Digital technologies have taken root in agriculture, boosting efficiency and productivity and tackling bottlenecks in food safety, postharvest handling, market access, finance and supply chain management.

Yet, agriculture is still one of the least digitized sectors in the global economy.

Digital solutions such as mobile payments, e-advisory, applications to assess input quality and provide traceability, e-commerce platforms, fintechs and weather-based insurance can be game changers for farmers.

The FAO Investment Centre works with Members and partners to accelerate investments in digital agriculture. Activities include working on policy aspects, introducing digital technologies into investment projects, using digital solutions for improved land administration, and producing investment briefs and digital agriculture profiles on various countries.

At a glance

• With the World Bank, FAO is carrying out policy work in Malaysia on food systems digitization. 
• With the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, FAO is promoting precision agriculture solutions in horticulture, traceability systems in dairy and a digital certification system for agriculture trade. 
• Together with the UN Capital Development Fund, FAO has promoted digital solutions in transhumant livestock systems in the Sahel region.
• And with the African Development Bank, FAO has produced a digital agriculture investment toolkit. 
• FAO published diverse studies with partners on digitization, including on funding the digital transformation of land administration; digital technologies in Ukraine’s grain sector (EBRD); digital agriculture in action in India (ICRISAT); and the use of digital technologies to strengthen agriculture human capital (IFPRI). Publications on Türkiye and Serbia are forthcoming. 

The private sector is central to digitization efforts, as it provides most of the research and development for digital solutions on the ground. But for that to happen, public interventions need to bridge the digital divide, which still excludes many small farmers, and to make the business environment more conducive for providers.