Kenya is East Africa’s fastest-growing economy in adopting Artificial Intelligence (AI) and deploying solutions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In 2018, the Kenyan Government created [1] a Blockchain & AI task force, and the following year, in May 2019, the country was formulating a Roadmap for Artificial Intelligence for Development in Africa [2].
In Kenya, one of the sectors benefiting most from the AI advances is the agriculture industry. Peter Gatirau Munya, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, made this possible by bringing together like-minded people to discuss, build, and grow the Data Science ecosystem in the country. Moreover, Kenya provides affordable internet access which helps significantly gravitate towards an improved agriculture production on a large scale.
Since 2017, AI continues to revolutionize Kenya’s agriculture system which remains key to the country’s economy with a total contribution of 26% of the GDP [3]. Additionally, the sector employs more than 40% of the total population and more than 70% of Kenya’s rural people.
Statistics released by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), indicate that Kenya’s agricultural sector accounts for 65% of the export earnings, and provides livelihood through employment for more than 80 % of the Kenyan population. It also contributes to improving nutrition through production of safe, diverse and nutrient-dense foods [4].
It is worth noting that AI technologies in Kenya have the capacity to ensure high yield and healthier crops, control pests, monitor soil and growing conditions, organize data for farmers, and help with workload [5]. Similarly, Kenya’s robust agricultural industry has continuously responded to this high-level technology improving on harvest quality [6] with more advanced research.
Notably, with Kenya’s reception of AI in agriculture, more sectors in the country are expected to embrace this technology for highly improved results in ensuring quality service delivery, and to a larger extent, enhance the country’s economic development.
References:
[2] https://ai4d.ai/blog-africa-roadmap/
[4] https://allafrica.com/stories/201903130120.html
[6] https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2019/12/Digital-Farming-in-Kenya.pdf