COVID-19: Accelerating the use of digital agriculture

COVID-19 has exposed the vulnerability of agricultural and food systems in low- and middle-income countries. Up to 70 to 80 per cent of smallholder farmers, the backbone of rural economies, have reported that they are worse off than they were at the onset of the pandemic.

As the pandemic continues, digital agriculture is enabling smallholders to receive agricultural advisory, acquire much-needed financing, receive inputs for their farms and identify new markets for their products.

Between April 2020 and February 2021, the GSMA AgriTech programme conducted primary research and a thorough review of existing data to understand which digital agriculture use cases have seen increased uptake during the pandemic.

This report provides agritech companies and mobile network operators (MNOs), as well as the investors and donors that support them, with insights into the adoption of digital agriculture and how it can be accelerated in light of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.