Important policy parameters for the development of inclusive digital agriculture: implications for the redistributive land reform program in South Africa

Mazwane, Sukoluhle; Makhura, Moraka N.; Senyolo, Mmapatla P.

doi:10.3390/agriculture12122129

Cited by 16Digitalization and Economic Development in AgricultureSmart Agriculture and AIAgricultural Economics and Policy

Important policy parameters for the development of inclusive digital agriculture: implications for the redistributive land reform program in South Africa

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Mazwane, Sukoluhle, Makhura, Moraka N., Senyolo, Mmapatla P.·2022·Agriculture

DOI 10.3390/agriculture12122129

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Abstract

The creation and deployment of digital technologies throughout the agro-food system contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal nine. However, various digitalization studies offer limited insight into the policy issues and solutions around emerging technologies and big data systems in agriculture. There is a need for an additional understanding of how agricultural policymaking should respond to the usage of digital technologies in the agri-food sector. Furthermore, evidence is limited on how existing agricultural government programs such as land reform can be linked with digitalization policy. This systematic review of literature sought to determine the transformation that is needed in the political and economic environment for the digital revolution to take place within South African land reform agriculture. A thematic analysis of data sampled from ProQuest Central, Scopus, Dimensions, and Google Scholar reveals five areas of intervention from agricultural policymaking. The digital revolution in agriculture can be brought about by transforming digital infrastructure, data interoperability and governance, digital markets, the compatibility of government incentives with the private sector, and the digital cultural landscape. This essay contributes to agricultural policy and decision-making dialogues that pay attention to digital technologies and land reform programs in South Africa.

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Fragmented land information systems, limited digitization, and weak monitoring further reduce the Department's ability to evaluate performance, adapt policy, and implement corrective measures in real time.
“Fragmented land information systems, limited digitization, and weak monitoring further reduce the Department's ability to evaluate performance, adapt policy, and implement corrective measures in real time (Mazwane et al., 2022).”
From Over three decades of land distribution in South Africa: a review of progress, challenges and prospects (2026) · cites this paper as Mazwane et al., 2022

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Authors: Mazwane, S., Makhura, M. N., & Senyolo, M. P.
Affiliations: University of Mpumalanga (ZA)
University of Pretoria (ZA)
University of Limpopo (ZA)
Corresponding author: Mazwane, Sukoluhle
ORCID: Mazwane, Sukoluhle
Makhura, Moraka N.
Senyolo, Mmapatla P.
Venue: Agriculture
Publisher: MDPI AG
Published: 2022-12-11
Volume: 12
Issue: 12
Pages: 2129
ISSN: 2077-0472 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.3390/agriculture12122129
OpenAlex: W4313210625
Cited by: 16
References: 48
Citations by year: 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 1
FWCI: 2.24
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: gold
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (vor)
Locations: Agriculture (publishedVersion, cc-by)
RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
UpSpace Institutional Repository (University of Pretoria) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Topics: Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Digitalization and Economic Development in Agriculture
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Plant Science › Smart Agriculture and AI
Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Agricultural Economics and Policy
Keywords: digital agriculture, agricultural policy, land reform, digital inclusion, South Africa, SDG 9, digital infrastructure, data interoperability, data governance, digital markets, government incentives, big data in agriculture

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Important policy parameters for the development of inclusive digital agriculture: implications for the redistributive land reform program in South Africa

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