Introduction
The Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI), in partnership with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and with support from the CGIAR Science Programme on Policy Innovations, and the Digital Transformation Accelerator, invites researchers, policymakers, practitioners, and development actors to a pre-conference workshop on The Political Economy of AI in African Agrifood Systems. The workshop will be held on the margins of the 13th ANAPRI Annual Stakeholders Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 26 October 2026. ANAPRI and IFPRI are currently seeking funding for bursaries for travel and participation of delegates with selected abstract submissions.
Background and Rationale
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being positioned as a transformative force in African food, land, and water systems (FLWS). Through large scale data collection, predictive analytics and personalized advisory tools, AI is framed by many policymakers and tech companies as a solution to persistent challenges of food insecurity, climate vulnerability and public service delivery.
Yet these promises raise urgent questions. Who controls the data and infrastructures on which AI systems depend? How are digital tools being used to support policymaking, organize public life, and shape relations between citizens, states, markets, and development actors? And how are the benefits and risks of AI distributed across places already marked by unequal access to resources, political unrest, and limited technological capacity?
Workshop Objectives
The workshop aims to create a space for comparative learning on how AI is being governed, contested, and applied in FLWS. Rather than treating AI governance as a technical or universal policy challenge, the event will examine how lessons from different institutional, political, and infrastructural settings can inform more effective governance approaches in Africa. In addition to the presentation of new research, it will bring together researchers, policymakers, technology actors, civil society, and ANAPRI member institutions to identify what is already being learned from practice, where policy gaps remain, and how evidence can support national, regional, and continental strategies that are responsive to the needs of smallholder farmers and rural communities.
Thematic Areas
We welcome empirical, conceptual, methodological, and policy-oriented contributions addressing one or more of the following themes:
1. Data governance and digital infrastructure: who controls the means?
AI systems depend on data: who collects it, who owns it, who can access it, and who has the authority to interpret and act on it. In African food, land, and water systems, these questions are closely tied to histories of extraction, unreliable and inaccessible digital infrastructure, weak regulatory capacity, and fragmented institutional arrangements.
2. AI and the organization of public life: who shapes decisions?
AI and other digital tools are increasingly being introduced into policy processes, public administration, agricultural extension, environmental monitoring, social protection, and other aspects of public life. These tools may support decision-making, improve coordination, or make public systems more responsive. At the same time, they may shift accountability, obscure political choices, or embed particular assumptions about efficiency, expertise, and development.
3. AI in the majority world: who benefits, and who bears the risks?
The development and deployment of AI in African FLWS is marked by unequal access to resources, political instability, limited technological capacity, and uneven institutional authority. These conditions shape who is able to benefit from AI-enabled systems, who bears their risks, and whose interests are reflected in emerging policy and regulatory frameworks.
Hybrid Programme
The Political Economy of AI in African Agrifood Systems pre-conference workshop will be held in hybrid format on 26 October 2026.
Join the Workshop Virtually
Interested in joining the workshop online? Register to receive the virtual participation link and other relevant information.