Impediments to the digitalization of agriculture in Africa

Abstract

After gaining independence from colonial powers many African governments were preoccupied for several decades with solving the problems of food security, poverty, high unemployment and slow economic growth. Many experts believe that one of the promising areas for reducing the effect of these problems is an accelerated transformation of agriculture in African countries based on the introduction of the latest achievements in the field of digital technologies. Modern digital technologies in agriculture may not only contribute to sustainable development, increase productivity and profitability, and create new job opportunities, but also positively affect the living conditions of small farmers – the main agricultural producers in Africa. The present paper describes the most common and widespread digital information and advisory solutions and discusses how small farmers benefit from using these digital services. The paper offers an analysis of the use of mobile and Internet communications as a basis for the introduction of digital technologies. Based on these findings, the author draws conclusions about the reasons for the underutilization and slow adoption of digital technologies in Africa’s agriculture.