Do Digital Agricultural Innovations Deliver? Evidence on What Works for Small-Scale Farmers
The rapid expansion of information and communication technologies (ICT) in rural areas of low- and middle-income countries has created new opportunities to strengthen food systems and build climate resilience for small-scale farmers. At the same time, the proliferation of digital agricultural solutions has outpaced rigorous evidence on whether—and under what conditions—these tools meaningfully improve outcomes for small-scale producers. In response, the Digital Agricultural Innovations and Services Initiative (DAISI), led by CEGA and J-PAL, was launched in 2021 to critically examine whether and how digital technologies deliver on sustainable development goals.
This session examines how and when digital agricultural innovations deliver on their promise. Participants will learn about key pathways through which digitalization may affect production, technical efficiency, information flows, inclusion of marginalized groups, and transparency across agricultural value chains.
Participants will gain evidence-based understanding of what works, what does not, and why in digital agriculture. The session synthesizes emerging lessons from research on digital market interventions, information and extension services, digital credit, and other digitally enabled agricultural tools. Attendees will leave with concrete insights to inform program design, policy decisions, and future research priorities.
The session aligns with conference themes on digital innovation, food systems transformation, and climate resilience. Where appropriate, we will include examples from CEGA's Data Privacy Lab, which develops privacy-enhancing technologies to enable safe data sharing.
Drawing on three years of DAISI research, the session highlights evidence on bundling multiple digital services—and why integrated approaches may generate larger impacts than standalone interventions.
Speakers
Jenna manages agricultural sector research and programming at the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) at UC Berkeley, where she leads operations for the Agricultural Technology Adoption Initiative (ATAI), a research consortium dedicated to understanding how smallholder farmers in low-income countries adopt and benefit from agricultural technologies. Prior to joining CEGA, she administered social protection and nutrition programs at the Ecology Center in Berkeley and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Jenna holds an MSPH in International Health from Johns Hopkins University, a BS in Nutrition and a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin, and is a Registered Dietitian.
Zachary Gitonga is an applied development economics researcher with a focus on women's inclusion and intra-household gender dynamics in agrifood systems, climate change adaptation, and mitigation. Zachary has over 15 years of socioeconomics research experience with special focus on technology innovation and adoption, monitoring and impact evaluation of program interventions. Other areas of interest include the role of digital innovations in bridging the gap between research outcomes and end-users in agrifood systems. He has experience working in both local and international research organizations conducting research in many African countries including Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Ethiopia, and Namibia. Zachary has worked with multicultural teams and communities in these countries and published many peer reviewed research articles.
Yanyan Liu is a Senior Research Fellow in the Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit. Yanyan’s research has focused on program impact evaluation, microfinance, microinsurance, and economic transformation. Her work has been published in journals such as Economic Journal, European Economic Review, Journal of Applied Econometrics, Journal of Risk and Insurance, American Journal of Agricultural Economics, World Bank Economic Review, and World Development.
Prior to joining IFPRI in 2009, Yanyan worked for RTI International and for the Development Research Group at the World Bank. She received a joint PhD in Economics and Agricultural Economics from Michigan State University.
Do Digital Agricultural Innovations Deliver? Evidence on What Works for Small-Scale Farmers
Session Type
Breakout Sessions
Description
Theme: Impact Theme: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals in a Fragile World. Delve into how we can continue to leverage digital transformation to achieve sustainable outcomes, advance climate resilience, strengthen food systems, promote global health, and improve emergency response.Primary Tag: Agriculture and ICT
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