Abstract
Digitalisation through mobile apps is expected to transform smallholder agriculture in
Africa, by addressing the diverse challenges faced by smallholder farmers. However, based on the failures of past ill-fitted agricultural transformations such as the Green Revolution in Africa there are growing concerns that digitalisation will only benefit the
larger, better-resourced entities, and extend their control and dominance over
smallholder agriculture, thereby diminishing smallholders’ autonomy. However, there is paucity of research within smallholder digitalisation literature critically examining and
providing evidence of how digitalisation is transforming smallholder agriculture.
Therefore, the aim of this research was to critically examine the ways in which mobile apps are transforming smallholder agriculture within the highly unequal South African food system, as well as investigate the interplay between power dynamics and smallholder farmers’ autonomy. The multiple-case study methodology guided by the
critical theory of technology and self-determination theory was used. Four mobile apps
and forty-two smallholder farmers using the apps were purposively selected. Cases
were constructed using data from participant interviews, relevant documents, and
analysis of the apps. Three central findings in response to each of three research questions are presented. First, mobile apps partner with input supply companies, and financial institutions to enrol smallholder farmers into standardised industrial production and high-value marketing systems and credit, which smallholder farmers
lack the capacity to thrive in, overlooking lack of an enabling external environment,
thereby deskilling farmers, and diminishing their autonomy. Second, smallholder
farmers protect their own autonomy within the digital transformation of agriculture by
resisting mobile apps that fail to demonstrate value, contesting unfair data use and demanding to be consulted in mobile apps’ design, thereby mitigating the perpetuation of historical and existing oppressive power structures. Finally, mobile apps’ social networking affordances are a lever for smallholder farmers’ self-empowerment, enabling them to democratise access to agricultural knowledge, assert greater
autonomy and agency in their production and marketing practices, and defy
subjugation to established institutions and external entities. Future research could develop a comprehensive framework for harmonising the design of mobile apps for
smallholder agriculture with farmers’ contextual realities and interests, integrating an enabling environment outside of the app to support farmers’ autonomy and ensure
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sustainable benefits, while also fostering smallholder farmers’ active participation through recognition of the pivotal role of farmers’ agency, knowledge, and
communities.
Keywords: Smallholder farmers, Smallholder agriculture digitalisation, Mobile apps, Smallholder Agriculture, Power dynamics, Autonomy