As we embark on the 'fourth industrial revolution', digital innovation emerges as a promising solution to critical challenges in food production, consumption, and the supportive triad of food, land, and water systems. This potential is particularly pronounced in less industrialised, agrarian-based economies. Digital advancements promise enhanced communication, improved data management, democratic and transparent governance, accessible financial services, and decision-making support. Nevertheless, there are rising concerns about the risk of digital innovation bypassing individuals with scant education, scarce resources, native populations, and susceptible demographics such as women and young people, thus depriving them of its advantages. Additionally, the potential harms of digital technologies to these populations and society are worth considerable attention. This article addresses the concept of digital inclusivity within food, land, and water systems, emphasising the diverse needs of various groups, particularly those managing smallholder land holdings. We present evidence from peer-reviewed literature and other sources supporting the need for inclusive digital innovation. We introduce a comprehensive five-dimensional framework CAUSE (Consequences, Accessibility, Usefulness, Support, Enabling) with twenty-two indicators to foster digital inclusivity. Building on this framework, we propose a 'Digital Inclusivity Index' encompassing these multidimensional aspects. The paper argues for a broader 'digital ecosystem' perspective, where collaborative knowledge and resource sharing enhance digital innovation, extending beyond mere technology adoption to include shifts in existing social structures and institutions. Thus, the CAUSE framework helps in enabling wider access to digital innovation and has the useful consequence of increased support for its practical applications, enhancing its overall usefulness to society.

Currently metrics for assessing digital inclusivity focus on evaluating the outcomes of digital innovation rather than the process of developing such innovations. Digital inclusivity has five different dimensions, spanning both technical and social aspects, and therefore requires a holistic approach to attain. We propose a digital inclusivity index as a holistic and standard guideline for enabling digital inclusivity in food land and water systems. Since formal research and development is skewed towards the Global North, such an index may embody the perspectives and interests of organisations based in the Global North, and will therefore require testing, validation and co-development with stakeholders based in the Global South.

The projected increase in demand for food, water, and energy owing to systemic shocks has heightened the need for innovative solutions and integrated resource governance. The Agrovoltaics for Mali and Gambia (APV MaGa) Project, focuses on sustainable electricity production through agrovoltaics' triple land-use system and is leveraged with digital technologies. The project addresses The Gambia’s high food importation gap, growing dependency on fossil fuels for electricity generation, and high electricity tariffs. However, the nascence of agrovoltaics presents a new energy dimension that calls for increased coordination of sectoral policy and management, a domain of WEF nexus governance detached mainly from governance practice. Thus, a policy and institutional foresight of the potential implications of agrovoltaics’ integration is warranted, since Gambia’s decision-making for land, water, energy, and agriculture remains mainly sectoral. A qualitative research design was adopted, using a sample of twenty-eight key informative interviews, policy document analysis, and grey literature. Research findings show that the existing policy frameworks such as ‘Feed-in tariffs for excess RE, renewable energy funds, and capital subsidies can practically accommodate the frame of the agrovoltaics. However, clarification is required on the siting aspect of solar panels within the compartmentalized land policy structures. Institutionally, the Ministry of Energy’s nexus platform allows for technical coordination of agrovoltaics projects. However weak institutional harmonization, technical/financial incapacities, and overriding national interests due to sectoral bias present challenges. Therefore, harmonizing sectoral divergent policy provisions, interests, and prioritization of sustainability concerns will foster the pertinent integration of agrovoltaics for fast expansion.

In what is proclaimed as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, digital innovation is thought to have the potential to provide solutions to key challenges facing food production and consumption together with the support of sustainability of the underpinning support of land, and water systems. Nowhere is this more the case in less-industrialised countries, which largely have agrarian based economies. Applications of digital innovations include faster and more reliable communication, better collection, analysis, and storage of data, enhancing democratic processes and transparency in governance, affordable financial services and can provide the basis for decision support. However, there is a risk that people with less formal education and skills and little resource endowments as well as particular groups of people such as women will be excluded from participating or benefiting from digital innovation, the so-called digital divide. In addition, there is a risk that people, communities, and societies may be disadvantaged or harmed by digital innovation processes. Digital inclusivity within food, land and water systems are approaches in digital innovation need to include the differing needs and resources of men, women, youth, indigenous communities who produce most the world’s food in smallholder land holdings. Here we provide the state-of-the-art evidence from peer reviewed literature and other literature in support of these statements. On the basis of this and our wider anecdotal experience we present, a holistic multi-dimensional framework for digital inclusivity. The aim of the digital inclusivity index (and supporting tools) is to provide a resource to guide to transform and change development and application of digital innovations. Specifically, it provides governments, funders, researchers, and development agencies a framework on how to assess, minimise and lessen exclusion from digital innovation. This is achieved through increasing awareness of the characteristics of digital exclusion, recognising the needs of the actors that they target with digital interventions which are more inclusive, making interventions more participatory and mitigating any potential harm that can be caused by digital innovation. We also argue that the approach to digital innovation needs to be set within the context of a wide ranging ‘digital ecosystem’ where different actors contribute knowledge and resources, and digital innovation goes beyond the adoption and use of technologies to include changes in preexisting social arrangement and institutions.

The global research consortium CGIAR is restructuring itself to build a more integrated global organization that fully leverages its strengths and refocuses its research strategy through 2030 in service of a renewed mission: End hunger—through science to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture led strategic research in support of this effort, looking into digital trends that have the potential to transform global agriculture in the coming years, the roles public-interest organizations should play in the digital agriculture landscape, and the capabilities CGIAR must have if it is to use data and digital technology to their full potential in the service of its mission. The team conducted 165 surveys with researchers and an array of stakeholders in the agricultural research-for-development ecosystem; 80 semi-structured interviews with experts in agribusiness, food companies, development funding and finance organizations, large information technology firms, consultancies, life sciences organizations and start-up firms; and 10 internal CGIAR focus group workshops. These were complemented with literature research. There is unprecedented innovation at the intersection of digital technologies and life sciences that—if harnessed and applied—can provide the tools humanity needs to adapt to or mitigate some of its most pressing food security challenges. The research points to four broad intervention areas where CGIAR can play a key role in achieving this: advancing responsible data sharing, standards, and intermediation; applying artificial intelligence responsibly; partnering to expand digital services to reach the most vulnerable populations; and developing digital trust and digitally-enabled collective action. An action plan is suggested for building a more unified, digitally-enabled CGIAR that will be able to fully develop this role in the sector, noting key capabilities in digital leadership and governance, data management and use, digital skills, engagement with a wider digital ecosystem, unified information infrastructure, and digital innovation strategy and management in support of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. | 109 pages

The global research consortium CGIAR is restructuring itself to build a more integrated global organization (“One CGIAR”) that fully leverages its strengths and refocuses its research strategy through 2030 in service of a renewed mission: End hunger—through science to transform food, land, and water systems in a climate crisis. The CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture led strategic research in support of this effort, looking into digital trends that have the potential to transform global agriculture in the coming years, the roles public-interest organizations should play in the digital agriculture landscape, and the capabilities CGIAR must have if it is to use data and digital technology to their full potential in the service of its mission.