A new article by PARI coordinator Heike Baumüller and John Kieti (University of Nairobi) published in The Conversation on 1 Novmeber discusses possible solutions for scaling digital agricultural services in Kenya.

Digital agricultural services have proliferated across Africa over the last decade. Kenya is at the forefront of this development in Africa. But scaling up these solutions remains a challenge. The article summarizes research on how to support the scaling of digital agricultural services in Kenya. The article highlights that uptake could be increased by building digital bridges in the form of digital platforms that bundle such services. Additionally, it will require human bridges to narrow the technological and skill gaps, to enhance trust in service provision and to connect users.

The article is based on:

Kieti et al (2001) Sources of value creation in aggregator platforms for digital services in agriculture – insights from likely users in Kenya

Baumüller et al (2002) Documenting the digital transformation of African agriculture: Use and impact of digital technologies among agricultural intermediaries

Kietie et al (2002) What really impedes the scaling out of digital services for agriculture? A Kenyan users’ perspective