by improving yields and productivity, strengthening climate resilience through early warning systems and climate-smart advisories, and enabling precision irrigation and input optimisation to reduce waste of water, fertilisers, and pesticides. 

The digital world is the fastest-growing sector in Africa. In agritech, this is how young professionals can position themselves to ride this wave.

• Build digital & AI skills - Many platforms such as PlantVillage, Apollo Agriculture, TomorrowNow, ThriveAgric among others need data analysts, software developers, AI model trainers, among other roles.
  You can take advantage of available free/affordable learning courses online. Among other platforms we have Coursera, take advantage of the scholarship options available.

• Launch or join agritech startups - Agriculture employs over half of Africa’s workforce. Startups solve real problems by making farmers more productive. Through services such as:

  • Digital advisory services - localised apps, voice/SMS in local languages.

  • Fintech for farmers - AI-based credit scoring, micro-insurance, digital wallets.

  • IoT solutions - low-cost soil/water sensors, solar-powered devices.

  • Market linkages - connecting smallholders to buyers directly.

• Be a bridge: Tech <> Farmers - Farmers are looking for young professionals who can translate complex tech into practical, local, farmer-friendly advice. This can be in a role such as: Extension officers, agronomists, community ambassadors, among others.

• Leverage policy & institutional opportunities - join innovation challenges, hackathons, and policy dialogue spaces where youth voices are valued.

• Position for jobs in global/regional value chains - Agritech is not only about startups, NGOs, UN agencies, CSOs, and agribusiness multinationals are hiring digital experts. This goes back to building your skills in order to stand out. 

Remote opportunities also exist, as many global AI and digital agriculture companies are building Africa-focused Apps.

The Kampala Declaration is an ambitious agenda to increase food output by 45%, reduce post-harvest losses by half, and raise the share of locally processed food to 35% of the agrifood sector GDP by the end of 2035. 

To drive this growth, our African leaders committed to mobilising a total of $100bn in public and private sector investment and financing in the next 10 years. 

Now, I am no prophet but I know where money is being injected!

Visit our job board to explore available jobs.