Digital agriculture and decent working conditions of smallholder farmers and farmworkers in Ghana

Abstract

Digitalisation of the agriculture sector has been argued as the solution to the threat of food insecurity in the Global South. However, its adoption brings serious ramifications to the working conditions of farmers in terms of job creation, worker rights, social protection, and social dialogue. Given the role of the state in ensuring that all forms of employment are organised decently it is however uncertain how digitalisation of the agriculture affects the working conditions of farm workers and farmers. The study therefore examined the effects of digital agriculture on the working conditions of smallholder farmers and farmworkers in the Bono East region of Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative approach to enable us to have a deeper understanding of farmers’ experiences of using digital agriculture solutions. The participants who were purposively selected were adopters of digital agricultural technology. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were some of the methods adopted to collect data for the study. The results from the study show that the adoption of digital agriculture has not improved the working conditions in terms of job creation, workers’ rights social protection, and social protection. Digital agriculture was however found to promote the organisation of farmers into groups to undertake activities for their benefit. The study therefore recommends the development of a digital agricultural policy that incorporates decent working conditions for farmers.