Overcoming digital poverty traps in rural Asia

Abstract

The rapid spread of information and communication technology (ICT) in Asia offers the promise of a "digital revolution" for agriculture. But realizing such gains will depend on overcoming digital poverty traps, whereby significant numbers of poor smallholders inhabiting remote regions are unable to take advantage of the benefits of ICT for agriculture and thus remain mired in poverty. This phenomenon is illustrated in a model of a poor household located in a remote region that cannot accumulate sufficient ICT skills. To avoid such outcomes, policies need to be targeted at both the lack of access by smallholders to ICT for farming and their insufficient skills to use the new technologies. Increased public investments to extend "last-mile infrastructure" in digital services are necessary but not sufficient. Complementary investments in developing rural infrastructure, appropriate ICT business models and services, and improvement of the digital literacy of smallholders are also essential.

Evaluation, mechanism and policy implications of the symbiotic relationship among rural digitization, agricultural development and farmer enrichment: evidence from digital village pilots in China

“…With regard to rural digitalization and the growth of farmer income, digitalization has led to a large number of information technologies "going to the countryside", which will help farmer income, consumption and entrepreneurship break through technological and spatial constraints. The new infrastructure should be relied on to drive the comprehensive upgrading of rural infrastructure to effectively narrow the urban-rural digital divide (Barbier, 2022). The database should be leveraged to precisely match the quality and diversified consumption demands of towns and cities, so as to reduce the production risks and enhance the premium capacity of agricultural products.…”

A Study on the Application of Service Design Thinking in Enhancing User Experience in Digital Villages - Based on KANO-AHP Modeling

“…Public libraries, press and publishing institutions, and other public cultural departments undertake the function of preserving and disseminating cultural resources, relying on the supply of cultural information services to satisfy the public's information needs and enhance their cultural literacy [1][2]. The digital divide is an objective social phenomenon, and public cultural institutions must root their professional activities in this reality; promoting digital inclusion through public cultural services has become an effective choice for countries to intervene in the digital rich-poor divide [3][4].…”

Internet use and agricultural productivity in rural Vietnam

“…However, empirical studies show that the effects of internet use on household welfare, productivity, or poverty reduction are far more complex (Barbier, 2023; Mora‐Rivera & García‐Mora, 2021; Vatsa et al, 2023). On the one hand, some studies find significant and positive effects of internet use on household income, productivity, and poverty eradication (Ma & Wang, 2020; Nguyen, Nguyen, & Grote, 2022; Zheng et al, 2021).…”