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AI for Good Innovate for Impact. Interim Report 2025

Geneva: ITU (2025), xxxiv, 828 pp.

"Artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the way we address complex societal challenges, offering new possibilities in areas such as healthcare, climate resilience, education, and digital inclusion. The Innovate for Impact project was launched in 2024 to identify, support, and showcase practical A ... more

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Imaging and Assessing Mobile Technology for Development

Richard Musabe, John Sören Pettersson (eds.)

Newcastle upon Tyne (UK): Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2024), xvi, 186 pp.

"Several studies have already depicted the development of M4D and of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D), and that will not be repeated here. However, as this collection of chapters have sprung out from one of the M4D conferences – the M4D 2022 in Kigali – some notes ... on what have been salient at different conferences can be made. If we start with the M4D in Senegal 2014, we can see that from that conference stems a book where the chapters “initiate evocative conversations on how mobile technologies can contribute to expanding mobile participation practices” (Wamala-Larsson, Hellström, and Scharff 2015, 12). In Mozambique, in 2016, there were some contributions connecting to radio and TV technology; the M4D 2018 conference in Uganda included some papers on how utilities can be backed by subscription schemes via mobile services, as well as by apps where citizens can report dysfunctions and illicit use. The M4D 2020 did not take place, as the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the possibility of running a conference on site and it was postponed to 2022, when Rwanda saw the first blended M4D conference. The Zoom presence for several dozen participants over three days went very well and, via two cameras and two large screens at the venue site, they blended in well at the conference. The IT maturing effect caused by the pandemic was thus noticeable. Among the presentations it was noticeable that the Internet of Things and drones, often blended with machine learning, are now imaginable as “mobile technology”. Of course, drones are always mobile, and IoT sensors often travel with cargo, but it was the realisation of the affordability of these technologies for food chain, livestock, and crop management, combined with their reliance on mobile phone networks to make use of farmers’ photos and senor data, that made such presentations appropriate at a conference that focuses on affordable communication technology. While technology is a prerequisite, in this volume, based on selected contributions to that conference, we will balance some imaginations with some assessments. The focus will not be on the “new” M4D, even though we acknowledge that it is time to set up demonstration farms with IoT and machine learning, as pointed out by Ronald Katamba from Uganda in an interview (Pettersson and Rehema 2022, 145), and books are now published on Applying Drone Technologies and Robotics for Agricultural Sustainability (Raj, Saini, and Pacheco 2023, with examples from India and Zimbabwe; see also FAO and ITU 2022). Instead, the chapters selected for this book adhere to the theme of knowledge dissemination and knowledge development, as mentioned already. One chapter was invited to report from the African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things, hosted by the University of Rwanda in Kigali, to illustrate the efforts to build native technological competence on an advanced level. That chapter simultaneously demonstrates the growing pan-African collaboration in the academic infrastructuring project." (Foreword, pages x-xi) more

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Harvesting value: Corporate strategies of data assetization in agriculture and their socio-ecological implications

Sarah Hackfort, Sarah Marquis, Kelly Bronson

Big Data & Society (2024), 15 pp.

"The global food system is characterized by market concentration and oligopoly. In our article, we focus on the most powerful input supply and machinery companies and analyze how these firms create value, both economic and otherwise, from big data. In digital capitalism, data is valorized across sec ... more

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Deconstructing the role of ICTs in agricultural development using the diverse economies framework

Maria Touri

Information Technology for Development, volume 30, issue 4 (2024), pp. 696-716

"ICT4D research is predominantly governed by discourses of instrumental usage of ICTs and measurable ends dictated by official policies. Particularly in agricultural production, farmers are cast as tool-users expected to use ICTs to achieve pre-determined goals. The article argues that such approach ... more

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Guide on digital agricultural extension and advisory services: Use of smartphone applications by smallholder farmers

Rome: FAO (2024), IX, 57 pp.

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Using social media for agricultural information dissemination: The role of informant-recipient homogeneity

Ryo Takahashi, Yasuyuki Todo, Yu Ri Kim, Yuzuka Kashiwagi, Denu Lemma Tsegaye

Journal of Developpment Effectiveness (2024), 28 pp.

"This study uses a randomised experiment targeting wheat producers in Ethiopia to examine the impact of providing market price information through Facebook on farmers’ sales behaviour. To identify the effect of informant homogeneity, we distinguished the informants’ nationality as either Ethiopi ... more

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Connected farmers: A casebook of good practices and inspiring stories from Europe and Central Asia

Budapest: FAO (2024), vi, 127 pp.

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Farmer-Centric Data Governance: Towards a New Paradigm

Jonathan van Geuns, Annie Kilroy, Shruti Viswanathan, Rob Baker, Aishwarya Mallavaram

Development Gateway;USAID;Gates Foundation;Athena Infonomics (2024), 63 pp.

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E-empowerment tips for facilitators: Information and communication technologies for farmer field schools

Rome: FAO (2024), viii, 56 pp.

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Digital platforms in the agricultural sector: Dynamics of oligopolistic platformisation

Monja Sauvagerd, Maximilian Mayer, Monika Hartmann

Big Data & Society, issue October–December (2024), 16 pp.

"This paper introduces the concept of ‘oligopolistic platformisation’ to capture the specific dynamics of collaboration and competition between multinational upstream agribusinesses and Big Tech companies in the agricultural (ag) sector. We examine this phenomenon through the lens of Van Dijck e ... more

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Error 404, farmer not found: Why agricultural information services must consider how smallholders use their phones

Jonathan Steinke et al.

Alliance of Bioversity International;International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT);CGIAR (2024), 7 pp.

"Numerous barriers hinder mobile information services in delivering information effectively to smallholder farmers. Many of these barriers can be explained by farmers’ habits in using their phones. Therefore, carefully considering how exactly farmers use their phones in specific local context is c ... more

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Digital Agriculture: A Standards Snapshot

ITU-FAO Focus Group on AI and IoT for Digital Agriculture

Geneva: ITU (2024), xi, 14 pp.

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Improving Farmer Livelihoods Through Digitised Agricultural Value Chains: Results and Lessons from the GSMA Innovation Fund

Emily Gamble, Lisa Chassin

London: GSMA (2023), 143 pp.

"Digital agriculture services supported by the GSMA Innovation Fund were scaled across 17 value chains and profiled more than 1.4 million farmers combined. Most of the farmers profiled are male (70.3%), smallholder farmers cultivating on less than two hectares of land (79.3%) and over 40 years of ag ... more

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Factors Affecting Digital Technology Adoption by Small-Scale Farmers in Agriculture Value Chains (AVCs) in South Africa

Hermanus Jacobus, Osden Jokonya

Information Technology for Development, volume 28, issue 3 (2022), pp. 558-584

"Digital technologies enable small-scale farmers to reduce some constraints to participate in Agriculture Value Chains (AVCs). Small-scale farmers face significant challenges and barriers to adopting digital technology. This study contributes to the literature on digital development in three ways: p ... more

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Using Digital Platforms for Agriculture, Health and Nutrition

Stanford Senzene, Enida Friel, Abdou Ahmed, Philip Farrell

GOAL (2022), 4 pp.

"This study sought to assess the hypothesis that age and gender are associated with the VIAMO digital platform usage in our GOAL project UNITLIFE. The study identified significant gender- and age-based differentials in the platform usage. These findings are interpreted as suggestive evidence that mo ... more

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Data sovereignty in agricultural value chains

Dalberg Data, Frederic Pivetta, Joan Kirungi et al.

Bonn; Eschborn: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) (2022), 50 pp.

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SNV Food Sector Portfolio – CORE Project: Digital Agriculture Strategy

Christophe Bocquet

SNV (2022), 40 pp.

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Digitalising Rural MSMEs: Thailand’s Agriculture and Tourism Sectors

Sone Osakwe

London: GSMA (2022), 58 pp.

"Thailand faces the dual challenge of swiftly navigating the disruptions caused by COVID-19 while also enabling sustainable and inclusive development. To enable inclusive development, Thailand must focus on building resilience and enhancing the productivity of micro, small and medium enterprises (MS ... more

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Usos y representaciones de las TIC en el agro argentino: Repensar el espacio desde la virtualidad

Marina Poggi et al.

Buenos Aires: Teseo (2021), 296 pp.

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Smartphones: Die Macht in der Hand

iz3w, issue 376 (2020), pp. D1-D31

"Weltweit nutzen 3,3 Milliarden Menschen ein Smartphone, Tendenz weiter steigend. In nahezu allen Ländern des Südens ist die Verbreitung besonders groß. Nicht immer handelt es sich dabei um teure Topmodelle, aber gerade wegen ihrer Erschwinglichkeit sind allein in afrikanischen Ländern 700 Milli ... onen internetfähige Smartphones und nicht-internetfähige Mobile Phones im Gebrauch. Selbst in Ländern wie Somalia, wo Infrastrukturen gleich welcher Art kaum existent sind, funktioniert eines recht zuverlässig: das Mobilfunknetz. In einer High-Tech-Fabrik in Ruanda laufen seit neuestem täglich zehntausend »MaraPhones« genannte Smartphones vom Band. Die durch Smartphones und Mobile Phones entstehenden Möglichkeiten werden überall auf der Welt ausgiebig genutzt. Tiefgreifende gesellschaftliche und wirtschaftliche Veränderungen sind die Folge. Familiäre Beziehungen werden neu gestaltet und klassische Modelle sozialer Interaktion wie »Freundschaft« neu definiert. Praktisch jeder Wirtschaftssektor ist gründlich von den Handys auf den Kopf gestellt worden. Auch in der kleinbäuerlichen Landwirtschaft in Ostafrika gehören Smartphones längst zum Alltag. Ohne dem Kulturpessimismus zu frönen: Es liegt auf der Hand, dass all diese Entwicklungen nicht nur Chancen, sondern auch große Gefahren bergen. Mit keiner anderen systemrelevanten Technologie lassen sich Manipulation und Überwachung von Individuen besser bewerkstelligen als via Smartphone. Die mit erpresserischen Methoden exekutierte Datensammelwut der großen Konzerne hat durchaus eine Entsprechung in der Überwachung durch autoritäre Regime. Dagegen klingen frühere Dystopien à la »Big Brother is watching you« harmlos. Im Bereich des Politischen wird besonders deutlich, wie groß die partizipatorischen Potenziale einer Demokratie von unten via Social Media sind, aber auch, wie schnell diese in Regression, Manipulation und Repression münden. Der Arabische Frühling galt zu Recht als »Facebook-Revolution«, das hierarchische Sender-Empfänger-Prinzip war partiell aufgehoben. Was aber vor staatlicher Verfolgung nicht nur nicht schützte, sondern sie oft überhaupt erst ermöglichte. Perfektioniert wird politische Kontrolle via Smartphone einmal mehr von der KP der Volksrepublik China. Sie hält ihre 90 Millionen Parteimitglieder via App auf Kurs – und wehe, jemand liest zu wenig Beiträge und sammelt nicht genügend »Lernpunkte«! Beim Smartphone ist es eben wie beim Beton: Es kommt drauf an, was man draus macht." (Editorial, Seite D2) more