The Digital Agriculture Readiness Index for Africa DAgRI

A situation analysis of the digital agriculture sector across AU member states was conducted using data from various official sources (such as FAO, World Bank, ITU, GSMA) to prepare a Situation Analysis Report, issued in November 2021. The report includes an annex of detailed Country Data Sheets as part of the process to develop the DAS. This analysis was used to derive a National Digital Agriculture Readiness Index (DAgRI). The DAgRI combines a set of selected existing indicators that describe the enabling environment relevant for the digitalization of agriculture covering areas such as digital infrastructure, access to technologies, digital skills, business environments with a special emphasis on rural areas and populations. existence and type of drone regulations, e-payment services, and national agricultural data portals. Figure 2 summarises the DAgRI for all AU member states in a map.

The DAgRI represents the general readiness of a national agriculture sector for digitalization but does not consider the importance of a country’s agricultural sector for the national economy, the assumption is that agriculture needs transformation, whether it is the economic backbone or not for the country’s economy. Based on the DAgRI value, countries can prioritize different measures from the comprehensive list of possible activities.