Disparities between developed and emerging economies in digital divide and ICT gap to bring agricultural sustainability

Abstract

Evolution of community into the cognitive one has had a significant impact on the value and role of information. Could the adoption of ICT be the means to achieve agricultural sustainability in developed and emerging economies? A startling plunge of food yield growth rates and risks of food insecurity in the future, especially after the global population projection of 9.7 billion people by 2050, highlights the pertinence of this question which finds no clear insights in the past literature. Not every person has the same internet access, communication tools, the same level of information approach, or makes the same benefit of available digital gadgets. Digital dividends have lagged the ICT penetration behind. ICT tools have been unevenly distributed. Developed economies have been able to make use of such tools as a support for development of sustainable agriculture. However, this case has potentially not been achieved in emerging economies due to the illiteracy of the farmers. This suggests the need for extension education, ICT tools demonstrations with application, investment in technology, training programs, workshops, and so on. The internet has been accessible to 86.6% of the developed countries, while it has just been 47% of people from developing ones. So, future research should focus on the strategies to increase the application of ICT tools in farming to bring agricultural sustainability in both developing and developed economies. [Fundam Appl Agric 2021; 6(3.000): 309-322]

Keywords

• information and communication technology
• agriculture
• sustainability
• internet