Incoming President of CropLife Africa Middle East (AME) Stella Simiyu discusses her goals as the association’s new leader and challenges facing the region.
Agribusiness Global: What are two goals for CropLife AME that you’d like to achieve as its new President?
Stella Simiyu: My first goal is to strengthen CropLife Africa Middle East as a more visible, credible, and farmer-centered voice for the plant science industry across the region. Farmers in AME are facing more complex pressures than ever before: climate change, new and emerging pests, food safety requirements, rising input costs, and market access expectations.
Our role is to ensure that the industry is not only present in policy discussions, but also contributes practical, science-based solutions that support farmers’ productivity, resilience, and livelihoods.
As part of the toolbox, biologicals must become truly viable complementary tools in the AME region. The science is in place, and the products exist, yet many remain tied up in regulatory backlogs or are simply not known to the farmers who could benefit from them. I would like CropLife AME to enhance its collaboration in tackling barriers to these and other innovations.
Related to the first goal is the need to collaboratively deepen our impact in two critical areas: regulatory excellence and sustainable stewardship. We need regulatory systems that are predictable, science-based, and proportionate to risk so that farmers can access quality-assured innovations in a timely manner.
At the same time, access must go hand in hand with responsible use. That means stronger stewardship, anticounterfeit action, farmer training, container management, resistance management, and support for integrated pest management. This can only be successful when we equally strengthen our network of national associations, whose work is essential to achieving our broader objectives. It is through these associations, currently operating in 23 countries, that we reach farmers directly — whether by delivering training, running campaigns to eliminate counterfeit products, or implementing empty container management schemes.
We can’t do all this alone. Partnerships with member companies, development organizations, and governments are how we multiply our reach, and building them will be a priority for me personally.
ABG: What are the two most pressing challenges currently facing the crop protection industry in Africa, and what, in your opinion, are ideas for solutions?
SS: The first challenge is regulatory fragmentation and delayed access to innovations. AME comprises approximately 72 countries, and at CropLife AME, we currently have national associations in only 23 of them. In addition, all of these countries have different registration systems. This means that a product proven safe and effective in one country can take years to reach farmers in a neighboring country.
The solution lies in accelerating regional harmonization frameworks — through the African Union, regional economic communities such as East African Community (EAC), Economic Community of West African States, Southern African Development Community, and others — and in building mutual recognition mechanisms that allow data generated in one market to be accepted in others. CropLife AME is actively engaged in harmonization initiatives because currently, our members often face different requirements, timelines, fees, and data expectations from one country to another. This increases costs, slows down product introduction, and ultimately delays farmer access to newer, safer, and more effective tools, including biologicals and other innovative solutions. It is one of the areas where I believe we can achieve meaningful and measurable progress.
A second challenge is the proliferation of illicit and counterfeit pesticides across AME markets — a threat to product integrity. This is a systemic threat to farmer livelihoods, food safety, and the reputation of the entire crop protection industry. When farmers apply counterfeit products, they lose yield, income, and trust in modern agriculture. At CropLife AME, combating illicit and counterfeit pesticides is one of our core priorities. Our approach involves multiple stakeholders: stronger enforcement at borders, increased investment in farmer education to help them identify genuine products, and closer collaboration with customs authorities and governments to close the regulatory gaps that illicit traders exploit.
ABG: What role do you see companies that offer both crop protection and biologicals playing in Africa’s crop protection for the next five years compared to companies only offering synthetic crop protection products?
SS: Companies that offer both conventional crop protection and biologicals are uniquely positioned to support African agriculture over the next five years — not because one replaces the other, but because farmers will need more integrated solutions. It has been proven that where farmers have substituted the last application with a biological, residue issues have been managed effectively.
However, I do not see the future as a simple choice between biologicals and synthetic crop protection. Farmers need a practical toolbox. That toolbox may include conventional crop protection products, biologicals, improved seed, digital advisory tools, precision application technologies, good agronomic practices, and stronger extension support.
At CropLife AME, we promote integrated pest management as the framework that makes this possible: combining cultural, biological, and chemical measures in the way that best fits the crop, the season, and the context. The two approaches are complementary, and farmers who have access to both, and know how to use them, are simply better equipped.
I also see a future where companies with conventional portfolios will continue to play an important role, especially where they invest in innovation, stewardship, resistance management, new application techniques, and responsible use, among others.
ABG: How is CropLife AME supporting regulatory harmonization across African markets?
SS: Our role includes providing technical input into regional regulatory guidelines, supporting capacity-building efforts, sharing international best practices, encouraging digitalization of registration systems, and collaborating on initiatives that promote alignment around data requirements, efficacy evaluation, labeling, dossier review, post-registration controls, and stewardship.
Examples include support for harmonized pesticide guidelines through the EAC. We facilitated access to fall armyworm product information based on the EAC harmonized registration framework.
Other work includes:
- The implementation of e-submission systems.
- Support for the African Union’s plant health and food safety strategy activities.
- Promotion of knowledge exchange and e-learning on MRLs, consumer safety, and trade.
- The development of continental guidelines.
ABG: What role is ag tech playing in countries like Kenya and South Africa?
SS: Ag technology is becoming an important enabler of more precise, efficient, and sustainable agriculture across Africa. In Kenya, where agriculture contributes about 23% of GDP, ag tech is helping address gaps in extension services, climate-risk management, input efficiency, finance, and market access through digital advisory tools, e-voucher systems, and early warning platforms.
In South Africa, where agriculture contributes around 2.8% of GDP but remains critical for exports and food security, the focus is more on precision agriculture. Technologies such as drones, satellite imagery, AI, and remote sensing are being used for crop monitoring, pest detection, yield forecasting, and more efficient input use.
For farmers, these technologies improve decision-making, helping determine when to spray, what to apply, and how to reduce unnecessary applications and losses, while also supporting better compliance, sustainability, and market access.
However, ag tech must remain practical and inclusive. Its success will depend on affordability, connectivity, digital literacy, reliable data, and enabling policies that support innovation while ensuring farmers can benefit
at scale.
Editor’s Note: Figures were taken from the following sources: World Bank Open Data; World Bank (2023), Scaling Up Disruptive Technologies for Agricultural Productivity in Kenya; CSIR South Africa — Precision Agriculture; GreenCape (2025), The Growth of South Africa’s Agtech Sector and Opportunities for Agricultural Drone Applications).