Scientific Publication

The enabling environments for the digitalization of African agriculture

author(s) Baumüller, Heike - Addom, Benjamin K
from International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)
permalink open
themes
regions
  • Western Africa
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Africa
  • World
  • Southern Africa
  • Northern Africa
  • Eastern Africa
  • Middle Africa
citation

Baumüller, Heike; Addom, Benjamin K, 'The enabling environments for the digitalization of African agriculture', In 2020 Annual trends and outlook report: Sustaining Africa's agrifood system transformation: The role of public policies. Resnick, Danielle; Diao, Xinshen; and Tadesse, Getaw (Eds). Chapter 13, Pp. 159-173, International Food Policy Research Institute, Washington, DC, 2020

Publications and datasets provided via GARDIAN

Abstract

This chapter explains the four pillars of digitalization for agriculture (D4Ag) and takes a closer look at two of those pillars that are required to build a strong enabling environment. D4Ag holds great promise for the transformation of African agriculture, but only if it is carried out holistically—that is, if it is well defined and appropriately deployed as part of broader agricultural and rural development strategies. In other words, digitalization must be understood as an agricultural development tool rather than a technological tool so that its application is problem- rather than technology-driven.

Open original