Integrated Land, Soil and Crop Information Systems in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda: Institutional Readiness and Implications for Climate-Smart Agriculture

Integrated land–soil–crop information systems are increasingly important for supporting climate-smart agricultural planning and implementation, yet their development in Eastern Africa is constrained by fragmented mandates, weak technical capacity, and limited data interoperability. This study assesses how institutional readiness, user demand, and technical and human-capacity conditions shape the integration of such systems into national Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS). A mixed-methods, multi-country assessment was conducted in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda (2022–2024), drawing on 145 semi-structured key-informant interviews, stakeholder mapping, national workshops, and a regional synthesis consultation. The analysis addressed three objectives: (i) diagnose institutional readiness and user demand; (ii) assess technical, infrastructural, and human-capacity requirements; and (iii) identify governance and design principles for embedding integrated information systems within AKIS and Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) strategies. The results show consistently high demand for spatially explicit soil and crop data but persistent fragmentation of mandates, uneven coordination, and substantial subnational capacity gaps. Despite these constraints, emerging digital-agriculture strategies, open-data policies, and regional soil-health initiatives provide potential entry points for integration. The study offers a comparative evidence base and design principles—covering governance, interoperability standards, co-production processes, and capacity strengthening—needed to transition from project-driven fragmentation toward interoperable and sustainable information systems. These findings provide diagnostic and design-oriented insights for national and regional efforts to strengthen agricultural information systems that support CSA implementation in Eastern Africa.