Smallholder farmers could help fix global food systems with the right technology. Here's how

Smallholder farmers are the heart of the global food system, producing over one-third of the food we eat. Yet for many of the world’s 600 million smallholder farmers, farming is no longer a sustainable livelihood. Farmers are leaving their communities to pursue alternative livelihoods, adding to the weight of challenges already facing our food systems, like geopolitical conflicts, after-effects of the pandemic, and worsening climate shocks, putting food security at risk. Already, nearly 10% of the world’s population suffers from hunger, and that figure is on the rise.

We need to transform our global food systems to be more equitable to smallholder farmers. Farmers lack access to sufficient credit to sustain and grow their business. Technology can provide farmers with access to credit and other financial services, as well as reliable marketplaces and input providers, advisory services, and information.

Yet insufficient digital infrastructure in rural communities hinders smallholder farmers from accessing these technologies. Internet and power is often unreliable and expensive, many farmers lack a digital identity, and access to data and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions is expensive.

As technology-driven companies, Mastercard and Microsoft have developed innovative solutions to support farmers and strengthen global food systems. For example, Farm Pass digitizes agricultural value chains to enable access to credit and create a bigger pool of buyers. Together with local agriculture technology companies and financial institutions, Farm Pass has helped over 2 million smallholder farmers in Africa and India get paid more and faster.

Microsoft previously developed the Azure FarmBeats platform and has since expanded this work with the recently open-sourced FarmVibes.AI, a set of AI tools to help farmers adopt sustainable agriculture practices. These technologies enable data-driven agriculture with the use of sensors, solar-powered whitespace-based internet connectivity, AI, and other tools to support farm productivity, income, and resource optimization. Microsoft also created a chatbot to facilitate communication for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Global food systems account for over a quarter of global GHG emissions and half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, so harnessing technology to support smallholder farmers can also help safeguard nature and advance climate action. For example, data-driven solutions can help farmers grow food with optimal resources including water, fertilizers, and other essential inputs with minimal waste in the supply chains.

We believe that data, coupled with the farmer’s knowledge and intuition about his or her farm, can help increase farm productivity and also help reduce costs. The goal is to enable data-driven farming and democratize AI for sustainable agriculture. This is precisely what FarmBeats is working towards. Andrew Nelson, a farmer currently testing the FarmBeats portfolio of services, suggests that collectively, these technologies are making a big impact both in his fields and his bank account. For example, the first year Nelson used data to guide his spraying, the amount he saved was exactly the amount he earned.

These are just a few examples of how private sector organizations are innovating to bring smallholder farmers into the digital economy, improve their livelihoods, and support food security. Still, financing is needed to de-risk early-stage investment in developing and scaling new solutions. For example, to build capacity at the last mile, financing for digital literacy training and agent network development is needed. The right solutions need to crowd in funding from private, public, and philanthropic sectors.

To unlock investment, robust enabling environments that allow for continuous innovation are needed. Business models should be co-designed by a diverse group of stakeholders to ensure viability. While technologies can originate off-farm, the farmers and on-farm applicability need to be at the centre to avoid market failure. While financing from governments, public institutions and philanthropy can enable early stage ecosystem development, co-investment from the private sector can complement the efforts and eventually focus on financing sustainable and commercially viable solutions.

Several innovative financing models are under development, however, solving for scale for technology adoption can only be achieved through cooperation. This is why we have been involved in designing and developing the Food Innovation Hubs Global Initiative with several public, private, and civil society stakeholders. Together, we aim to drive low-cost and inclusive innovations that could have a scalable impact in meeting the needs of stakeholders in the food system regionally and globally.

Food systems need a technology revolution. Over the next year, we’re advancing initiatives to connect more smallholder farmers to fair marketplaces, the formal financial sector, sustainable agriculture practices, and the internet. This work will require broad and intentional collaboration to move the needle on food security and empower the farmers that feed the world.