The rapid adoption of mobile phones in agricultural and production systems provides an avenue to unlock the potential of digital innovations to transform smallholder agriculture in low- and middle-income countries. Previous research highlights how the adoption of digital tools can enhance farmers' profits and marketing outcomes by improving market efficiency through better supply and demand matching.
NEW PUBLICATION | Digital literacy training to promote diffusion of digital agricultural tools to smallholder farmers
Digital innovations hold significant potential to address multiple forms of market failures. However, their adoption remains low and heterogenous across Africa. Smallholder farmers face significant barriers in accessing essential information, limiting their ability to seize market opportunities and enhance profitability. While numerous digital tools have been developed for farmers in the region, most are still in pilot phases.
Expansion of Agro-Industries, a Crucial Driver of Agricultural and Economic Development
Jozimo Santos Rocha, Regional Agro-Industry Officer, FAO
Sustainable industrialization is well recognized to play an essential role to accelerate economic growth and social development. It reallocates labor and other resources from labor-intensive and less productive activities towards more capital- and technology-intensive ones, and offers great opportunities for developing countries to add more value locally by entering the downstream end of global value chains (GVC).
