Digital Extension Services
Definition
Digital extension services are the electronic extension services provided to agricultural workers, mainly farmers and traders. Digital extension services can include weather forecasting, agronomy advice, connection to input and service providers, financial support, training, market access, and more.
Lead Actors
Input Provider; Financial Service Provider; Off-taker; Other Service Provider
Target Demographics
Smallholder Farmers
Objectives addressed
Farmer related
Improve yields:
Digital extension service can provide information and advice, both general and specific, that help farmers to improve yields.
Increase climate resilience:
Access to any extension services, digital or physical, often leads to improved climate resilience at farm level by improving farmers' access to higher quality inputs and irrigation and increasing farmers' knowledge of GAP. This is slightly amplified when the services are digital as farmers can access information more easily and on their own time.
Increase farmer income:
In addition to helping farmers improve yields, digital extension services sometimes include access to agricultural commodities exchanges or other digital markets that improve access to market and allow farmers to get better farm gate prices for their crop.
Business related
Reduce cost-to-serve:
Though the initial investment in digital extension services can be high, the wider access afforded by using a digital platform significantly reduces the cost per farmer served.
Address sourcing needs:
If digital extension services are being provided by an off-taker or a service coalition, the provider can tailor services to meet their own procurement needs, thus securing more consistency in the volumes and quality that they require. The provider may also have access to valuable sourcing data. However, unlike in-person extension services, there is no extension worker checking in on the status of the crop or confirming volumes or quality ahead of time.
Strengthen organisational processes:
If companies are receiving data from their digital extension service platforms, that data can be used to build more proactive strategies and processes rather than falling back on reactive business decisions.
Contexts Best Suited to
Strong digital infrastructure: to ensure farmers can receive messages.
Higher levels of literacy: so farmers can act on digital support.
Higher levels of literacy: so farmers can act on digital support.
Key Risks
Hesitance to change: Older farmers may be particularly unwilling to adopt a technological tool.
Low digital literacy: Farmers may need significant training and assistance to learn how to use digital tools.
Access to technology and digital infrastructure: Farmers without access to a smart phone or a network connection may be excluded from these services.
Data privacy: Personal information can be breached.
Low digital literacy: Farmers may need significant training and assistance to learn how to use digital tools.
Access to technology and digital infrastructure: Farmers without access to a smart phone or a network connection may be excluded from these services.
Data privacy: Personal information can be breached.
Environmental Impact
Positive:
Digital extension services reduce the need for travel related to in-person services, resulting in a (minor) reduction in CO2 emissions. Additionally, they can also increase farmers' knowledge of good agricultural practices at scale.
Ambition level
Medium
Time
Time investments early on during the development phase can vary but are generally high, especially if the delivery platform for the services is being developed in-house. If the service is being delivered via an off-the-shelf digital product, the time investment is much lower, but still involves product personalisation and optimisation, data input, training staff, and piloting. After the initial development phase, time investment for technical support, review and redesign, and possibly processing data collected from the platform's use, is continuously required.
Investment Need
While the initial investment to develop or license a platform and implement a digital service are high, the costs that follow are lower. These include those associated with technical support, review and redesign, and possibly processing data collected from the platform's use.
