A New Green Revolution (GR) or Neoliberal Entrenchment in Agri-food Systems? Exploring Narratives Around Digital Agriculture (DA), Food Systems, and Development in Sub-Sahara Africa.
This paper adopts a document analysis to describe the expected developmental effects of agricultural digitalization in Africa and the potential drivers to the narratives that echoe such effects. Narratives show that digitalization is expected to bridge information and knowledge gaps in agriculture;...
| Publicado en: | Journal of Development Studies Vol. 58; no. 8; pp. 1588 - 1605 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Aug2022
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=158361188&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 158361188 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00220388 JDS jtl: Journal of Development Studies issn: 00220388 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: Aug2022 vid: 58 iid: 8 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 158361188 10.1080/00220388.2022.2032673 ppf: 1588 ppct: 17 formats: fmt: – @attributes: type: T db: hlh ui: 158361188 – @attributes: type: P db: hlh ui: 158361188 tig: atl: A New Green Revolution (GR) or Neoliberal Entrenchment in Agri-food Systems? Exploring Narratives Around Digital Agriculture (DA), Food Systems, and Development in Sub-Sahara Africa. aug: au: Abdulai, Abdul-Rahim affil: Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, University of Guelph, Guelph, Canada su: Africa Sahara Green Revolution Youth employment Social classes Neoliberalism Digital divide sug: subj: Green Revolution Youth employment Social classes Africa Sahara Neoliberalism Digital divide keyword: African development development agencies Digital agriculture rural livelihoods smallholders African development development agencies Digital agriculture rural livelihoods smallholders ab: This paper adopts a document analysis to describe the expected developmental effects of agricultural digitalization in Africa and the potential drivers to the narratives that echoe such effects. Narratives show that digitalization is expected to bridge information and knowledge gaps in agriculture; promote food security; increase climate change/environmental sustainability; provide employment and empower the youth; promote gender and women empowerment; and enhance livelihood resilience in rural areas. With these findings, I argue that, though partly justifiable, private-sector led digitalization, with it's optimistic technocratic narratives, follows, entrenches, and extends the 'transformational rhetoric' of the existing international development-driven African Green Revolution efforts to improve smallholder and rural lives through technological diffusion. However, without critical considerations of political-economic issues affecting its proliferation, as well as their implications on power structures and class restructuring, these narratives mask potential neoliberal incursions. Thus, issues of connectivity and the digital divide issues, the slow pace of technological adoption, scaling of digital solutions, and the weak enabling environments must be addressed to potentially make benefits inclusive. The initial suggested political-economic discussions of the narratives inject much needed critical perspectives into the early conversations by showing the potential drivers and motives of digitalization, as well as the tendencies to [among others] further concentrate power and restructure the dynamics of social classes in Africa. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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