Paper short abstract:

This paper is about the digitalisation of farm practices and the challenges faced by the marginal and small farmers in India. The paper argues that the economics of production in such minimal holdings do not lend themselves to the adoption of digital technologies in farming.

Paper long abstract:

In India, marginal (owning < 1.00 hectares) and small farmers (owning 1.00 to 1.99 hectares) form the bulk of the agrarian community. In the last decade, as part of government policy, digitalisation in farming is being increasingly promoted as particularly beneficial for small farmers.

This paper uses preliminary findings from research on the digitalisation of food assistance (ESRC funded and SOAS based). The study argues that digital technologies do not benefit small farmers and may even reinforce existing power imbalances. It uses evidence from Chhattisgarh in central India. Chhattisgarh is classified as one of the least developed regions of the country and is one of the poorest states. Marginal and small farmers form approximately 80 per cent of the farmers. Data for the study comes from qualitative interviews of 22 respondents selected purposively from twelve villages in three clusters. These villages are far from the administrative headquarters and face problems with connectivity in terms of roads and electricity. In this primarily rain-fed, single crop area, none of the respondents had adopted any of the technologies related to precision agriculture. The current phase of the study explores the reasons for this. As a comparative case study, we plan to examine the claim of successful digital farming among small-holder chilli farmers in the state of Telangana to examine how they have been able to overcome the challenges faced by the farmers in Chhattisgarh.

Paper short abstract:

This study examines how smallholder farmers use digital technology and the gender challenges they face. it found that women rely on face-to-face communication for information and feel disempowered by technology. Men also perceived smartphones can bring negative consequences and are against morality

Paper long abstract:

There is a growing body of literature that recognises the importance of digital technology in maximising agricultural production. Employing a feminist framework through narrative inquiry, this study aims to explore how men and women utilise digital technology and the gender challenges they face, not only focusing on women's experience but also delving into men’s perception of women’s mastery of technology. We conducted 20 narrative interviews with smallholder farmers in West Java Province, Indonesia. The collected data was analysed using the constructivist lens, employing narrative analysis to discern emergent themes within the interview transcript. The study revealed that gender and digital inequality persist in the smallholder community as women farmers have less access to digital technology than male farmers. There are two main themes revealed in this study; firstly, related to agricultural information sources, which women still rely heavily on face-to-face communication in seeking information; we categorised this theme as the Dependency on personal and community networks. Additionally, the study highlighted a power imbalance, as women often feel disempowered when using technology due to feelings of insecurity and a lack of confidence. This condition is exacerbated by men's perception that it is unnecessary to use smartphones if their husbands can access them. Also, men assume smartphones can bring negative consequences and are against morality. These findings suggest that raising awareness and having open discussions are important to change perceptions and promote equitable views on digital technology before taking steps to empower technology adoption.

Paper short abstract:

This paper maps the extensive digital agriculture app landscape in Tanzania and contrasts this with the lived reality of farmers, who use frugal practices and “informal digital agriculture” practices but not the tools designed for them.

Paper long abstract:

There has been extensive interest and investment in digital agriculture tools. This study identified 108 digital agriculture initiatives designed for the Tanzanian agricultural sector, primarily targeting farmers. In contradiction to the Principles for Digital Development (2014), many were not designed with intended users or reused existing apps. Instead, there is evidence of duplication, disconnected and discontinued projects, and a lack of follow-up with farmers.

The studys second part examines the actual existing knowledge systems of farmers in two rural case study locations. It shows significant digital access barriers, including gendered structural barriers (Kleine 2013, Roberts & Hernandez 2017), as well as lack funds to meet energy, data and device related costs. Further, existing knowledge practices, analogue and “informal digital agriculture practices” (McCarrick 2025), do leave a demand gap, but not in the areas frequently covered by these apps.

The paper goes beyond identifying considerable design-reality gaps (Heeks 2002) by employing script theory (Akrich 1992) to examine the embedded ideologies in the technology (Kleine 2009). Not only do many apps script farmers as passive recipients of expert knowledge, but the majority also do not give farmers choices whether to pursue input-intensive “modern” farming methods, agroecology, or a mixture of both. The paper recommends a more appropriate, inclusive and respectful approach which engages fully with farmers, recognises existing practices and respects the agency of farmers to find their own way amidst the adverse pressures, including from climate change, higher input costs, energy scarcity and transport challenges, that characterise agricultural livelihoods in Tanzania.

Paper short abstract:

This study reveals how digital extension platforms shift the framing of farmers from a deficit to active sources of expertise and value. It critiques assumptions that inclusive design inherently delivers benefits, exposing trade-offs in balancing farmer needs, donor goals, and technical efficiency.

Paper long abstract:

The digitalization of agricultural extension has spurred the adoption of user-centric and value-sensitive approaches that extend beyond design into the delivery of advisory platforms. Digital extensionists seek to uncover, negotiate, and operationalize farmers’ values, fostering context-sensitive innovation at scale. However, the anticipated benefits for farmers remain elusive, as these values often become entangled in bureaucratic processes, distorted by institutional priorities, or overlooked in politically charged design environments. This highlights the need to critically examine how social and technical interactions are designed and the assumption that inclusive, value-driven processes inherently lead to more effective digital extension platforms.

This article uses critical discourse analysis to investigate how normative discourses—shared beliefs about what is considered normal or desirable—shape design processes and outcomes. An analysis of two digital extension platforms reveals that discourses of decentralized design and open knowledge sharing reframe farmers as active sources of expertise and value, rather than passive recipients. While this reframing holds potential for more effective advisory services, it also introduces trade-offs, particularly around aligning benefits for farmers with the needs of designers and donors and optimizing technical systems to serve diverse users.

The study offers practical insights into the distribution of labour in digital extension, balancing technological efficiency with approaches that prioritize farmers’ lived experiences. Theoretically, it contributes to norm-sensitive design by revealing how discourses become self-evident, obscuring value trade-offs and reducing critical reflection in design. By addressing these gaps, the article identifies pathways to align digital agriculture’s transformative potential with inclusive, equitable, and norm-sensitive practices.

Paper short abstract:

High-tech and data-driven solutions are recognized for enhancing economic performance and resilience in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) for fruits and vegetables. Benefits include increased production efficiency through reduced use of fertilizers, and lower labor costs due to automation.

Paper long abstract:

High-tech and data driven solutions are recognized as potential tools to enhance economic performance and resilience of fruits and vegetables production systems in controlled environment agriculture. The benefits, e.g., include improvements in production efficiency due to decreased use of mineral fertilizers and water and lower labor costs due to a higher degree of automation. At the same time, data driven technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and remote sensing require substantial amounts of energy. The vast majority of studies, however, analyze single technologies, food system actors (e.g., farmers) and/or single crops so that the ultimate impact of high-tech implementation on economic performance and resilience in fruits and vegetables systems remains unclear. We therefore conduct a systematic literature review assessing the impact of high-tech adoption in fruits and vegetables systems on economic performance and resilience. Our findings inform the policy debate on fostering the use of high-tech in fresh food production systems, firm-level actors who decide on the adoption of high-tech, and future research regarding high-tech food systems.

Paper short abstract:

This paper examines challenges in scaling digital agriculture and highlights participatory innovations through iSAT (Intelligent Agriculture Systems Advisory Tool) and tools for soil health and pest management. It explores how farmer co-create solutions foster equitable impact.

Paper long abstract:

Digital agriculture initiatives often struggle to scale or sustain their impact because they fail to address the systemic challenges faced by smallholder farmers, such as unreliable energy access, limited digital literacy, and exclusion from key decision-making processes. This paper examines the ISAT (Intelligent Agricultural Systems Advisory Tool) platform and its supporting tools like the soil health monitoring system and the pest and disease detection app, as a case study to explore the potential of participatory innovation.

Drawing on pilot projects and implementation experiences in semi-arid regions, particularly in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, India, this paper highlights the critical role of farmer engagement in tailoring tools to address challenges such as soil health, pest outbreaks, and climate variability. While the direct impact of co-creation has not yet been comprehensively studied, the pilots provide valuable insights into how participatory governance and reliable data inputs could enhance adoption and scalability.

The paper critiques traditional top-down models that often fail to consider the material constraints of smallholder farmers, such as limited resources and energy infrastructure. It advocates for decentralized governance frameworks, equitable energy solutions, and inclusive policies as essential components to overcome these systemic barriers. Finally, the paper outlines actionable recommendations to scale participatory digital tools in ways that ensure sustainability, equity, and meaningful impact for smallholder farmers.

Paper short abstract:

This study examines Farm Digital, a failed “Uber for tractors” startup in Ghana aiming to connect farmers with tractor owners. Using ANT, we analyze its struggles with informal systems, misaligned donor priorities, and local contexts, offering lessons for sustainable digital agriculture solutions.

Paper long abstract:

Digitalization is often praised for transforming agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, improving efficiency, profitability, and rural livelihoods. Yet, agricultural matching platforms—digital tools connecting service users with providers—have received limited research attention. This paper examines Farm Digital, a startup in North-Western Ghana designed to link smallholder farmers with tractor owners through an “Uber for tractors” model. Despite its innovative vision, Farm Digital ceased operations, prompting an analysis of the challenges it faced.

Using in-depth narrative interviews and Actor-Network Theory (ANT), we explore the complex process of establishing a digital startup in rural Ghana. The study unpacks efforts to reconfigure relationships among donors, platform managers, farmers, field agents, and brokers. Farm Digital’s struggles are framed as a failed network translation, where attempts to align diverse human and non-human actors toward a unified purpose faltered.

Our findings reveal that the platform’s straightforward operational model was consistently outperformed by existing informal tractor brokerage systems. Furthermore, while Farm Digital aligned with donor priorities, such as women’s empowerment, its design failed to resonate with farmers’ needs.

This case highlights critical lessons for digital startups in agriculture. To succeed, new entrants must integrate with existing structures, such as national extension services and farmer organizations, to navigate local contexts effectively. The study raises broader questions about the sustainability of donor-driven tech solutions that overlook entrenched systems and stakeholders.

Paper short abstract:

This article investigates how digital agricultural extension advisory services that target climate resilience (SDG-13) can be upscaled. To this end, we examined public and private extension service providers to interrogate what business models drive successes or otherwise in Anglophone Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The African agri-food system is confronted by the climate chaos on one end and food insecurity on the other. This phenomenon, thwarts efforts to attain the sustainable development goal (SDG) – 2 of ending hunger in the global south. This article investigates how digital agricultural extension advisory services that target building climate resilience (SDG-13) can be upscaled. To this end, we examined public and private extension service providers to interrogate what business models drive successes or otherwise. Embedded in a qualitative inquiry within a sustainability lens, covering four Anglophone African countries, we find that public extension service providers rely heavily on donor funded support for implementing flagship projects. This renders projects unsustainable and collapse when funding comes to an end. As opposed to private service providers who engage in business models that enable beneficiaries to bear part of project costs in what is known as "phase-out" funding models. Additional business models that encourage upscaling, include partnership with the private sector in profit share-outs, and the collection of service charges. We find these business models useful in driving sustainable agricultural extension provision. We recommend public extension service providers adopt thriving and effective business models from private sector providers to drive growth in the agricultural food system.

Paper short abstract:

This study explores how digital technologies reshape informal rural markets in Africa. Drawing on institutional theory, we show how a digital tractor-sharing app disrupts existing practices in Ghana, undermining established informal arrangements. We discuss the unintended consequences of ICT4Agr.

Paper long abstract:

How do digital technologies impact informal economies in rural African settings? This in-depth, mixed-method study from Ghana’s Volta region explores how smallholder farmers access tractors through commoning—a social practice of shared resource governance that builds on relational ethics, indirect reciprocity, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Drawing on institutional theory, we show how commoning changes the nature and taxonomy of social goods (here: tractor services), challenging the defining features of goods in classical economics: rivalry and excludability.

We build on this analysis by examining how a digital tractor-sharing app disrupts these informal markets and the social institutions that underpin them. While the app promises efficiency through algorithmic matching and geo-location, it individualizes farming practices and undermines the collective dynamics of commoning. A digitally optimized, remotely tracked tractor becomes a private good—excludable, rivalrous, and accountable only to the highest bidder within its range. This disruption highlights how digital technology can undermine existing practices in informal economies, eroding their ability to foster equitable resource sharing.

Our findings contribute to debates on the ‘ICT revolution’ in African agriculture, demonstrating the unintended consequences of technological change. From a policy perspective, we emphasize the need for institutional diversity and adaptability to sustain equitable and sustainable resource management.

Paper short abstract:

This study examines how energy access influences digital agriculture adoption in Sub-Saharan Africa. Countries with high electricity coverage show greater digital agriculture uptake. Despite lower access, Nigeria's notable digital adoption provides insights into successful adaptation strategies.

Paper long abstract:

Drawing from a comprehensive database of over 1,000 agritech startups across Sub-Saharan Africa, this paper reveals a striking correlation between energy infrastructure and digital agriculture adoption. Our analysis shows that countries with electricity access rates above 75% - notably Egypt, South Africa, and Kenya - demonstrate significantly broader uptake and coverage of digital agricultural technologies. Nigeria emerges as an interesting exception, achieving substantial digital agriculture penetration despite a lower electricity access rate of 60%, offering unique insights into compensatory factors and adaptive strategies. Through detailed examination of these markets, we investigate the policy frameworks, infrastructure development patterns, and enabling environments that have facilitated the growth of agricultural digitalization. The research particularly focuses on how these countries have addressed the twin challenges of energy access and digital inclusion through integrated policy approaches and strategic public-private partnerships. By analysing successful policy mechanisms and governance frameworks in these leading markets, we identify transferable lessons for other African nations seeking to bridge the digital-energy divide in their agricultural sectors. Our findings emphasize that successful digital agriculture initiatives require concurrent investments in energy infrastructure and careful attention to local contexts, rather than treating digital solutions as standalone interventions. This study contributes to broader discussions about equitable digital transformation in agriculture by highlighting how foundational infrastructure and supportive policy environments shape the potential for technological innovation to reach and benefit smallholder farmers.

Paper short abstract:

This study investigates the specific challenges faced by Agritech firms in Ghana and the strategic and innovative approaches employed in navigating the challenges as they provide digital technologies services to the agricultural sector.

Paper long abstract:

Digital technologies hold transformative potential across various sectors, including agriculture, where they are expected to revolutionize production and enhance economic development. In the context of Africa, digital technologies are leveraged by Agritech firms - small and medium-sized firms who build their business models around these technologies in service provisions to farmers and other actors across the agricultural value chain. However, Agritech firms akin to other small businesses face several challenges ranging from the firm or organizational level to the ecosystem level, to the national level. This study investigates the specific challenges faced by Agritech firms in Ghana as they provide digital technologies to the agricultural sector. It also examines the strategic and innovative approaches these firms employ to navigate these challenges. Finally, the study discusses the implications for both practice and policy.

Paper short abstract:

Using the social cognitive theory which emphasizes how people learn and behave by observing others, their experiences and the environment, the study anticipates that stakeholders in DCSA and their process of engaging with smallholder farmers will reflect adoption and utilization of CSA.

Paper long abstract:

Globally, smallholder farmers produce a substantial proportion (75%) of food, yet they are faced with diverse challenges including poor access to information, and climate change. Climate change manifests in changes such as seasonal rainfall patterns, floods, and droughts leading to reduction in yields and incomes of smallholder households. Digitalization of climate smart agriculture (CSA) can improve access to climate smart information, enhance productivity and ensure food security thereby contributing to the sustainable development goal (SDG) 2. Yet, in Ghana, despite efforts to promote digitalised CSA practices (DCSA) uptake has been limited to a few CSA practices, with the use of a few digital tools and services among smallholders. This study seeks to examine the influence of stakeholder participation and socio-cultural norms on the uptake and utilization of DCSA among smallholder maize farmers. Using the social cognitive theory which emphasizes how people learn and behave by observing others, their experiences and the environment, the study anticipates that stakeholders in DCSA and their process of engaging with smallholder farmers, gender roles and religion will reflect adoption and utilization of CSA. Also, household dynamics, gender roles and religious beliefs are expected to influence access and use of DCSA. Government mu consider effectively coordinating public-private partnerships within DCSA across multiple scales to further broaden the digital agricultural technology awareness devoid of gender and other social biases smallholders while reducing duplication of messages.