Agricultural transformation sits high on the agenda for governments in many low-and middle- income countries (LMICs) across the globe given the intertwining of the agriculture sector with critical national development outcomes – whether food security, poverty reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation, or gender and social inclusion. With the right policy, investment, institutions, and innovation, agriculture and broader food systems can serve as powerful vehicles for inclusive economic growth, meaningful employment, and environmental sustainability across the world.
USAID’s Bureau for Resilience, Environment, and Food Security partnered with Beanstalk, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the UK’s Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and DAI to produce the most extensive consultation on the state of D4Ag across LMICs to date. The report is an unprecedented attempt to consolidate a globally comparative perspective on the state of D4Ag ecosystems, including perspectives on level and dynamics of D4Ag adoption, proof of impact, and quantitatively- and qualitatively expressed alternative futures for the sector at large. Altogether, it lays out the case and roadmap for collaborative and complementary investment from stakeholders across the D4Ag ecosystem – innovators, policymakers, donors, investors, agribusinesses, and producers alike – to power the next wave of digitally-enabled sustainable development in agriculture across LMICs.