On November 20, 2025, the HSE Centre for African Studies organized a roundtable discussion on «The Potential of Digital Solutions for Ensuring Food Sovereignty» as part of the International Conference on African Countries Food Sovereignty Ensuring in Addis Ababa, organized by Rossotrudnichestvo with the support of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation.
The discussion was held as part of the e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Program for African countries. The speakers discussed the role of digital technologies in achieving food sovereignty, including the potential of using artificial intelligence, big data, and the Internet of Things to optimize production and reduce losses in the agricultural sector, as well as technology exports and projects implemented jointly by Russia and African countries.
The roundtable was moderated by Amuhaya Claire Ayuma, guest lecturer at the HSE Centre for African Studies.
One of the session’s speakers was Andrey Maslov, Director of the HSE Centre for African Studies. He noted the connection between the concepts of «food security» and «food sovereignty», emphasizing the latter’s important role in sustainable economic development. He also underlined the role of state in building food sovereignty in African context.
«Food sovereignty is the next level of food security, a level at which the state and government intervene to employ the power. But now it’s time maybe for the government institutions to enhance their capacities and to play more active and proactive role in not only regulating the sector and investing in it, but also in triggering its digital transformation», – emphasized Andrey Maslov.
The Director of the HSE Centre for African Studies also discussed the important role of digital technologies in achieving food sovereignty: «Technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data enable the comprehensive collection of information from all participants in the production chain, as well as the processing, storage, and transmission of this information to all stakeholders as needed. One common problem is the lack of information at the top level to make informed and effective decisions. This issue is addressed by situational control rooms, which provide both national and local governments with up-to-date information on agro-technological development».
Andrey Maslov also mentioned the role of e-Governance Knowledge Sharing Hub, created with the support of the Government of the Russian Federation and «Innopraktika» company. There is an African countries E-Gov Challenges & Solutions Register published on the Hub, with cases on the use of Russian digital technologies in various sectors, including agriculture.
Adeyemi Adewoye, Senior Special Assistant to the Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Nigeria, outlined the Nigerian government’s efforts to ensure food security with a focus on smallholder farmers:
«In Nigeria, we have 80% of our farmers that are small-scale farmers, and they are living in rural areas. Their use of digital technologies is hampered by limited internet access. We’ve already provided 90,000 kilometers of optics, but this remains insufficient. We’ve also launched an identity scheme for small-scale farmers to ensure their government support. The program provides farmers with personalized advice on soil quality and innovative farming methods. Furthermore, the Nigerian government is working to implement irrigation and fertilization measures through specialized agencies and is actively investing in ICT infrastructure», – said Adeyemi Adewoye.
«Whatever applications are going to be used in Pakistan, they are not going to be used in the United States. This is why it is so important to take into account regional specifics», – Adeyemi Adewoye.
The speaker also mentioned the creation of specialized training centers to train farmers in digital skills for their practical usage on their farms. He emphacized the need to consider regional differences and cultural background when adapting digital solutions.
Gerald Makau Masila, Executive Director, Eastern Africa Grain Council, emphasized the critical role of transport and logistics infrastructure in quick transportation of food products from the production areas to where they are needed. He also reiterated the role of Internet connectivity.
«First and foremost, we need market knowledge, information on local food availability and demand. However, we won’t be able to obtain this information without an internet connection», – said Gerald Makau Masila.
Moreover, the speaker named the development of public-private partnerships as one of the ways to overcome the food crisis in Africa.
Following the roundtable discussion, Kehali Jembere Tiruneh, Dean of the College of Agriculture & Environmental Science, University of Gondar, Ethiopia, discussed the importance of digital education as a way to accelerate agricultural development.
«We are actively introducing IT components into educational programs in Ethiopia, both at the primary and university levels. However, in rural areas, access to computers and the internet remains limited, making it difficult to teach farmers digital literacy. I believe that for the successful transformation of the agricultural sector, it is necessary to invest in farmer training, creating both physical training centers and organizing online courses for farmers», – said Kehali Jembere Tiruneh.
He also mentioned the role of government and non-governmental organizations in the digital transformation of the agricultural sector: «The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATI) has created a digital soil map with fertilizer recommendations based on soil conditions and nutrient content».
Concluding his report, Kehali Jembere Tiruneh emphasized the importance of collaborating with universities and research centers to develop and implement educational programs and joint research aimed at increasing farmers’ digital literacy and access to digital technologies.
«In this regard, I would like to highlight the cooperation agreement between HSE and the University of Gondar, concluded this year at the Global Digital Forum. We are pleased to collaborate with the Centre for African Studies, Russia’s leading expert institution on African development», – the speaker commented.
Demsachew Guadie, Agriculture Biotechnology researcher, Addis Ababa University, discussed the development of biotechnology in agriculture: «This is a relatively young field, as compared to other fields of science. But it is a key technology that can transform different fields like agriculture, industry, environment, and health».
According to the speaker, Ethiopia has educational programs for training specialists in biotechnology:
«Programs aimed at improving the qualifications of specialists in biotechnology are offered at Addis Ababa University at both the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral levels. Furthermore, the university implements projects jointly with international development organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as national development agencies in Sweden and Norway».
«This collaboration helps create a solid foundation for the further development of biotechnology. Innovative technologies such as gene editing and precision farming methods have been developed: specialized sensors help increase crop yields and agricultural sustainability», – the speaker commented on the achievements in biotechnology.
