Digitalizing Smallholder Farmer Agri-Food Supply Chains: A Case Study from a Developing Economy

Smallholder farming is critical to ensuring food security and alleviating rural poverty. Poor agricultural practices, supply chain inefficiencies, weather challenges, and market disruptions all diminish productivity in this sector. As modern technology and digitalization reshape agriculture, there is a significant augmentation of stakeholder connectivity within smallholder farmer Agri-Food Supply Chains (AFSCs). The progress of technology allows smallholder farmers to gain access to high-quality farming inputs while expanding their market reach. While there are proven benefits of digitally transforming smallholder farmer AFSCs, there is still a significant knowledge gap in effectively assessing the potential of digital technologies from a supply chain perspective. As the overall approach in this paper, we used the case study research method along with inductive reasoning. We combined the AHP and Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) methods to include both industry practitioners and academic perspectives in the decision-making process. The process involved using AHP to analyze supply chain inefficiencies, with a focus on their impact on yield, harvest quality, and farmer livelihood, and then using the TOPSIS method to prioritize digital solutions for the chosen case study. The case study revealed that 61% of inefficiencies arose in the early supply chain stages, notably in regulation (28.26%) and farm input supply (33.03%), emphasizing the critical need for prioritizing digital farm record-keeping and registration for improved efficiency. This study emphasizes practical digital solutions for smallholder farming supply chains while integrating industry and academic perspectives, offering a systematic approach to prioritizing interventions.