Emmanuel Ndhlovu

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and its associated technologies are revolutionising socio-economic sectors, including agriculture. This article explores the impact of digitalisation on African food systems. The article uses secondary and primary sources in academic and grey formats to examine how digital tools can shape agriculture and create new opportunities for developing Africa's food system. It identifies digital tools usable across the food system chain and explores their potential impact on food production, processing, storage, marketing, transportation, and consumption. The article also examines the challenges to transforming the digital food system in Africa. The article shows that while digital technology has the potential to increase food production, reduce food waste, and improve food marketing and distribution, several economic, political, and social challenges exist that frustrate digital uptake. It argues that African governments should enhance the capacity of actors in the food systems chain to adopt digital tools. This can be achieved through adopting relevant policies and rolling out digital infrastructure to enable actors to access it in their areas of operation.