Data-Driven Food Systems for Crisis Resiliency

The report argues that the COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical vulnerabilities in African food systems, which are heavily dependent on trans-border imports and characterized by fragmented data. It proposes a shift from linear data models to a multistakeholder ecosystem approach based on three archetypes: improving decision-making through analytics, enhancing business and partnership models, and empowering stakeholders across the value chain. The document provides examples of these models in practice, such as Kenya's Food Security War Room and Zambia's digital economic passports for farmers. To scale these solutions, the report recommends designing for value sharing, interoperability, scale, and inclusivity, supported by a comprehensive enabling environment involving policy reform, infrastructure investment, and capacity building.

• COVID-19 is expected to cause a significant contraction in African agricultural production, estimated between 2.6% and 7%, and could lead to a decline in food imports of 13% to 25% due to increased transaction costs and reduced demand.
• The World Food Programme predicts that an additional 20 million people in sub-Saharan Africa may struggle to feed themselves due to the socio-economic impacts of COVID-19, potentially doubling the number of people facing desperate food shortages to over 40 million.
• Digital connectivity in Africa remains a significant barrier to data-driven transformation, with mobile penetration at approximately 45% and smartphone/3G/4G internet penetration at only around 25%.
• The report identifies three emerging archetypes for leveraging data to create food system resiliency: analytics-based insights for better decision-making, new business and partnership models, and the empowerment of stakeholders across the value chain.
• Practical applications of data-driven systems include Kenya's 'Food Security War Room' for real-time monitoring of food availability and affordability, and the use of blockchain-enabled software in Zambia to create 'digital economic passports' that help smallholder farmers demonstrate credit history to access finance.
• To achieve long-term impact and scale, data ecosystems must be designed for value sharing, interoperability, scale (including the use of feature phones and local dialects), and inclusivity, specifically targeting women and youth.
• A successful enabling environment for data-driven food systems requires a 'whole of government' policy approach, investment in rural ICT infrastructure, and capacity building to improve digital literacy among farmers and intermediaries.

APA

World Economic Forum (2020). Data-Driven Food Systems for Crisis Resiliency. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Data_Driven_Food_Systems_for_Crisis_Resiliency.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Data-Driven Food Systems for Crisis Resiliency. 2020. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Data_Driven_Food_Systems_for_Crisis_Resiliency.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Data-Driven Food Systems for Crisis Resiliency |date=September 2020 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Data_Driven_Food_Systems_for_Crisis_Resiliency.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2020datadriven, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Data-Driven Food Systems for Crisis Resiliency}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = sep, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Data_Driven_Food_Systems_for_Crisis_Resiliency.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }