The Commonwealth| Source |
Digital agriculture holds immense potential to address systemic constraints in Commonwealth agriculture, fostering economic growth, resilience, and sustainability. This policy brief outlines key strategies to accelerate digitalization in the Commonwealth, addressing challenges and leveraging opportunities for transformative change.
Key Strategies:
- Infrastructure Investment: Prioritize investment in digital infrastructure, including broadband, electricity, and cell towers, to create an enabling environment for digital agriculture to thrive.
- Data Infrastructure Development: Establish robust data infrastructure, setting standards for data sharing, conducting frequent agriculture censuses, and facilitating open access to government-collected data through APIs.
- Business Development Support: Promote business development in digital agriculture by subsidizing early-stage development, fostering partnerships between public and private sectors, and incentivizing investment in innovations tailored to smallholder contexts.
- Gender-Inclusive Initiatives: Close the gendered digital divide by investing in digital infrastructure and education to empower women to access and benefit from digital agriculture solutions.
- Impact Evaluation: Implement robust impact evaluation processes to document learnings and ensure that investments effectively benefit smallholder stakeholders.