The present paper aims at addressing the issue of how the use of multispectral and hyperspectral satellite imagery can help identify the presence of diseases and toxins within the agri-food sector in order to provide technical and scientific support to Food Security and Safety policies in Africa. This topic is one among those addressed within the AFRI4Cast project. A project, funded by European Space Agency, that in its entirety will provide national-, regional-, parcel-, pixel-specific in season production estimates of rust disease outbreak probability.