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International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries

ICT4D 2019: Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D pp 231–247Cite as

The Role of Digital Platforms in Disrupting Agricultural Value Chains in Developing Countries

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Part of the book series: IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology ((IFIPAICT,volume 551))

Abstract

Mobile devices and the platforms they support are increasingly being mainstreamed into agricultural value chains. While the extant literature on the use of mobile devices for agriculture has focused on their use for the provision of m-services through short messaging services (SMS), unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) and voice calls, there is growing evidence of the adoption and use of a new wave of digital platforms (mobile apps, web apps and online databases) in agricultural value chains in developing regions. As debates on the disruptive potential of digital platforms in agriculture are still at a nascent stage, this scoping review investigates the current research landscape on the use of digital platforms in agricultural value chains in developing regions. An assessment of the 26 digital platforms identified through the review show their potential to cause change in a number of value chain processes. However, the review reveals certain methodological shortcomings and a dearth of empirical evidence to support claims of significant disruptive impact.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    PayStack is an online third party payment platform used in Africa. See: https://paystack.com/.

  2. 2.

    ICTA holds a coffee auction every Thursday in Bangalore (Banker et al. 2011).

  3. 3.

    POMS is an online database which contains records of farmers visits to plant clinics (name, date, village, plant problem etc.) and records of the diagnosis and recommendations provided by plant doctors (Wright et al. 2016).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Bookie Ezeomah & Richard Duncombe

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  1. Bookie Ezeomah
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  2. Richard Duncombe
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Correspondence to Richard Duncombe .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Petter Nielsen

  2. University of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Honest Christopher Kimaro

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Ezeomah, B., Duncombe, R. (2019). The Role of Digital Platforms in Disrupting Agricultural Value Chains in Developing Countries. In: Nielsen, P., Kimaro, H.C. (eds) Information and Communication Technologies for Development. Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D. ICT4D 2019. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology, vol 551. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_19

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_19

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