ICT for Agriculture in Africa: A Study of Problems and Solutions

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the role of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in addressing the challenges faced by smallholder farmers in Africa. It begins with an overview of agriculture in Africa, highlighting its economic significance and the persistent issues of low farmer incomes and poverty. The report then explores the potential of ICT interventions, particularly in improving market access, agricultural extension services, and financial inclusion. A detailed literature review examines the internal and external challenges faced by farmers, including lack of infrastructure, limited access to finance, and high transaction costs. The research methodology employs a qualitative approach, reanalyzing secondary data from academic literature and reports. The findings highlight the potential of ICT solutions, such as mobile applications and SMS-based market information services, to improve farmer decision-making and increase productivity. The report concludes with recommendations for future research and acknowledges limitations related to data collection. Overall, the report underscores the critical role of ICT in transforming African agriculture and improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers.

ICT For Agriculture
In Africa

Table of Contents
TITLE: ............................................................................................................................................1
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................1
1.1 Overview of Agriculture in Africa...................................................................................1
1.2 Overview of ICT for Agriculture.....................................................................................1
1.2 Research Question............................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Strategy and Methodology................................................................................4
1.4 Chapter Structure..............................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW.........................................................................................5
2.1 Challenges of Agriculture in Africa.................................................................................5
2.2 Agricultural Development in Africa.................................................................................8
2.3 ICT Interventions in Agriculture....................................................................................10
2.2 Solutions to Issues Faced by Smallholder Farmers in Africa in Relation to ICT..........12
CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY...........................................................................15
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND FINDINGS.................................................................................21
Data analysis.........................................................................................................................21
Results on the Basis of Primary Data...................................................................................21
Results on the Basis of Secondary Data...............................................................................28
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION......................................................................................................33
5.1 Conclusions....................................................................................................................33
5.2 Recommendations..........................................................................................................33
5.3 Reflection.......................................................................................................................34
5.4 Anticipated Limitations..................................................................................................35
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................36

TITLE:
ICT FOR AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Overview of Agriculture in Africa
In Africa, agriculture is the largest economic sector in most countries and contributing
approximately 15% of total Gross Domestic Product on average. More than a half of labor force
work in agricultural sector and the sector is an engine for economic growth (OECD and FAO,
2016). However, the growth in the agricultural sector has been sluggish, farmers remain on low
incomes and live in poverty especially in rural areas in Africa (Munyua, 2007).
The poor agricultural performance in Africa has been stagnated the increase of farmer
income and the poverty reduction in rural areas. The poor performance is caused by several
factors such as inadequate access to markets, unfair market conditions, inadequate access to
advanced technologies, and high production and transport costs (Campaigne and Rausch, 2010).
Among these problems, inadequate market access is a particularly serious issue of
causing the low returns on agriculture produce of smallholder farmers in Africa. Due to the
limited access to market, farmers are exploited by middlemen or intermediaries with adequate
market information and receive low sales of agricultural products (Roy, 2012). Thus, the
improvement of access to market information is critically important to increase the income of
farmers and it will lead to poverty reduction in Africa. The reliable market information supports
farmers to decide on to whom, where, and when to sell their products and cultivation plan
(Magesa et al., 2014).
1.2 Overview of ICT for Agriculture
Information and communications technology (ICT) is any device, tool, or application
which permits the collection, processing, storage or exchange of data. The affordability,
accessibility, and adaptability of ICT have been increased dramatically in the last decades.
Today, ICT is available not only for people in developed countries but also smallholder farmers
living rural areas in Africa (World Bank, 2017).
In agriculture, ICT can be used in many areas to improve the agricultural performance
such as market access, agricultural extension and advisory services, and financial inclusion. ICT
has the ability to link farmers with consumers and intermediaries; to collect and share timely and
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accurate data on markets, prices, inputs and weather; to disseminate agricultural knowledge to
farmers; to provide information to research and development institutions, and so on. The areas in
agriculture where ICT plays an important role are summarized in Figure 1 (FAO, 2017).
Figure 1: Role of ICT in agriculture
Source: Adapted from FAO and ITU (2016)
There are already a number of cases about the successful use of ICT in agriculture in
Africa where digital technology has strengthened the connections among agricultural
stakeholders. For instance, farmers purchase inputs from suppliers and sell products to buyers
more efficiently by using mobile applications and also farmers get technical advice from
extension agents through interactive voice response which is an automated telephony system
(Miller et al., 2013).
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From the areas illustrated in Figure 1, this dissertation will focus on ICT market
information services because, as noted, inadequate access to markets is the critical issue of
farmers in Africa. The farmers tend to make non optimal choices in an adverse economic
situation due to the poor function of the market and the limited availability of market
information.
To address this problem, ICT can be a solution to amplify the market information held by
farmers and bridge the knowledge and information gaps between farmers and other agricultural
stakeholders. Better access to information facilitates the optimal decision making of farmers. The
farmers are able to make decision based on the information about, which crops to cultivate, when
to cultivate, seed and harvest, how much to retain for consumption, to sell for market, and to
store (FAO, 2017).
In addition, ICT intervention will also increase the knowledge of farmers to understand
markets, for example, excess demand creating more profitable opportunities to sell or excess
supply leading to cheaper deals. The use of mobile has potential to increase the efficiency of
markets and enables farmers to plan production and investments better based on market
information (FAO and ITU, 2016). One of the examples is the delivery of price information by
short message service (SMS). In Uganda, the dissemination of price information through mobile
has increased the knowledge of farmers and the income of maize farmers by 15% (Svensson and
Yanagizawa, 2009).
Knowledge Gaps
Addressing and overcoming the market failures and issues faced by the small holders Sub
Saharan farmers in Africa was the main area of concern in this research project. Knowledge
Gaps relates to the difference in between the actual knowledge about an topic to an individual
and the reality because there exists a gap in real information and the existing knowledge that an
individual have. In the following research, this issue is a new issue which has been addressed
which will help in increasing the knowledge of both the researcher as well as of the research.
1.2 Research Question
A research question is a topic or statement to be examined by research and it is the fundamental
core of the research (Saunders et al., 2016).
The research question of the dissertation is:
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To what extent can ICT address the problems of African smallholder farmers in terms of
profit and productivity on agriculture?
To answer the research question, the two sub-questions will be examined.
1. What are the problems of smallholder farmers in Africa?
2. What kinds of ICT solutions can address the problems of smallholder farmers in Africa?
1.3 Research Strategy and Methodology
1.3.1 Research Strategy
Since the research uses the existing frameworks and tests them in the case of smallholder farmers
in Africa, the research approach would be deductive approach (Saunders et al., 2016).
1.3.2 Research Methodology
In the dissertation research, the qualitative method which deals with textual data and the
individual perceptions which form particular social phenomena, is used to answer the research
question (Robson, 2011). Since the research question is concerned with individual perceptions of
farmers about the agricultural market information failure and possible ICT solutions, the
qualitative method will be applied. The research will be conducted by reanalyzing secondary
data from academic literature and reports of international organizations.
1.4 Chapter Structure
This section will present the brief explanation of the dissertation chapters which are introduction,
literature review, methodology, findings, and conclusion.
Chapter 1: Introduction: This chapter covers the background of the research, the overview and
problems of agriculture in Africa, and ICT interventions for agriculture. The problematic
situation of farmers and the use of ICT for addressing the problems in agriculture are illustrated
here. In the latter part, the knowledge gaps and the research question are presented. The
summary of research methodology and strategy are also covered in the end of first chapter.
Chapter 2: Literature Review: The literature about problems of smallholder farmers in Africa
and ICT interventions to improve their revenue will be reviewed in this chapter. This review
provides the previous findings of the research based on the academic journals and reports of
international institutions such as World bank, FAO and USAID. The review summarises the
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problems of African smallholder farmers and also different types of ICT solutions to addressing
these problems.
Chapter 3: Methodology: The details of qualitative methods of reanalysis of literature, the data
collection method and deductive approach applied to answer the research question are indicated
in this chapter. In the latter part, the explanation of theory and conceptual framework and the
way of applying them for analysis are also presented.
Chapter 4: Findings: The result of data collection and data analysis is illustrated in this chapter.
This chapter provides the evidence of ICT interventions addressing the problem of smallholder
farmers in Africa. The challenges of these interventions and the discussion about the findings
from the research also be covered in the latter part.
Chapter 5: Conclusion: This chapter summarizes the previous chapters and highlight the key
findings from the research. It also refers to the limitation of the research due to the data
collection and recommendations for future research in the field.
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Challenges of Agriculture in Africa
2.1.1 Internal and External Issues of Smallholder Farmers
Smallholder farmers in Africa face major challenges such as lack of infrastructure, lack
of access to finance, lack of access to mechanization, poor access to land, poor transport
logistics, poor extension and research support services, and limited access to markets. According
to the Development Bank of Southern Africa (1986), common challenges facing smallholder
farmers in rural areas in Africa can be divided into two categories, internal and external issues.
Internal issues are the constraints which affect the ability of farmers to operate agriculture
efficiently. In general, the farmers have some control to overcome such issues. These issues are
lack of skills, knowledge and education, shortage of labour, liquidity problems, and social factors
which in some instances imped effective management of resources. If the farmers are able to
remove these issues, they can allocate resources more efficient economically (Baloyi, 2010).
External issues are over the control of farmers since these come from the broader
agricultural environment. These issues include natural risks to agricultural activities such as
restrictive administrative and social structures, poor policies and legislation, poor institutional
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and infrastructural support, limited availability of inputs, credit, mechanization, and marketing
services, and land tenure problem (Baloyi, 2010).
2.1.2 Marketing Constraints of Smallholder Farmers
This section identifies key constraints facing smallholder farmers in Africa, such as lack
of physical infrastructure, lack of markets, and high transaction costs. It is difficult for
smallholder farmers find to compete in the new market environment due to poor access to
markets and lack of market information (Heinemann, 2002). The section below discusses the
common marketing constraint of smallholder farmers in Africa.
1) Lack of skills
Some of the smallholder farmers in Africa are illiterate, with poor technological skills.
Poor skills of farmers are obstacles to access formal institutional services improving
technological knowledge (World Bank, 2007). Most of the farmers don’t have adequate financial
and marketing skills. Due to the lack of production knowledge, the farmers are unable to produce
high quality products which meet the quality standard set by markets.
2) Poor access to production resources
Land, labor and capital are inevitable production resources for agriculture. Due to the
poor access to these recourses, smallholder farmers face challenges of production in terms of the
quantity and quality of products and lose business opportunities in agricultural markets (Bienabe
and et al., 2004). Insufficient access to production resources affects the inconsistent production
of farmers.
3) High transaction costs
Transaction costs are the costs of information, coordination, negotiation and execution of
contracts. In Africa, these transaction costs are high because the infrastructure and
communication networks are poor especially in rural areas (D’Hease and Kirsten, 2003). Since
smallholder farmers are located in rural areas, the lucrative markets are far away from the
farmer’s location. As a result of long distance to the market, with poor infrastructure and access
to resources and information, the transaction costs are high in Africa. Due to the high transaction
costs, it is difficult for farmers to compete in lucrative markets (Kherallah and Kirsten, 2000).
4) Lack of agricultural infrastructure
Most of the smallholder farmers in Africa don’t have access agricultural infrastructure
such as storage to maintain their products fresh after harvest. Since the buyers in the markets
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require the products with high quality, lack of access to storage or processing facilities constrains
high-quality production of farmers. The access to these facilities increases the flexibility in
products sales and bargaining power of farmers (Bienabe and et al., 2004).
5) Lack and asymmetry of market information
Smallholder farmers in rural areas have limited market information. It is costly to obtain
the information through contact with agricultural stakeholders, but the accuracy of the
information is not certified (Bienabe et al., 2004). Smallholder farmers don’t have adequate
market information about prices of products, the best timings and places to sell the products,
quality requirements of products and potential buyers. On the other hand, the buyers in the
markets have a lot of market information so they tend to exploit from farmers by taking
advantage of asymmetry of information. Access to market information is critical for farmers to
increase their profits from their production.
6) Low quantity and quality products
Due to the limited access to production resources, such as land, water and capital, most of
the smallholder farmers produce low quantity of products with poor quality. As a result, their
products are sometimes neglected by buyers in the markets.
Increasing demand to high quality products and concern about food safety make more
difficult for farmers to produce these market requirements (Baloyi, 2010).
7) Inconsistency of production
Studies show that smallholder farmers in Africa supply products to markets
inconsistently. They are inconsistent in production and supplying products to fresh markets and
agricultural processing markets. According to Louw et al. (2004), most farmers cannot meet
consistent market demand because they are only able to supply products to markets for two or
three months during the year.
For this reason, not only buyers in the markets but also supermarkets are reluctant to buy
products from smallholder farmers.
8) Lack of transportation
Some of the smallholder farmers lack of access to transportation to deliver their products
to the markets. Transportation issues cause late delivery and quality loss of products. As a result,
the market price for products become lower prices so that the transportation problem is noted as
one of the biggest challenges of farmers (Louw et al., 2004).
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9) Lack of markets in rural areas
In rural areas in Africa, there are no formal fresh product markets or agricultural
processing markets. Farmers in rural areas are compelled to sell their products to local
communities in these areas with lower prices, or to deliver their products to markets in towns
with high cost (Baloyi, 2010).
10) Low bargaining power
Smallholder farmers have low bargaining power because they have limited access to
market information and financial markets. Low bargaining power of farmers lead to adverse
transaction for them and they obtain only a small profit from their sales. The bargaining power of
cotton and oil-palm farmers in West Africa is especially low since the number of buyers in the
markets are few (Bienabe et al., 2004).
2.2 Agricultural Development in Africa
Agricultural development is a crucial for Africa countries since the agricultural sector is
an important source of employment and income. A number of policies and strategies of
government are targeted to transform agriculture in Africa by including smallholder farmers in
local and international value chains (Badiane and McMillan, 2015). This is a process associated
with improving access to market, aligning worldview of farmers with market orientation, and
bridging agricultural information and knowledge gaps (Yonazi et al., 2012).
One of the key aspects of agriculture development in Africa is the shift from agricultural
practices based on traditional local production and marketing customs (i.e. “smallholder” logic)
to farming as a business and integrates smallholder farmers into international markets (i.e.
“value-chain” logic). To uplift smallholder famers’ practices from “smallholder” logic to “value-
chain” logic, many projects have been done by government and international organizations. The
key element of the transition is production and marketing practices based on information and
knowledge (Miller et al., 2013; Yonazi et al., 2012).
The “smallholder” logic frames agriculture as inseparable from the rural way of living
and social culture of farmers. Traditional agricultural practices of smallholder farmers lead to the
primitive nature of production. For example, farmers use recycled seeds and fertilizers instead of
verified seeds and inorganic fertilizers. Adoption of advanced practices still remains low because
of the high cost of inputs (Ekekwe, 2017). In addition, the quality and quantity of agricultural
products are difficult to be verified due to the lack of unified production standards and
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measurement units. These factors constrain to advance agriculture in Africa toward “value-
chain” logic (Mukute and Lotz‐Sisitka, 2012).
The exercise of formal governance and the integration of normative practices into value
chains are complicated because transactions of agricultural products are personalized, cash‐
based, and controlled by informal institutions (Fafchamps, 2003). As a result, “smallholder”
logic contributes to heterogeneity and inconsistent quality of farming produce, and personalized
transaction of products without formal standards (Noman et al., 2012).
Another factor preventing the transition to “value-chain” logic is the lack of reliable and
relevant information on production and marketing. Informal networks, oral communication, and
in-person channels are the major interaction patterns within “smallholder” logic. (Courtois and
Subervie, 2014). Although information technologies are becoming more available, they are
mostly used for non-agricultural related purposes. Smallholder farmers still rely heavily on
legacy technology such as radio and television to access to agricultural information (Burrell and
Oreglia, 2013).
In contrast to the “smallholder” logic, the “value‐chain” logic frames agriculture as a
business and the logic is led by economic theory that persons make logical decisions based on
cost and benefit by market rationality. Relationships and interactions among agricultural
stakeholders are governed by legal norms and formal contracts rather than oral and informal
agreements (Miller et al., 2013). The “value-chain” logic is consisted with policies and strategies
for strengthening value chains and is widely understood as the way to develop the agricultural
sector in Africa (Webber and Labaste, 2010). Based on this logic, the government and
international organizations have launched initiatives for value chain development by leveraging
the potential of contemporary technologies to facilitate the integration of smallholder farmers
into local and international value chains (Armstrong et al., 2011).
The summary of differences between “smallholder” logic and “value-chain” logic is
shown at Table 1. The table indicates the comparison of the two logics from 7 dimensions;
framing, relational networks, dominant interaction pattern, locus of practice, governance,
transactions, and communication patterns and technologies.
Table 1: Comparison between Smallholder logic and Value-chain logic
Elements Smallholder logic Value-chain logic
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Framing Bottom‐up, rural way of life,
smallholder practices
Top‐down, policy‐driven, “agriculture as
a business”
Relational
networks
Interpersonal Business contacts
Dominant
interaction pattern
In‐person, oral, radio‐based Text‐based: documents and technologies
Locus of practice Unsophisticated, production
of variable quality
Certifiable, knowledge and information
intensive production
Governance Lack of measurement
transparency, lack of
standardization, indigenous
institutions
Regulatory norms (e.g. measurement
units and standards), legal contracts
Transactions Informal market transactions,
informal brokerage
Formal exchanges, market facilitation
services
Communication
patterns and
technologies
Largely legacy technology,
informal and formal in‐
person channels, oral‐based
and egalitarian
Largely contemporary technology,
reliance on written texts and documents
Source: developed from Karanasios and Slavova (2019).
2.3 ICT Interventions in Agriculture
According to Edda Tandi Lwoga, Raphael Zozimus Sangeda, 2018, Information and
Communication Technology have greatly influenced on agricultural conditions in Africa. The
implementation ICT in the agriculture of Africa was a great idea but there were also many
problems which the agriculture will face before the implementation of this processes.
Information and Communication Technology stresses on the role of unified communications and
the integration of telecommunications, computers and many other software. In Africa, there is an
increased momentum in order to encourage the participation of youths in agriculture in Africa
(Duncombe, 2016). The main concern behind the implementation of Information and
Communication Technology in the agriculture of Africa is related to the hunger and poverty
faced by the country due to low involvement of people in farming and agricultural related
activities. People were moving from one place to another such as from the rural areas to the
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