CGIAR Consultation Workshop: Identifying Routes to Gender-Inclusive Digital Innovations

The CGIAR hosted a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Bhubaneswar, Odisha on November 8 and 9, 2022, as a part of its recently established research for development (R4D) project on digital innovation.

Over the past several years, there has been considerable growth in the use of digital technology in the agriculture, food and water systems, which has led to the emergence of numerous agri-tech and downstream businesses all over the world. Digital agriculture has been strengthened in underdeveloped countries via several initiatives and investments.

Digital technologies are spurring innovations at many points in the value chains of the land, water, and food systems, in contrast to earlier initiatives that were mostly on-farm. Revolutionary ideas are coming from low- and middle-income nations, and they have quickly impacted rural and traditional societies.

To assist in the inclusive and sustainable transformation of the food, land, and water systems, the CGIAR Digital Innovation programme seeks to create and accelerate the usage of digital technologies.

The initiative will identify strategies and investment priorities to create an enabling digital ecosystem that will allow for the efficient and equitable delivery of pertinent information to farming communities and value chain actors, enabling them to better prepare for risks brought on by climate change and other shocks while also strengthening and sustaining their livelihoods and incomes. The programme will also aim to improve the knowledge and skills of smallholder farmers who are not able to use digital advances.

Dr. Ranjitha Puskur, IRRI Representative to India said, “We need a wide range of digital innovations if we have to effectively address the diverse needs of different socio-economic groups of farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural value chains and food systems. The gender digital divide is a stark reality and many rural women are unable to access and use digital technologies and infrastructure due to a range of challenges including a lack of digital literacy and skills. Social norms in many cultural contexts also constrain the use of digital technologies by women. Through our initiatives, we seek to create an enabling environment for bridging this gender gap and propelling equitable digital innovation for transforming food, land, and water systems.” 

Participants in the workshop from the public and private sectors, as well as from civil society organizations, research centres and the government, discussed several issues that will be crucial in laying the groundwork for inclusive and gender-conscious digital innovations in the food, water, and agriculture sectors.

These conversations showed that there are other digital services and applications in the agriculture industry that offer comparable information to farmers and other value chain participants. Ironically, the majority of these applications and digital services are supply-driven and ignore the wants and needs of the end customers.

The volume and diversity of data being gathered by different actors in the value chain via apps and digital services was another significant result of the conversations. All of these discussions, which centred on the likely methods for closing the current digital gap and creating more inclusive and gender-responsive digital innovations and services for altering the food, land, and water systems, placed a priority on including women and smallholder farmers.

With a focus on women and other unreached vulnerable farmers, the workshop's goals were to:

• Understand the digital ecosystem in food, land, and water systems, including the availability, accessibility, and effectiveness of the existing infrastructure and services;

• Identify key opportunities and challenges in promoting an inclusive and beneficial digital ecosystem, especially for the rural women of India; and

• To recognize the difficulties in data security and governance.