Information technologies and artificial intelligence in climate-resilient agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

The integration of information and communication technology (ICT) with artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative approach to improve climate change resilience in sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural sector. This bibliometric review analysed peer-reviewed literature on the evolving landscape of research on ICT and AI applications in addressing climate-related issues in agriculture in the region. Using VOSviewer software version 1.6.20, the analysis included metrics such as co-authorship analysis, keyword co-occurrence and citation analysis. For the period 2010–2025, the study shows trends, research clusters and gaps in using ICT and AI tools in agriculture, such as mobile advisory systems, remote sensing, machine learning and predictive analytics. The number of research publications remained low for the period 2010–2019, then rose steadily to a total of 26 by 2025. The findings revealed a growing focus on ICT-driven solutions for weather monitoring, precision agriculture and farmer decision-support systems, alongside AI’s role in optimising resource use and forecasting climate impacts. Climate change was the dominant keyword closely linked to agriculture, food security, agricultural development, sustainable development, agricultural technology and ICT. South Africa had the highest number of co-authored publications (n = 8), followed by Kenya (n = 7). Challenges faced by farmers in adopting ICT and AI in climate resilience included lack of funding, inadequate knowledge, lack of technical skills and poor infrastructure. This review underscores the potential of ICT and AI to strengthen agricultural resilience in sub-Saharan Africa, while calling for more collaboration networks and partnerships to share knowledge and resources for ICT and AI development in agriculture. Significance: This review examines how digital tools connect with climate change in sub-Saharan Africa. The study maps research trends, themes, collaborations and gaps guiding stakeholders to invest in climate-smart digital farming solutions that are most relevant to sub-Saharan Africa’s socio-economic and environmental needs. Despite the growing interest in ICT and AI approaches to research on climate-related issues in agriculture, the number of publications remains low, with South Africa and Kenya accounting for nearly 58% of the output. The findings and challenges strengthen the study’s importance, highlighting the need for sub-Saharan African countries to build stronger research partnerships to ensure that digital agricultural innovations reach smallholder farmers before climate risks become irreversible.