Digital solutions make farmers more connected: experts
Data-driven digital ecosystems can address bottlenecks in the agriculture value chain, including poor market linkages, lack of access to finance, knowledge and inputs, and shortcomings to an enabling environment, experts said.
However, they said, digitalising the sector is not just the solution. Rather, the whole ecosystem needs to be developed around the sector, according to a statement. They spoke at a workshop on “Agriculture: Next Digital Frontier” jointly organised by LightCastle Partners and the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture at the Lakeshore hotel in Dhaka on Thursday.
Robert Berlin, head of agriservices, digital delivery and country programmes at the Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture, attended the event as the chief guest.
Representatives from large private enterprises, including ACI, Lalteer, and Gemcon, along with e-commerce companies, agri-tech firms and the development sector participated in the workshop.
The discussants unanimously agreed on establishing a coherent digital strategy in their business model to drive innovation to achieve commercial viability, the statement added.
Due to a lack of last-mile visibility, corporations often cannot implement a forecast model. Digital solutions help overcome the challenges. Procurement data digitalisation helps drive more transparency in the supply chain, the experts said.
The experts also said data digitalisation promotes greater financial inclusion. Financial institutes can leverage procurement data to create targeted products and offerings for the farmers and other players in the value chain.
Widespread collaboration – a strong network between agri-technology companies, e-commerce and input and output companies – and good governance will be pivotal in ensuring a winning model for the ecosystem, they added.
LightCastle and the Syngenta Foundation will carry forward the joint initiative to promote agriculture data digitalisation in Bangladesh. They will publish a white paper in 2020 for the greater interest of Bangladesh’s agriculture, the statement added.
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