Toward a digital transformation of African agriculture
Digital technologies are changing the game in agriculture – enabling a more efficient use of inputs, greater market access, transparency, mobile banking and better food safety through traceability. Yet agriculture is still one of the least digitized sectors in the global economy.
FAO and AfDB hosted a four-part webinar series on Transforming Agriculture in Africa Through Digitization. Representatives from farmer organizations, government, civil society, NGOs and the private sector led panel discussions. While the webinars looked at quick digital responses to disruptions caused by COVID-19, they also explored what was needed for a digital transformation in agriculture on the continent.
Over 900 people from around the world logged into the initial webinar, which looked at the main actors involved in Africa’s digital transformation. The other webinars focused on data-driven solutions for advisory and planning, data-driven marketplaces, the use of FinTech and the bundling of digital services for farmers.
Inadequate infrastructure, lack of access to reliable and affordable internet connectivity, growing but limited smartphone ownership and low levels of digital literacy among older farmers are just some of the barriers keeping small farmers in Africa from adopting digital technologies and services.
The influx of digital technology platforms can also cause fatigue and skepticism. Long-term buy-in can be difficult if farmers are not able to see how the technologies or services meet their needs and translate into increased profitability.
A more connected ecosystem of farmer-tailored digital solutions will allow farmers across Africa to improve their livelihoods and well-being. Efforts to increase digital literacy and access to digital solutions need to ensure no one is left behind. Simple technologies like Interactive Voice Response, Short Message Service and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data, especially with the option to use local languages, can contribute to greater uptake among small farmers. Wider smartphone penetration will also help, as will peer-to-peer knowledge sharing.
How data is stored, shared among organizations and maintained will be critical in the coming years. Open interoperability is key to building better risk, credit and insurance models. But comprehensive protection frameworks – covering consumer protection, transparency, data sharing and privacy issues, disclosures – need to be in place, along with the means to operationalize and enforce them.
Scaling up public-private partnerships for digital solutions and diversifying business models to reduce risk and increase returns can go a long way toward realizing Africa’s digital agriculture transformation.