Low adoption, uneven access and digital literacy are key challenges to scale digital solutions in agriculture across Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the region having over 400 digital agriculture solutions in financial services, market linkages, supply-chain management, and business intelligence, many firms struggle to scale and improve farmers’ lives with many apps recording under 30 per cent active user base.
Beside low adoption, access to digital technologies and power limit scaling the widespread use of digital solutions. The high cost of devices in the region limit farmers from accessing 2G and 3G devices, with entry-level 2G and 3G devices costing up to 70% income of a farmer in the area compared to 17% in India.
In addition to access issues, there is insufficient coverage in rural areas, with around 40% coverage versus 70% in urban areas. While there are non-internet based approaches like messaging services, the internet gap still restricts farmers from customized products like geolocation.
To address these challenges, the report suggests that digital solutions should create value for end-users, such as supporting outcomes like improving yields, boosting profits or cutting losses or costs.
Digital solutions can be a powerful way to accelerate agricultural transformation if they are designed to directly support outcomes such as increasing farmer incomes.
The report also suggests in-person support to supplement knowledge shared via mobile phones and the provision of digital infrastructure to invest in farmer registries, which will provide in-depth data to track activity in agriculture, identify needs and provide support.
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