Yossi Matias, Google’s Vice President of Engineering, engages in a discussion on the intersection of AI and the climate crisis in Africa.

The conversation around climate change feels like it should be the concern of developed countries. For us, in Africa, it feels like we should just address poverty, hunger, and basic amenities, while we leave the future of the planet to countries higher up in Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If this is you, then think again. No matter what you believe, Africa desperately needs solutions to grapple with the effects of climate change.

This should be obvious, right? Wait, it isn’t? Okay, let’s build it up to agriculture, one of the sectors that’s most impacted by climate change. In 2023, agriculture will account for half of the employed labour in Africa. This means 233 million people depend on it to earn a living and provide food for the continent and beyond. But the ever-changing Mother Nature is not smiling on the continent.

The World Bank’s 2021 Africa Pulse report states that instances of droughts tripled between 2010 and 2019, relative to 1970 and 1979. Storms have quadrupled, and floods have increased tenfold in the same period. Often, this either affects or limits the potential for growth in the production of food and cash crops.

As we grapple with the realities of climate change, innovative companies are emerging to tackle these challenges head-on.