NEC and ClimateAi have built a conceptual AI-driven model to estimate the ROI of climate adaptation measures in cocoa and rice farming.
The model quantifies the effects of interventions such as irrigation, climate-adapted seed varieties, and adjusted planting schedules.
Findings will be showcased at TICAD 9 in Yokohama, aimed at catalyzing adaptation finance and agritech innovation across Africa.
NEC Corporation, together with San Francisco–based ClimateAi, has developed an artificial intelligence model designed to evaluate the effectiveness of climate change adaptation in agriculture. The initiative targets cocoa and rice cultivation in Africa, aiming to quantify both agricultural resilience and the economic return on investment (ROI) of adaptation strategies.
“Policymakers and funders often struggle to assess the cost-effectiveness of adaptation,” NEC and ClimateAi noted, highlighting that agriculture is one of the sectors most exposed to climate change yet still lacks robust investment metrics.
The model integrates ClimateAi’s long-term climate forecasting with NEC’s agritech expertise to simulate outcomes of adaptation measures. Three interventions were tested: introducing irrigation systems, switching to climate-adapted seed varieties, and adjusting planting times for traditional crops.
Africa, the world’s largest cocoa producer, faces mounting risks to its agricultural base as temperature, rainfall, and soil conditions shift in the coming decades. By using the model, stakeholders such as development banks and international organizations can better forecast the benefits of financing resilience measures. Some results will be demonstrated interactively at the TICAD Business Expo & Conference (Japan Fair) in August 2025.
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NEC and ClimateAi stressed that scaling adaptation finance will require mobilizing both public and private capital. The model provides a data-driven approach to de-risk investments and identify where funding can yield the highest impact.
NEC added that the collaboration fits within its broader innovation push under the message “The future is ours to shape.” By combining advanced forecasting with agricultural technology, the company aims to help governments, producers, and financiers pursue sustainable agriculture and long-term food security.
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