ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains

In developing countries, incomplete and/or asymmetric information contributes to inefficiencies in food supply chains. Various products and services have emerged that rely on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to facilitate information flows between agro-input providers, farmers, trad...

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Autor principal: Van Campenhout, Bjorn
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Wiley 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141168
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author Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_browse Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_facet Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_sort Van Campenhout, Bjorn
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description In developing countries, incomplete and/or asymmetric information contributes to inefficiencies in food supply chains. Various products and services have emerged that rely on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to facilitate information flows between agro-input providers, farmers, traders, and consumers. However, not all initiatives are equally effective and many struggle to reach scale. In this article, I review some of the earlier services that generally targeted farmers with price information to reduce search costs and increase their bargaining power vis-a-vis traders. I reflect on the reasons why these initiatives often led to disappointing results and provide examples of (complementary) interventions that look more promising. Furthermore, I highlight some of the dangers of relying too much on ICT-mediated information, such as exclusionary networks, bias in crowdsourced data, and “fake news.” Finally, I explore why ICT applications that address information inefficiencies seem to be less successful than innovations that address other barriers to efficient and inclusive food supply chain development, such as risk or credit constraints.
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spelling CGSpace1411682025-10-26T13:02:30Z ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains Van Campenhout, Bjorn supply chains information and communication technologies information prices food supply chains In developing countries, incomplete and/or asymmetric information contributes to inefficiencies in food supply chains. Various products and services have emerged that rely on Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to facilitate information flows between agro-input providers, farmers, traders, and consumers. However, not all initiatives are equally effective and many struggle to reach scale. In this article, I review some of the earlier services that generally targeted farmers with price information to reduce search costs and increase their bargaining power vis-a-vis traders. I reflect on the reasons why these initiatives often led to disappointing results and provide examples of (complementary) interventions that look more promising. Furthermore, I highlight some of the dangers of relying too much on ICT-mediated information, such as exclusionary networks, bias in crowdsourced data, and “fake news.” Finally, I explore why ICT applications that address information inefficiencies seem to be less successful than innovations that address other barriers to efficient and inclusive food supply chain development, such as risk or credit constraints. 2022-11 2024-04-12T13:37:23Z 2024-04-12T13:37:23Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141168 en https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.313801 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.133615 https://doi.org/10.1002/ajae.12089 Open Access Wiley Van Campenhout, Bjorn. 2022. ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains. Agricultural Economics 53(6): 968-975. https://doi.org/10.1111/agec.12731
spellingShingle supply chains
information and communication technologies
information
prices
food supply chains
Van Campenhout, Bjorn
ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title_full ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title_fullStr ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title_full_unstemmed ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title_short ICTs to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
title_sort icts to address information inefficiencies in food supply chains
topic supply chains
information and communication technologies
information
prices
food supply chains
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/141168
work_keys_str_mv AT vancampenhoutbjorn ictstoaddressinformationinefficienciesinfoodsupplychains