Explore the full dataset
The goal of the Agriculture in the Digital Age is to capture, classify, and annotate to the fullest degree possible the research on digital interventions in agriculture, using peer-reviewed studies and other carefully selected sources.
A selection of 315 articles, case studies and reports were included for our assessment of how the proliferation of digital technology and data analytics impacts small-scale farmers and agricultural service providers in low- and middle-income. Among the questions we sought to address:
- What does the evidence report about the ways in which farmers and service providers have made use of digitally-enabled services for agriculture?
- What are the various digitally-enabled service types for agriculture, and what has been made available to farmers?
- What are the outcomes measured by these service types?
- Who is empowered to use digitally-enabled services and who is left out?
- What are the facilitators and barriers to use of these service types, and how to do they contribute to an uptake in use?
Hover over each hexagon in the “Use facilitators and Barriers” to see a brief definition of the identified facilitator. Click on “more” will highlight the appropriate drop-down filter in the table below. Use the filters to explore the dataset based on your own interests.
Many research studies provide rich descriptive details such a when a particular service “saves time” or “saves money” that can facilitate further understanding of why a service does or does not work.
We identified 74 facilitators and barriers across 315 included studies and organized them into four dimensions based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), proposed by Venkatesh et al., 2003, 2012.
The UTAUT dimensions and the corresponding facilitators and barriers can be identified by the four colors in the diagram. For more information about each dimension, please check out our full report.
Facilitators and barriers
Privacy supported
User's information kept private
Click here to see more information
Immediate benefit
User perceives use of service will deliver benefits quickly
Click here to see more information
Saves money
User saves money by using the service
Click here to see more information
Comprehensive information
User perceives service provides sufficient information
Click here to see more information
Farmers respected
User feels respected by the service
Click here to see more information
Learning supported
User perceives service could increase user's knowledge
Click here to see more information
Service benefits conveyed
User understands service's value proposition
Click here to see more information
Improve transparency
User perceives use of service will enable them to monitor other agricultural organisations and professionals
Click here to see more information
Incentives
Incentives to use the service (unrelated to its core function)
Click here to see more information
Market access sensitive
Aligned with user's constraints regarding access to markets for farm produce
Click here to see more information
Extension access sensitive
Complements users' level of (in)access to formal and non-digital Extension service(s)
Click here to see more information
Localizes or site-specific
Service and/or its content adapted to user's geography
Click here to see more information
Labour access sensitive
Aligned with user's constraints regarding access to labour
Click here to see more information
Bundled service
Multiple service types delivered to farmers as one service
Click here to see more information
Saves time
User saves time by using the service
Click here to see more information
Information reliability
User perceives service information to be reliable
Click here to see more information
Capital access sensitive
Aligned with user's constraints regarding access to capital
Click here to see more information
Trust (general)
User trusts the service (unspecified how)
Click here to see more information
Motivation supported
Use increases user's motivation
Click here to see more information
Flexible applicability
User perceives service to be transferable across multiple use cases
Click here to see more information
Saves travel
User travels less by using the service
Click here to see more information
User involvement
User involved in supply of the service
Click here to see more information
Discussion supported
Service helps user discuss service and its content with real people
Click here to see more information
Choice supported
Service offers user multiple options
Click here to see more information
Relatable source
User perceives supplier of service to be relatable
Click here to see more information
Credible source
User perceives supplier of service to be credible
Click here to see more information
Input access sensitive
Aligned with user's constraints regarding access to agricultural inputs
Click here to see more information
Interactive
Responsive to user input
Click here to see more information
Ease of testing
User can quickly and cheaply test using service and/or its content on a small-scale
Click here to see more information
Grow professional network
User perceives use of service could develop new connections with other agricultural professionals
Click here to see more information
Constraint sensitive (general)
Aligned with user's constraints (unspecified how)
Click here to see more information
Priority sensitive (general)
Aligned with user's priorities (unspecified how)
Click here to see more information
Service sustained
Service supply is sustained over time
Click here to see more information
Organizational support
Organizational_support
Click here to see more information
Mobile network affordability
User can afford to mobile network costs required to use service
Click here to see more information
Device quality
User can access device of required quality to use service
Click here to see more information
Electricity access
User can access electricity required to use service
Click here to see more information
Mobile network availability
User is located where there is an available mobile network with speed and reliability required to use service
Click here to see more information
Aware of DEAS
User aware of service's existence
Click here to see more information
Device access
User can access device at required time to use service
Click here to see more information
Culturally sensitive
Aligned with user's culture
Click here to see more information
Community support
User received assistance to use service from members of their community
Click here to see more information
Involuntary use
User perceives use of service is compulsory
Click here to see more information
Ease of sharing
User perceives service to be easy to share with people in user's social network
Click here to see more information
Embarrassment avoided
User perceives service to not create a risk of embarrassment
Click here to see more information
Maintain relationships
User perceives use of service could improve user's personal relationships
Click here to see more information
Improve status
User perceives use of service could increase user's social status
Click here to see more information
Speed of use
User perceives use of service to be not overly time-consuming
Click here to see more information
Multiple digital interfaces
User perceives they can access the service via more than one digital interface
Click here to see more information
Familiar language
User understands the language(s) used by the service
Click here to see more information
Visual interface
Service's digital interface is visual
Click here to see more information
No technical bugs
Service free of technical bugs
Click here to see more information
Social network access
Extent to which user is socially connected to other people that can facilitate use of the service
Click here to see more information
Ease of first use
User perceives their first use of the service to be easy
Click here to see more information
Familiar terminology
User understands the terminology (including metrics and technical terms) used by the service
Click here to see more information
Reminders
Service reminds users of information they are already familiar with and at relevant times
Click here to see more information
Familiar service or interface
User perceives service and/or it's digital interface to be familiar
Click here to see more information
Digital illiteracy sensitive
Aligned with user's skill-level operating digital devices
Click here to see more information
Affordable use cost
User perceives service fee to be affordable
Click here to see more information
Ease of use (general)
User perceives service to be easy to use (unspecified how)
Click here to see more information
Math calculations facilitated
User avoids performing mathematical calculations by and/or when using the service
Click here to see more information
Aesthietic interface
User perceives service's digital interface(s) to be aesthetically pleasing
Click here to see more information
Timelines
User perceives service to be supplied at relevant times of day and/or season
Click here to see more information
Entertaining
User perceives service experience to be entertaining
Click here to see more information
How to use explained
User perceives adequate explanation supplied regarding how-to-use the service
Click here to see more information
Ease of payment
User perceives service to be easy to (re)subscribe to
Click here to see more information
Ease of reference
User perceives service content to be easy to refer to on-demand
Click here to see more information
Password not required
User does not need to remember a password to use service
Click here to see more information
Eyesight sensitive
Aligned with user's eyesight constraints
Click here to see more information
Updated content
Content provided by service is refreshed
Click here to see more information
Constaint sensitive (general)
Aligned with user's constraints (unspecified how)
Click here to see more information
Spam avoided
User is not disrupted by service at undesired times
Click here to see more information
Illiteracy sensitive
Aligned with user's (in)ability to read and write
Click here to see more information
Human support
Service's digital interface is complemented with support for users from a real person (remotely and/or in-person)
Click here to see more information
Ease of interpretation
User perceives service and its content to be easy to understand
Click here to see more information
Like the use facilitators and barriers feature, world map and evidence gap map?
You can easily implement similar visualizations your own site using Google Sheets and Word Press! The instructions and code are available on GitHub.