Uber for tractors? Opportunities and challenges of digital tools for tractor hire in India and Nigeria

Daum, Thomas; Villalba, Roberto; Anidi, Oluwakayode; Mayienga, Sharon Masakhwe; Gupta, Saurabh; Birner, Regina

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105480

Cited by 56 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Thus, the financial returns on investments in implementing and using digital platforms are unevenly distributed. They are received by input suppliers, or technology providers, who benefit from reduced transaction and product optimization costs, and only to a lesser extent by farmers themselves [47,54].…”

Section: Unequal Distribution Of Benefits From Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review

Hackfort

2021

Sustainability

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Digitalization of agriculture is often hailed as the next agricultural revolution. However, little is yet known about its social impacts and power effects. This review addresses this research gap by analyzing patterns of inequality linked to the development and adoption of digital technologies in agriculture and reviewing the strategies developed to reduce these inequalities and challenge the power relations in which they are embedded. Analysis of 84 publications found through a systematic literature review identified five patterns of inequality: (1) in digital technology development; (2) in the distribution of benefits from the use of digital technologies; (3) in sovereignty over data, hardware and digital infrastructure; (4) in skills and knowledge (‘digital literacy’); and (5) in problem definition and problem-solving capacities. This review also highlights the existence of emancipatory initiatives that are applying digital technologies to challenge existing inequalities and to advance alternative visions of agriculture. These initiatives underscore the political nature of digital agriculture; however, their reach is still quite limited. This is partly due to the fact that existing inequalities are structural and represent expressions of corporate power. From such a perspective, digitalization in agriculture is not a ‘revolution’ per se; rather, digital technologies mirror and reproduce existing power relations.

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Section: Unequal Distribution Of Benefits From Technologiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review

Hackfort

2021

Sustainability

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“…Rapid technological advancements and increasing availability of all kinds of digital tools and technologies have led to widespread experimentation and implementation in Africa with digital agriculture (Daum et al 2021), defined as the use of digital tools and technologies in the management of and decision-making about agricultural systems and value chains (Eastwood et al 2019a;Klerkx, Jakku, and Labarthe 2019;Wolfert et al 2017). Examples of digital agriculture include market and financial access tools, registration of farming activities, and agricultural advisory services.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are farmers ready to use phone-based digital tools for agronomic advice? Ex-ante user readiness assessment using the case of Rwandan banana farmers

McCampbell

Adewopo²,

Klerkx

et al. 2021

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

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Purpose: Digital extension is widely embraced in African agricultural development, promising unprecedented outcomes and impact. Especially phone-based services attract attention as tools for effective and efficient agricultural extension. To date, assessments of digital extension services are generally ex-post in nature, thus consideration of users and broader systems occurs once an intervention is broadly identified. However, early understanding of user needs, readiness, and relevant context is a prerequisite for successful adoption and sustainable use of digital extension services. We conducted an ex-ante assessment of user readiness (UR) for phone-based services. Design/Methodology/Approach: We developed an ex-ante framework to assess UR, considering capabilities, opportunities, and motivations of targeted users. The case study of Rwandan banana farmers served to verify the UR framework, using survey data from 690 smallholder farmers. Findings: Findings demonstrate limited capacity to access and use phone-based extension services, especially those requiring a smartphone, and a mismatch between expected UR and actual UR, current capabilities and opportunities. Findings provide entry points for designing suitable digital extension projects and interventions, suggesting a need for capacity building. Practical implications: The UR-framework provided understanding about current limitations in farmer readiness for digital extension. This ex-ante approach to explore UR before designing digital interventions for African farmers is recommended. It points at the importance of embedding digital technologies into existing practices and creating blends of 'digital' and 'analogue' or 'hightech' and 'low-tech'. Theoretical implications: The UR-framework provides a structured approach to developing pre-intervention insights about users and use-context, supporting informed strategizing and decisionmaking about digital extension. It is a relevant addition to existing readiness frameworks, participatory design methods, and ARTICLE HISTORY

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“…In the second category are software tools that run on mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets [50], and that can help farmers to manage their farms using private and public data. From the interrelation of both categories, other new services emerge in the field of collaborative economy [51], or cooperative work [52].…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Case Study of a Digital Data Platform for the Agricultural Sector: A Valuable Decision Support System for Small Farmers

Borrero

Mariscal

2022

Agriculture

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New players are entering the new and important digital data market for agriculture, increasing power asymmetries and reinforcing their competitive advantages. Although the farmer remains at the heart of agricultural data collection, to date, only a few farmers participate in data platforms. Despite this, more and more decision support systems (DSSs) tools are used in agriculture, and digital platforms as data aggregators could be useful technologies for helping farmers make better decisions. However, as these systems develop, the efficiency of these platforms becomes more challenging (sharing, ownership, governance, and transparency). In this paper, we conduct a case study for an accessible and scalable digital data platform that is focused on adding value to smallholders. The case study research is based on meta-governance theory and multidimensional multilayered digital platform architecture, to determine platform governance and a data development model for the Andalusian (Spain) fruit and vegetable sector. With the information obtained from the agents of this sector, a digital platform called farmdata was designed, which connects to several regional and national, and public and private databases, aggregating data and providing tools for decision making. Results from the interviews reflect the farmer’s interests in participating in a centralized cloud data platform, preferably one that is managed by a university, but also with attention being paid toward security and transparency, as well as providing added value. As for future directions, we propose further research on how the benefits should be distributed among end users, as well as for the study of a distributed model through blockchain.

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Uber for tractors? Opportunities and challenges of digital tools for tractor hire in India and Nigeria

Cited by 56 publications

References 30 publications

Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review

Patterns of Inequalities in Digital Agriculture: A Systematic Literature Review

Are farmers ready to use phone-based digital tools for agronomic advice? Ex-ante user readiness assessment using the case of Rwandan banana farmers

A Case Study of a Digital Data Platform for the Agricultural Sector: A Valuable Decision Support System for Small Farmers

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