The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) highlighted that the world is increasing the use of smart agriculture.

In general, the adoption of Internet of Things solutions for agriculture is constantly growing.

According to UNCTAD, the size of the global smart agriculture market is expected to reach $ 10 billion by 2023 (compared to just over $ 5 billion in 2016).

A necessary, if not sufficient, condition for the adoption of new technologies or practices is that farmers first need to know about their existence.

Any means of promoting the dissemination of information on innovations that can help increase agricultural productivity can help the diffusion and adoption of technology.

In developing countries, there is a wide variety of agricultural mobile applications, offered by public organizations or local businesses supported by mobile network operators.

Smart agriculture

In India, a government portal offers a variety of mobile applications for agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and other agricultural fields.

On the other hand, in Kenya, SMS and a mobile voice application are used to provide information as part of a subscription service.

The goal is to increase the productivity of farms through access to experience, information and knowledge.

Along the same lines, another SMS service application allows small farmers to ask questions via SMS to other registered users in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Uganda and the United Republic of Tanzania.

A government or international partners can establish and finance a partnership with smart agricultural consulting firms so that information can be provided free of charge to farmers.

For example, the German Agency for International Cooperation commissioned the development and dissemination of an app for small potato growers in India.

In cases where smart agriculture requires some capital equipment, such as tractors, another option is offered in the context of technical diffusion and relates to the pooling of investment resources.