Aim of the project
The project aims to explore the use of AI to reduce food waste at various stages of South Africa’s food supply chains
Project summary
Food waste is a systemic problem that occurs at every stage of the food supply chain, from the farm and the field to the plate. Not only does it contribute to entrenched food insecurity, poverty and inequality in South Africa, but it also exacerbates climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. There are proposals suggesting that the deployment of data-driven systems, such as artificial intelligence (AI), can boost resource efficiency (RE) and support the transition to systems that minimise food waste at various points along the food supply chain. However, most of these proposals are merely socio-technical imaginaries originating from the Global North and fail to shed light on the risks and harms associated with the deployment of data-driven technologies in the Global South and/or within existing inequitable ecosystems that discriminate againstwomen. By actively incorporating an intersectional perspective on gender inclusion, this case study will explore the use of AI to reduce food waste at various points in South Africa’s food supply chains.
Project leader
Shamira Ahmed
Project implementation area
South Africa, Namibia, Botswana
About DepHUB
The Data Economy Policy Hub (DepHUB) is the first independent think tank founded by an indigenous African woman in South Africa.
DepHUB’s main objectives are to undertake rigorous, public policy-oriented research and to contribute to the formulation of evidence-based, forward-looking policies that harness the multidimensional aspects of data and responsible AI for inclusive sustainable development (AI4SD) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).
DepHUB provides rigorous market research, public policy analysis, technical capacity-building and consultancy services on the data-driven digital economy in sub-Saharan Africa.
DepHUB is a not-for-profit organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a pan-African reach. DepHUB is a founding partner of the South African Association for Artificial Intelligence (SAAIA) and a member of the Civil Society and Academia Advisory Group (CSAAG) of the Digital for Development Hub (D4D).
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