DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS - BRIEFING PAPER - FAO
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS
BRIEFING PAPER
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS
BRIEFING PAPER
by
Nikola M. Trendov, Samuel Varas, and Meng Zeng
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Rome, 2019CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.1 The digital agriculture revolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
1.2 Digital divide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.3 Conditions for a digital transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2 BASIC CONDITIONS FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1 IT infrastructure and networks in rural areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.1.1 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Educational attainment, digital literacy and employment in rural areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.2.1 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3 Policies and programmes for enabling digital agriculture. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2.3.1 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3 ENABLERS FOR DIGITAL AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1 Use of digital technologies among rural populations and farmers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.2 Digital skills among rural populations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3 Digital agripreneurial and innovation culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.3.1 Challenges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4 EXAMPLES AND IMPACT OF THE USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
IN AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.1 Challenges to connect marginalized and remote communities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
5.2 Drivers and demands for unlocking digital agriculture transformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
5.3 Future work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
6 REFERENCES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
iiiFigures
FIGURE 1 Subscriber penetration and smartphone adoption (%) by region, 2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
FIGURE 2. Higher education attendance by degree of urbanization. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
FIGURE 3. Governmental services provided via email, Short Message Service (SMS)
or Really Simple Syndication (RSS) (% of countries in each region), 2018. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
FIGURE 4. Average proportion of the population in rural and urban areas with a specific
digital skill, 2017. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
FIGURE 5. Social media preferences among agriculture and food stakeholders (%), 2016. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
iv1 INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND
The agriculture and food sector is facing multiple finance and training. Digital technologies are creating
challenges. With the global population projected to grow new opportunities to integrate smallholders in a digitally-
from 7.6 billion in 2018 (UN DESA, 2019) to over 9.6 driven agrifood system (USAID, 2018).
billion in 2050 there will be a significant increase in the
demand for food (UN DESA, 2017). At the same time, The next period of growth in mobile connections is
the availability of natural resources such as fresh water expected to come mainly from rural communities. Already,
and productive arable land is becoming increasingly 70% of the poorest 20% in developing countries have
constrained. access to mobile phones (World Bank, 2016). Additionally,
more than 40% of the global population has internet access
Production is not the only concern; although agricultural and there are major initiatives to connect those in rural
output is currently enough to feed the world, 821 million areas of developing countries (World Bank, 2016).
people still suffer from hunger (FAO, 2018). Processes
such as the rapid rate of urbanization are also having However, there are challenges to consider in the
important implications for patterns of food production ‘digitalization’ of agriculture and food value chain. The
and consumption. transformation must be done carefully in order to avoid
an increase of a ‘digital divide’ between economies
The agrifood sector remains critical for livelihoods and sectors and between those with differing abilities
and employment. There are more than 570 million to adopt new technologies (OECD, nd). In emerging
smallholder farms worldwide (Lowder et al., 2016) and economies and rural areas, weak technological
agriculture and food production accounts for 28% of the infrastructure, high costs of technology, low levels of
entire global workforce (ILOSTAT, 2019). e-literacy and digital skills, weak regulatory framework
and limited access to services mean these areas risk being
Achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goal of left behind in the digitalization process.
a ‘world with zero hunger’ by 2030 will require more
productive, efficient, sustainable, inclusive, transparent Yet, developing economies may also have the advantage
and resilient food systems (FAO, 2017b p. 140). This will of being able to ‘leapfrog’ older agrifood technologies and
require an urgent transformation of the current agrifood models in favour of a digital agriculture revolution. This
system. new scenario will require radical rethinking by policy
makers, international organizations, business leaders and
Digital innovations and technologies may be part of the individuals: ‘business as usual’ is not the solution.
solution. The so-called ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’
(Industry 4.0)1 is seeing several sectors rapidly
transformed by ‘disruptive’ digital technologies such as 1.1 The digital agriculture
Blockchain, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and revolution
Immerse Reality. In the agriculture and food sector, the
spread of mobile technologies, remote-sensing services Historically, agriculture has undergone a series of
and distributed computing are already improving revolutions that have driven efficiency, yield and
smallholders’ access to information, inputs, market, profitability to previously unattainable levels. Market
forecasts for the next decade suggest a ‘digital agricultural
1 The term Industry 4.0 originated in Germany where it was applied revolution’ will be the newest shift which could help
to rapid transformations in the design, manufacture, operation
and service of manufacturing systems and products (European
ensure agriculture meets the needs of the global
Parliament, 2015a) population into the future.
1DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
Digitalization will change every part of the agrifood between rural and urban areas, gender, youth population.
chain. Management of resources throughout the system Urban areas often have better developed ‘digital
can become highly optimized, individualized, intelligent ecosystems’ (resources, skills, networks) compared with
and anticipatory. It will function in real time in a rural areas. Combined with global trends of urbanization
hyper-connected way, driven by data. Value chains will and middle and rich classes settling in cities, there is
become traceable and coordinated at the most detailed potential for digitalization to exacerbate existing rural-
level whilst different fields, crops and animals can be urban disparities (UN DESA, 2018a) and populations to
accurately managed to their own optimal prescriptions. fall behind in the process of a digital transformation. FAO
Digital agriculture will create systems that are highly is committed to assist governments and partners bridging
productive, anticipatory and adaptable to changes such as such multidisciplinary digital divides to ensure that
those caused by climate change. This, in turn, could lead everyone benefits from the emerging digital society.
to greater food security, profitability and sustainability.
In the context of the Sustainable Development Goals, 1.3 Conditions for a digital
digital agriculture has the potential to deliver economic transformation
benefits through increased agricultural productivity, cost
efficiency and market opportunities, social and cultural There are several conditions that will shape the digital
benefits through increased communication and inclusivity transformation of agriculture in different contexts:
and environmental benefits through optimized resource
use as well as adaptation to climate change. zz Basic conditions are the minimum conditions
required to use technology and include: availability,
The potential benefits of digitalizing the agrifood sector connectivity, affordability, ICT in education and
are convincing but it will require major transformations supportive policies and programmes (e-government)
of farming systems, rural economies, communities and for digital strategies;
natural resource management. This will be a challenge
and requires a systematic and holistic approach to zz Enabling conditions (‘enablers’) are factors that
achieve the full potential benefits. further facilitate the adoption of technologies: use
of internet, mobile phones and social media, digital
skills and support for agripreneurial and innovation
1.2 Digital divide culture (talent development, sprint programmes
including hackathons, incubators and accelerator
Digitalization of the agrifood system involves the risk programmes).
that the potential benefits will be unequally distributed
22 BASIC CONDITIONS
FOR DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION
There are some basic conditions that must exist for 2.1.1 CHALLENGES
the use of digital technologies and therefore for digital Globally, mobile cellular subscriptions have been
transformation of the agriculture and food sector. growing over recent years. Between 2013 and 2018 there
These include: infrastructure and connectivity (mobile were 1 billion new mobile subscribers and 67% of the
subscriptions, network coverage, internet access, and world population is now subscribed to mobile services
electricity supply), affordability, educational attainment (GSMA, 2018c; 2019a). Much of this recent growth
(literacy, ICT education) and institutional support. has been driven by countries in Africa and Asia and
the Pacific. Access to computers and internet has also
Access to digital technology can offer significant been increasing in LDCs and developing economies.
advantages to smallholder farmers and other rural Yet 3.8 billion people still remain offline and are
business by providing links to suppliers and information disproportionately located in rural and remote areas
and allowing users to tap into workforce talent, build (GSMA, 2018c).
strategic partnership, access support services such as
training, finance and legal services and, critically, reach One challenge is that network coverage in rural areas
markets and customers. remains limited. Despite 4G becoming the most common
mobile connection globally and 90% of being able to
However, the introduction of digital technologies in access the internet through 3G or higher quality network,
rural areas can be a challenge. Around the world, only around a third of rural populations in LDCs receive
rural populations are declining and education and coverage by 3G networks (GSMA, 2019a).
employment opportunities are limited. There is often a
lack of infrastructure, including basic IT infrastructure, Smartphones have become a major way for consumers to
particularly in very remote rural communities and those access internet. Falling handset prices and innovations
with large indigenous populations. The costs associated such as pay-as-you-go plans mean that mobile devices
with IT infrastructure present a major challenge in rural are increasingly affordable and accessible, including for
areas where rates of poverty are often high, especially rural communities (Hahn and Kibora, 2008). Among
in developing countries and least-developed countries the world’s poorest households, 7 out of 10 have a
(LDCs). mobile phone and more households in LDCs (ITU,
2018). However, these are not always web-enabled
smartphones.
2.1 IT infrastructure and
networks in rural areas Although the growth of smartphone ownership and
use of mobile broadband has been faster in developing
In the era of digitalization, Information and countries than developed countries in recent years, there
Communication Technologies (ICT) such as mobile are still twice as many mobile-broadband subscriptions
phones and computers have revolutionized how people per 100 inhabitants in developed countries as in
access knowledge and information, do business and use developing countries (Figure 1). Affordability is the main
services. Yet there remain significant digital divides both barrier to smartphone ownership in LDCs where a basic
within and between countries (European Parliament, mobile broadband plan still corresponds to over 60% of
2015b). gross national income per capita on average (ITU, 2017).
3DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
Figure 1 Subscriber penetration and smartphone to invest in building new digital skills rather than hiring
adoption (%) by region, 2018. already skilled labour.
Source: GSMA, 2019a.
A lack of digital tools, such as tablets and laptops, in
Subscriber penetration % Smart phone adoption %
schools is identified by teachers as a major obstacle to
67 60 IT education (European Commission, 2019). There is
World World also a lack of relevant skills among teachers. This tends
66 54 to be particularly true in rural areas. For schools in
Asia-Pacific Asia-Pacific
80 53
urban areas, access to the internet and online learning
CIS CIS resources is usually commonplace. However, rural and
85 72 remote schools often lack access to internet. This pattern
Europe Europe
is true even in developed countries, but is particularly
67 65
Latin America Latin America
pronounced in developing countries and LDCs.
64 52
MENA MENA Over the next 15 years, around 1.6 billion people in
83 80 developing countries and LDCs will reach working
North-America North-America
age. Creating the necessary jobs while sustaining
45 36
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa existing employment will be a significant challenge,
especially for the agrifood sector (World Bank,
2017). Rural unemployment is particularly high
and disproportionately affects youth and women.
2.2 Educational attainment, The agricultural sector remains a major source of
digital literacy and livelihoods in rural areas. Digitalization of the sector will
employment in rural areas significantly alter the nature of work and the demand for
labour and skills. Increasingly, digital literacy will be a
requirement in agrifood jobs and suitable education and
The use of digital technologies requires basic literacy training will be required.
and numeracy as well as special technical knowledge
and skills. People without such competencies can end up
marginalized in increasingly digitally driven societies. 2.3 Policies and programmes
for enabling digital
2.2.1 CHALLENGES
In rural areas, a lack of infrastructure and resources often agriculture
limits the quality of education. This leads to less effective
learning, lower attendance rates and early school leaving. In many countries, government policies and frameworks
Additionally, in many rural areas, youth are often are one of the driving forces behind digitalization.
required to work which leaves little time for school. These create an enabling environment for competitive
digital markets and e-services. There is also a trend
Rates of educational attainment are therefore often towards governments themselves deploying e-services
lower in rural areas than urban areas, especially in – ‘e-government’ – especially in health, education,
LDCs (see Figure 2). Despite the fact that 60% of the environment, and employment.
countries for which data are available have eradicated or
nearly eradicated youth illiteracy, literacy remains low However, designing and managing a digital government
in many rural areas of LDCs and particularly among program requires a high level of administrative capacity
women (UNESCO, 2017). A lack of basic literacy and and as a result some countries have had limited success
numeracy presents a significant barrier to using digital (Fakhoury, 2018). Developing countries are often the
technologies. ones with the least capacity to manage the process.
Success also varies by sector and, in many countries, the
In addition, ‘digital literacy’ is critical for using digital agricultural sector – a major employer in rural areas –
technologies. Unlike in many developed countries, lags behind.
where students regularly use advanced technologies and
digital skills in their education and day-to-day lives, ICT There is a lack of published research on government
knowledge and skills lag behind in LDCs. In many LDCs digitalization policies, but information can be inferred
and developing countries, basic computer courses are not from proxies including the extent to which governments
integrated in primary or secondary education due to a provide e-services and their policies regarding
lack of interest from governments and the private sector connectivity and data.
4CHAPTER 2 BASIC CONDITIONS FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Figure 2. Higher education attendance by degree of urbanization.
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2018.
Cyprus Dominican Republic
Greece Azerbaijan
Ireland Indonesia
Bulgaria Myanmar
Belgium Namibia
Croatia Brazil
Serbia Honduras
France Belize
Romania Nicaragua
Lithuania Ethiopia
Austria Syrian Arab Republic
Spain Pakistan
Italy Kenya
Latvia Guatemala
United Kingdom Iraq
Portugal Afghanistan
Slovak Republic Lesotho
Estonia Nigeria
Poland Uganda
Hungary Cameroon
Sweden Togo
Denmark Uzbekistan
Nepal Yemen
North Macedonia Bhutan
Georgia Suriname
Moldova Timor-Leste
Montenegro Djibouti
Ukraine Guinea
Czech Republic Gabon
Mongolia Guyana
Belarus Comoros
Bosnia and Herzegovina Zimbabwe
Chile Morocco
Luxembourg Congo, Dem. Rep.
Armenia Congo, Rep.
Finland Eswatini
Germany Gambia
Kyrgyz Republic Mauritania
Viet Nam Madagascar
Panama Benin
Kazakhstan Haiti
Bolivia Rwanda
Jordan Mali
Colombia Malawi
Barbados Sierra Leone
Albania Bangladesh
Peru Ghana
Norway Zambia
China Cote d’Ivoire
Tajikistan Liberia
Switzerland St.Lucia
Tunisia Maldives
Thailand South Sudan
Costa Rica Burkina Faso
Iceland India
Egypt Sao Tome and Principe
Philippines Burundi
Mexico Niger
Sudan Chad
Cambodia Somalia
Lao PDR Senegal
Uruguay Guinea-Bissau
El Salvador Tanzania
Jamaica Central African Republic
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Rural Urban
5DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
2.3.1 CHALLENGES countries provide e-Agriculture services. Those countries
Compared with just a decade ago, governments have that do prioritize the use of ICT in agriculture also
made significant progress in expanding ICT access generally have a better business environment and policy
and digital networks. Some developed countries are and regulation framework for agribusiness. It is possible
reaching near universal access through fixed and mobile this is linked to the use of ICT as it does not seem to
connections whilst progress is being made in developing be related to levels of education, literacy or agricultural
countries through the expansion of mobile services. contribution to GDP in a country.
Many governments have begun using e-services in So far, developed countries are leading on implementing
sectors such as health and education (Figure 3). However, national level strategies on digital agriculture. In some
in LDCs and developing countries, many people cannot cases, this is by integrating the agrifood sector as a key
use e-services because they lack access to ICT due to focus within existing national digital strategies that aim
low incomes, limited user capabilities and a lack of to transform wider industry and society. In developing
infrastructure (McKinsey & Co, 2014). As the pace of countries, most of the e-Agriculture services are
technological innovation intensifies, this is likely to limit embedded within e-government or ICT strategies where
further development of e-government in these countries. the main objective is to provide basic e-Agriculture
services such as early alert notifications and general
The type of licensing framework and efficiency of information.
spectrum allocation2 that governments use can be
important in encouraging the private sector to invest The use of digital technologies will create the need for
in mobile networks in remote areas. The experience policy and regulation in relation to the data that will be
of EU countries suggests that greater liberalization of generated. A lack of standardization in the format and
the telecommunications sector supports widespread ownership of data could create disparities, particularly
connectivity. Efficient spectrum management can in a scenario where large international companies are
also favour mobile network operators through lower pursuing digital agriculture for agribusiness whilst
deployment costs which will bring to end user in terms smallholders and local agripreneurs are simultaneously
of greater access to ICT services. using technologies to tackle societal challenges in rural
and farming areas.
Development of government e-services has often been
particularly slow in the agricultural sector and few
Figure 3. Governmental services provided via email, Short Message Service (SMS) or Really Simple
Syndication (RSS) (% of countries in each region), 2018.
Source: UN DESA, 2018
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Oceania Africa Americas Asia Europe
Education Health Labour Environment Social protection
2 Spectrum allocation refers to the radio frequencies allocated to
the mobile industry and other sectors for communication over the
airwaves (GSMA, 2019b)
63 ENABLERS FOR
DIGITAL AGRICULTURE
TRANSFORMATION
In addition to basic conditions, there are important However, the most critical component for unlocking the
enablers that facilitate digital agricultural transformation. possibilities of digital technologies use is access to the
Three key enablers are: the use of internet and mobile internet.
and social networks among farmers and agricultural
extension officers, digital skills among the rural Although almost half of the world’s population is now
population and a culture which encourages digital using the internet, this is disproportionately in developed
agripreneurship and innovation. nations. In LDCs, only one out of seven people uses the
internet (ITU, 2016) and there are apparent disparities
With the rise of high speed internet connections and between rural and urban areas (although the patterns
web-enabled smartphones, mobile apps, social media, vary between countries).
VoIP3 and digital engagement platforms have significant
potential to improve access to information and services Education and income levels are strong determinants
for those in rural areas. However, many small-scale of how (and if) people use the internet. Those with
farmers in developing countries remain isolated from higher levels of education tend to use more advanced
digital technologies and lack the skills to use them. services, such as e-commerce and online financial and
governmental services. Users with lower education
Establishing a ‘digital agriculture ecosystem’ requires levels tend to use the internet predominantly for
an enabling environment for innovation by farmers and communication and entertainment.
agripreneurs. Already, there is increasing funding and
collaboration on digital agriculture projects and start- In rural areas, where education and literacy rates are
ups are beginning to attract international investors and generally lower, mobile phones tend to be used mainly
media attention. Youth have a particular role to play in for communication and social media. This presents
this process. They often have the advantage of digital a challenge for the introduction of digital agriculture
literacy and the capacity for innovative solutions. When applications which require more advanced digital skills.
digital topics are integrated in educational programs they
can also gain an understanding of the uses of digital tools Low overall smartphone ownership in rural areas
and the skills to create them. combined with the high cost of internet and limited
network coverage also present challenges to the use of
mobile agricultural applications and limit the scope to
3.1 Use of digital technologies use social networks like Facebook to facilitate agricultural
among rural populations support and information flows between farmers. Such
and farmers availability of information could support farmers to
make better farming decisions which could contribute
to increasing yields, reduced environmental impacts and
Literacy and digital skills and the availability of improved livelihoods.
technologies all affect the use of digital innovations.
The diversity of available technologies and the lack of
3 Voice over Internet Platforms or phone services over the internet standardisation and compatibility between them, for
7DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
example for the exchange of data, also create a barrier to workers differently due to differences in digital skills and
use by farmers. The adaptability of technologies is limited technology use. Rural areas in particular lag behind in
and it is often not possible to integrate machinery from the process of gaining digital skills (Figure 4). There is a
different brands so farmers must decide which brand to need to develop a model of digital skills training aimed
invest in. There is a lack of independent advisory services at farmers so they can learn to assess and implement the
to support farmers in making these decisions. best practices and technologies for their farm business.
3.2 Digital skills among rural 3.3 Digital agripreneurial and
populations innovation culture
Digitalization creates demand for digital skills and for Digital entrepreneurship involves the transformation of
people who are competent in using digital devices, existing businesses through novel digital technologies
understanding outputs and developing programmes and and the creation of new innovative enterprises
applications. This requires not only basic literacy and characterized by: the use of digital technologies
numeracy but also data handling and communication to improve business operations, the invention of
skills. In populations where such skills are lacking, new (digital) business models and engaging with
education must improve quickly; ICT is developing at an customers and stakeholders through new (digital)
incredibly rapid pace and rates of learning must keep up channels (European Commission, 2013). Globally,
(UNDP, 2015). there are an increasing number of initiatives to foster
digital entrepreneurial activity related to the creation,
Alongside investment in technology, there is therefore development and scaling-up of ‘digital start-ups’,
a growing need for investment in the development of including in the agriculture and food sector.
multidisciplinary digital skills and knowledge. This
is true in both developed and developing countries. Modern day farmers may be particularly suited to
Countries that have ICT education programmes, can entrepreneurial activities. These days, farmers often
afford digital tools and have good access to the internet design business plans, scout for funding, make use of
will have better digital skills. farming enterprise ‘incubators’ and attend scientific
conferences. Youth farmers in particular are also more
In the agrifood sector, the digital transformation will likely to take risks in their farm management. In Italy, for
change the structure of the labour market and the example, over 12 000 agricultural start-ups were created in
nature of work. It will redefine the role of farmers and 2013 by men and women aged 25 to 30 (Coldiretti, 2018).
agripreneurs and alter the skill set required in the
agrifood sector. It may also transform how and where Developed countries are so far the leaders in establishing
people work and is likely to affect female and male an entrepreneurial culture, but less developed countries
Figure 4. Average proportion of the population in rural and urban areas with a specific digital skill, 2017.
Source: ITU, 2018.
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Copying or Sending Transferring Using copy Finding, Using basic Creating Connecting Writing a
moving a file emails with files between and paste downloading, arithmetic electronic and installing computer
or folder attached files a computer tools installing and formulas in a presentations new devices program
and other configuring spreadsheet
devices software
Urban Rural
8CHAPTER 3 ENABLERS FOR DIGITAL AGRICULTURE TRANSFORMATION
such as Rwanda, Zambia, Turkey and Armenia are also need to adopt a three-pronged approach to stimulating
rapidly pursuing these opportunities in the digital age. research and development (R&D) and innovation
education: investing in R&D, amplifying indigenous
3.3.1 CHALLENGES R&D and working with a broad coalition of partners to
Entrepreneurship presents a promising option for redesign education to emphasize e-learning tools, do-it-
development and business in rural communities. yourself hands-on learning, rewards for experimentation,
critical thinking, and digital and financial literacy and
With its large farming sector and consumer market, software skills.
Africa is anticipated to be a major testing ground for
digital solutions by agritech groups (Figure 5). At the Youth agripreneurs have a key role to play in the
beginning of 2018, there were 82 agritech start-ups digitalization of the agricultural sector. They have unique
operating across Africa with over half launching in the insights from listening to the experiences of their parents
previous two years (Disrupt Africa, 2018). and grandparents and observing missed opportunities.
Start-ups from smallholder farming communities often
However, despite the rapid growth of digital agricultural draw inspiration from, and are aimed at helping, the
technologies, most ICT-enabled solutions have yet to be farming communities where the creators grew up. Youth
demonstrated at scale. Companies – especially SMEs and will need sprint programmes and financial support to
small start-ups – often struggle to move from the stage penetrate the agripreneur market. Such programmes
of application development to fully realized businesses. attract investment and create opportunities for investors
One challenge is that there is a lack of guidance for and start-ups to form collaborations.
entrepreneurs on scaling strategies in under-served
markets. The existence of an entrepreneurial culture is often
not related to the GDP or location of a country. The
To encourage digital agripreneurship, companies need to accessibility of e-commerce and digital platforms is
create pools of digitally-skilled employees. This involves making it increasingly easy for it to develop anywhere.
finding potential employees with relevant skills and Nevertheless, creating a sustainable digital agripreneurial
identifying how they can be attracted and retained, as culture is a long-term political and practical process,
well as recognizing talent that can be nurtured within starting with appropriate education in schools. It requires
the existing employee base and investing in developing an enabling environment which allows risk-taking,
digital skills in existing roles. trust-based relationships between stakeholders, financial
opportunities, professional services, a sustainable digital
Education is the most critical factor to accelerating ecosystem4, the availability of appropriate skills and an
innovation and digital transformation. Governments attitude of sharing or ‘open innovation’.
4 A digital ecosystem is an interdependent collection of enterprises,
people and/or things that share standardised digital platforms
9DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER 10
4 EXAMPLES AND IMPACT
OF THE USE OF DIGITAL
TECHNOLOGIES IN
AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS
Digital transformation has the potential to deliver zz Agricultural robots (‘agrobots’) are seen as a key
significant economic, social and environmental benefits. trend that will deeply influence agriculture in the
The following examples demonstrate how digital future. Field agrobots are already being deployed
technologies can be applied to improve the efficiency and to help farmers measure, map and optimize water
functioning of agrifood systems: and irrigation use. Fleets of small lightweight robots
are now seen as a replacement for traditional high
zz The use of mobile applications providing price mass tractors, allowing a gradual reduction of
information to farmers can reduce market distortions compaction, re-aeration of the soil and benefits to
and help farmers to plan production processes. For soil function;
example, the M-Farm application in Kenya led to
farmers changing their cropping patterns and some
reported receiving higher prices at market as a result DINO AGROBOT FOR AGRICULTURE
(Baumüller, 2015); AND VITICULTURE
The Naïo Technologies team developed
EMA-I APP agricultural robot to improve working conditions
ANIMAL HEALTH SYSTEM SUPPORT
and profitability for farmers.
BY FAO
To help farmers tackle the increasing regulations
on phytosanitary products, the growing concerns
EMA-i is an early warning app developed by FAO
with pesticides, and the lack of workers in the
to facilitate quality and real time livestock disease
agricultural sector, Dino provides a new and
reporting captured by animal health workers in
effective solution. The Dino weeding robot allows
the field. EMA-i is integrated in the FAO’s Global
vegetable farmers to manage crop weeding with
Animal Disease Information System (EMPRES-i)
a high level of precision, while helping them save
where data are safely stored and used by countries.
time all through the season.
EMA-i is easily adaptable to countries existing
livestock disease reporting system. By supporting Dino is highly effective to weed vegetables that
surveillance and real time reporting capacities are grown in the field, both in raised vegetable
at country level and improving communication beds and in rows, such as lettuce, carrots, onions,
between stakeholders, EMA-i contributes to etc.
enhance early warning and response to animal https://www.naio-technologies.com/en/
disease occurrence with high impact to food agricultural-equipment/large-scale-vegetable-
security and livelihood. EMA-i is currently used weeding-robot/
in six countries in Africa (Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana,
Guinea, Lesotho, Tanzania and Zimbabwe).
11DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
zz Technologies can also support farmers to anticipate zz Over the last few years, the growth in Artificial
and respond to pest attacks, crop failures and climatic Intelligence technology (AI) has strengthened agro-
changes through timely weather-based agro-advisory based businesses to run more efficiently. Companies
messages; that use AI helps farmers to scan their fields and
monitor every stage of the production cycle. AI
zz Precision Agriculture (PA) is an example of an technology is transforming the agricultural sector,
application of the Internet of Things (IoT) in as farmers can depend on the data that satellite
agriculture. The use of Guidance Systems during or UAV record to determine the state of the farm
planting and fertilizer application can lead to cost rather than walking all the distance. AI can improve
savings in terms of seed, fertilizer and tractor fuel, resource use, support early decision making through
and can reduce working hours in the field. Variable predictive models and maintain 24/7 monitoring
Rate Technologies (VRT) and drones (UAV) can also systems;
reduce water and pesticide use and reduce labour and
resource costs;
ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING AND JD.
zz The importance of ERP software in agriculture
COM LAUNCHES SMART BRAIN FOR
is high, as it has the potential to help streamline PIG FARMS
every process, from procurement to production
to and distribution. ERP can enable a farm (or
related business) to respond more organically Alibaba’s “ET Agricultural Brain” is an AI
to environmental challenges, adjust systems programme that uses facial, temperature and
accordingly, and grow into a more cost-efficient voice recognition to assess each pig’s health. The
businesses; technology can tell whether a sow is pregnant
by following its sleeping and standing positions
as well as eating habits, and has been already
adopted by a number of leading pig farms in
MYCROP China. With AI they are able to detect sick hogs
COMPLETE FARM AND FARMER and minimize accidents, such as protecting
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM piglets from accidents through the introduction
of voice recognition technology. Multiple meters
MyCrop a technology-enabled initiative for are installed to collect data to optimize the
farmers, which empowers them through environment for the herd to grow, as well as
delivering information, expertise and resources, reducing human errors in the farming process.
to increase productivity and profitability, hence Using AI, pig farms will reduce pig farmers’
improving standard of living. It is a collaborative labour costs in the range of 30 percent to 50
platform that strives to combine cutting edge percent, and lower the need for feed, as well as
technology (Big Data, machine learning, shorten hogs’ lifespan by five to eight days by
smartphones/tablets, etc.), innovative business optimizing animals’ growth conditions, based
model (agriculture platform as a service), and on the firm’s estimate. China could save CNY50
focused human efforts (agriculture insights, billion (US$7.5 billion) if it applied the system to
products, and services) to serve smallholder all pig farms nationwide.
farmers.
https://www.yicaiglobal.com/news/chinese-
MyCrop facilitates farmers in taking and aging-farms-step-into-ai-era-with-facial-
executing optimum decisions by providing geo- recognition-for-pigs-
mapping, crop planning, individual farm plans
and farm automation customized for each farmer
based on weather, soil, pest and crop data on an
almost real-time basis. zz Technologies such as Blockchain have also been
MyCrop is a sustainable data-driven, scalable, shown to deliver benefits. For example, Blockchain
intelligent, self-learning, real-time collaborative has been successfully used to detect poor quality
Agrifood system, which serves as a farm as well as food in food chains allowing early and effective
farmer management solution, predictive analytics responses. It can also provide consumers with
and monitoring tool, decision support system and information on the origin of their food, generating a
agriculture (buy/sales side) e-commerce platform. competitive advantage for those who use it.
http://www.mycrop.tech
12CHAPTER 4 EXAMPLES AND IMPACT OF THE USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRIFOOD SYSTEMS
These technologies often require significant financial
WALMART TRACKS ITS LETTUCE resources, large farm sizes and close integration with
FROM FARM TO BLOCKCHAIN other technologies and agrifood chain processes. It is
therefore a greater challenge for small-scale farmers
After a two-year pilot project, the retailer is to adopt such technologies, whereas as larger farmers
using blockchain to keep track of every bag of and agribusiness companies will be more easily able to
spinach and head of lettuce. The giant retailer implement them.
begin requiring lettuce and spinach suppliers
to contribute to a blockchain database that can
rapidly pinpoint contamination.
More than 100 farms that supply Walmart with
leafy green vegetables will be required to input
detailed information about their food into a
blockchain database developed by IBM for
Walmart and several other retailers exploring
similar moves.
For Walmart, the initiative fits squarely into
two key strategies: bolstering its digital savvy
and emphasizing the quality of its fresh food
to customers. The blockchain could also save
Walmart money. When another food-borne illness
hits — like the E. coli outbreak affecting romaine
— the retailer would only have to discard the food
that was actually at risk.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/24/business/
walmart-blockchain-lettuce.html
135 CONCLUSIONS AND
FUTURE WORK
The digitalization of agriculture will cause a significant areas. There will need to be work to address this disparity
shift in farming and food production over the coming and to facilitate smartphone ownership and use in areas
years. Potential environmental, economic and social where it is currently lacking.
benefits are significant, but there are also associated
challenges. Disparities in access to digital technologies Both literacy and education levels also remain particularly
and services mean there is a risk of a digital divide. low for rural populations in developing countries and
Smallholder famers and others in rural areas are LDCs which presents a barrier to the use of digital
particularly at risk of being left behind, not only in terms technologies. Youth unemployment rates are often higher
of e-literacy and access to digital resources but also in than the country average and this is especially the case
terms of productivity and aspects of economic and social in rural areas. Increasingly, employers want employees
integration. who are adept at using technology. A lack of e-literacy
and digital skills in rural areas means these populations
Simply introducing technologies is not enough to will fall behind in the modern labour market. There is a
generate results. Social, economic and policy systems need for school curricula to incorporate digital subjects,
will need to provide the basic conditions and enablers for improved knowledge and skills among teachers
for digital transformation. The “Law of Disruption” and for increased availability of digital technologies in
(Downes, 2009) states that technology changes classrooms.
exponentially, but economic and social systems change
progressively and have trouble keeping up. Work is To unlock the full potential of digital agriculture
especially needed to ensure the necessary conditions for transformation, governments need to create an enabling
digital transformation are created in rural areas. regulatory environment. Designing and managing
digital government programmes requires a high level of
administrative capacity which is beyond the capabilities
5.1 Challenges to connect of some countries, particularly LDCs and developing
marginalized and remote countries. Addressing the digital divide must be made
communities a policy priority and governments should make the
socioeconomic case for digitalization of smallholder
A well-developed digital infrastructure, especially in farming both to the farmers, and to potential private
rural areas, is a precondition for digital agriculture sector investors and start-up businesses. There will need
and food systems. Although advances in technology to be significant capacity building among governments in
and regulatory reform have improved access to ICT developing countries and LDCs to facilitate this change
for people around the world, there still exists a digital in policy and regulation.
divide. Just as a certain technology (e.g. dial-up Internet)
becomes available across income levels, a new technology There is increased interest in data-enabled farming
(e.g. broadband) appears, leaving users in developing and related services and many new entrants from the
countries ‘playing catch up’. technology industry and start-ups. Vast data collection
will drive the use of machine learning and AI and
Although mobile-cellar subscriptions in the last five new models will need to be developed to make the
years were driven by countries in Africa and Asia and data useful. So far, the information gathered is often
the Pacific, many people still do not own or use a mobile insufficient to inform the comprehensive solutions and
phone and the distribution of ownership is unequal. partnerships needed to transform smallholder farming
Access to web-enabled smartphones and fast 3G or 4G into viable, sustainable digital businesses. There also
internet connections remains particularly limited in rural need to be decisions about the ownership and use of data;
14CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
manufacturers collect data from their devices and have Additionally, not all farmers are quick to adopt ICT. Many
the opportunity to exploit them, but farmers are often lack the necessary knowledge to request or use services,
reluctant to share their data without receiving something especially as ICT applications in the agrifood sector
in return. are relatively new and many e-services are still being
developed. It is critical that technologies are properly
Strategies for digital agricultural transformation in targeted; if they do not provide the information that
developing countries must combine IT infrastructure farmers need, they will not be adopted.
with social, organisational and policy change.
Digital skills and e-literacy remain a significant
constraint to the use of new technologies and are
5.2 Drivers and demands for particularly lacking in rural areas, especially in
unlocking digital developing countries. The diversity of available digital
agriculture transformation technologies and a lack of standardisation also present
a barrier to adoption. The choice of which technology
to use is complex and there is a lack of advisory services
Access to the internet remains the most critical to support farmers in these decisions. Education and
component for unlocking the possibilities of new supporting services must be improved to support the
technologies. Across the globe, smartphones dominate in adoption of digital technologies.
terms of time spent online and could be a game changer
in the agrifood sector in LDCs and developing countries. Digital technology is already changing the dynamics of
They create opportunities to access information and the agrifood sector but the process has so far not been
services through mobile applications, online videos and systematic. Realising the full potential of digital farming
social media. Sites like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube will require collaboration of all players in the agricultural
present a cost-effective means of communication value chain. There is a need for a clear overview on the
with, and among, smallholder farmers and other key part of actors working in agrifood and digital products
agricultural stakeholders such as extension officers, – including private sector, governments and other
agro-dealers, retailers, agricultural researchers and policy agencies – on how to exploit the opportunities of digital
makers (Figure 6). agriculture.
Falling handset prices, increasing internet coverage Farmers have a key role to play and digital technologies
and the growing youth population create significant provide new opportunities for them to collaborate
opportunities for the use of mobile phones in agricultural and innovate. There is also a growing group in the
areas. However, internet provision and smartphone farming sector who have university degrees and
ownership remain lower in developing countries, and specialisations in science and technology subjects. They
particularly in rural areas, and there needs to be more are often skilled in experimentation and innovative
research into the use of mobile internet and social media thinking. Youth in the agrifood sector are also often
in rural communities. entrepreneurial and willing to take calculated risks to
pursue new enterprises.
Figure 5. Social media preferences among agriultural stakeholders (%), 2016.
Source: Bhattacharjee and Saravanan, 2016.
70
Percentage of respondents
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Facebook Whatsapp Google+ Wikis Twitter Blogs YouTube
Social networks
Note: Includes 62 countries.
15DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN AGRICULTURE AND RURAL AREAS: BRIEFING PAPER
There is a need for greater support for agripreneurial A final factor to consider is that digital agricultural
activities such as: business courses in agriculture, ICT
United Arab Emirates
technologies are affected by economies of scale. Adoption
curricula in education, increased capacity and support
Singapor e
Qatar
Poland
is easier for users who can implement them at large scale.
for innovation hubs and incubators, increased availability
Kuw ait
J apan
Bulgaria
Small-scale farmers face a disadvantage compared to
of venture capital (especially mid-level financing large agribusiness actors. This creates disparity between
Belgium
Belarus
Bahrain
needed for scaling) and creation of a more favourable large and small-scale farmers, with a corresponding
Romania
Spain
France
business environment. Because the real impact is from inequality between developed and developing countries.
Netherlands
Denmark
Australia
the businesses they create, and the amount and kind of Transformative digital innovations and technologies are
South Africa
Luxembourg
United States of America
employment that their SMEs or digital farms create. often not designed for the scale at which smallholder
United Kingdom
T unis ia
Sw itzerland
Sw eden
Slovenia
Serbia
farmers operate.
Saudi Arabia
5.3 Future work
Oman
Norw ay
New Zealand
Moldova
Malta
Some specific priorities for future work are:
Lebanon
Korea, South
J ordan
Italy
Much work is needed in the area of digitalization in
Israel
Ireland
zz Facilitating the collection of better data about digital
Iceland
agriculture and rural areas. There are some key factors to
Hong Kong
Gr eece technologies and digitalisation at the regional and
Finland
be considered in this work.
Dominican Republic
Egypt
population level, particularly to show differentiated
Cyprus
Croatia
Canada information about urban and rural areas;
Austria
Firstly, a significant challenge in understanding digital
Armenia
T urkey
T hailand
agricultural transformation is a lack of systematic, official
Morocco
Macedonia
China
zz Creation of sustainable business models that provide
data on the topic. Much of the data – for example on
Montenegr o
Lithuania
Lesotho
viable digital solutions for inclusion of small-scale
levels of e-literacy – are only available at the country level
Albania
Yemen
Fiji farmers in the digital agriculture transformation
with no distinction for urban and rural areas. Meanwhile,
Venezuela
Ur uguay
T onga
process;
data on networks focus only on coverage and do not
T imor -Leste
Slovakia
Russian Federation
provide information about the quality or affordability
Portugal
Paraguay
Panama
zz Creation of an index to consider the development
of services. There is also a lack of information about
Mongolia
Mexico
Malaysia
of digital agriculture in the context of cultural,
government support and regulatory frameworks for
Latvia
J amaica
Hungary
educational and institutional dimensions of a given
digital transformation; so far, this has been interpreted country, both in terms of the availability of basic
Guatemala
Germany
Estonia
via proxies including the availability of government conditions and enablers for digitalization and the
Ecuador
Cz ech Republic
Colombia
e-services and regulations about connectivity and data potential economic, social and environmental impacts
Chile
Br az il
Bosnia and Herz egovina
Belize
protection. Argentina
Peru
of the process. This could involve further development
Rw anda
Philippines
Barbados
of a Digital Agriculture Readiness Index, expanding
Bangladesh
A second consideration is that there are significant
Costa R ica
Az er baijan
on previous work by the FAO Regional Office for
Indonesia
disparities in the adoption of digital agriculture
Vietnam
Uz bekistan
Europe and Central Asia in 2015. Such an index would
Ukraine
technologies between developed and developing
T ajikistan
Sri Lanka
help provide context for the development of future
Nepal
countries and between global companies and those at
Myanmar
Mauritius digital agriculture strategies for the FAO member
Georgia
a local, community or family scale. Factors including
Br unei Darussalam
Bolivia countries, which starts with sensitizing countries to
Algeria
financial resources and education levels influence
Kaz akhstan
India the concept of digital agriculture and the importance
Kenya
the adoption of modern agricultural technologies.
Ghana
Botswana of digital technologies for the agrifood sector and
Libya
Small farmers in rural areas are disproportionately
Samoa
Saint Lucia
Nicaragua
continues with steps towards the digital agriculture
disadvantaged as well as facing problems of limited
Bahamas
Solomon Islands transformation process.
Bhutan
access to infrastructure, networks and technology.
Cambodia
Ethiopia
Iraq
Vanuatu
T rinidad and T obago
Laos
Pakistan
Cameroon
El Salvador
Madagascar
Iran
Nigeria
Cabo Ver de
Honduras
Congo
Papua New Guinea
Kyrgyz stan
Haiti
Angola
Cote d'Ivoir e
Gambia
Senegal
Benin
Namibia
Gabon
Liberia
Niger
Sudan
Guinea
Uganda
T ogo
Mauritania
Congo,D emocr atic Republic
Z ambia
Sierr a Leone
Z imbabw e
Mozambique
Burundi
Afghanistan
T anz ania
Mali
Chad
Guyana
Burkina Faso
Malaw i
Sw aziland
- 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00
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