By 2050, global agrifood systems will have to cater to the food demands of 9.1 billion people. To meet this demand, food production will need to be almost doubled in developing countries. This increased production is expected at a time when the agriculture sector faces the brunt of climate change, soil degradation, water depletion and increased input prices. In parallel, smallholder farmers and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engaged in agriculture and food systems in low- and middle income countries (LMICs) face a multitude of challenges with respect to access to finance, information and markets. Digitalization of agricultural and food systems combined with tech-enabled service delivery can address several of the challenges related to future food security. Furthermore, these digital agricultural technologies are being recognized as a key lever to reduce agrifood emissions. As of 2023, LMICs hosted more than 1,400 digital agriculture service providers, with more than half being set up since 2018, indicating the rapid growth in the space. With advances in Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies including AI, use cases of digital technologies for agriculture and food systems are increasing, further augmenting the role of these technologies for transforming agrifood systems. For instance, research suggests that digital agriculture could LMICs by more than $450 billion, or 28% per annum.1Context 1. Beanstalk. (n.d.). State of the digital agriculture sector: Harnessing the potential of digital for impact across agricultural value chains in low- and middle- income countries. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://www.beanstalkagtech.com/d4aglmic. Challenges in global agriculture 600 million smallholder farmers depend on agriculture for their livelihoods1 $170 billion finance gap for smallholder farmers and agri SMEs231% 70% 13.2%agrifood systems’ contribution to global human-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions3 agriculture sector’s share in global freshwater withdrawals4 food lost globally after harvest on farm, transport, storage, wholesale and processing5 Notes: 1. Shroff, J. (2022, September 28). Why smallholder farmers are central to new food security interventions. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/smallholder-farmers-key- achieving-food-security/. 2. Mastercard Foundation Rural and Agricultural Finance Learning Lab & ISF Advisors. (n.d.). Pathways to prosperity: 2019 rural and agricultural finance state of the sector report. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://pathways.isfadvisors.org/#:~:text=The%20 latest%20data%20suggests%20that%20financial%20service%20 providers,a%20large%20gap%20in%20lending%20to%20 agricultural%20SMEs.3. Douglas, L. (2023, December 2). How food and agriculture contribute to climate change. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/ business/environment/factbox-how-food-agriculture-contribute- climate-change-2023-12-02/. 4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2024). United Nations World Water Development Report: Water for prosperity and peace. https://www.unesco.org/reports/ wwdr/en/2024/s. 5. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. (n.d.). SDG Indicators Data Portal. Retrieved November 13, 2024, from https://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals-data-portal/data/ indicators/1231-global-food-losses/en. Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) India – an Impact Journey 15

C4IR India An Impact Journey 2025