How can we use digital solutions to tap into agriculture’s potential?

Agriculture has a vast potential for growth in frontier markets and developing countries, but these markets are risky and difficult to manage. To improve risk management, SCOPEinsight is offering digital solutions for agricultural supply chains.

The potential of agriculture

Agriculture and agribusinesses in frontier markets hold vast potential. Current data indicates that agriculture accounts for 32% of the GDP in sub-Saharan Africa and employs the majority of the adult population. This importance will only grow; recent estimates forecast sub-Saharan Africa’s agricultural sector will become a $1 trillion industry by 2030. Given that the global population is steadily increasing, strengthening agricultural sectors is crucial to producing enough food for everyone.

However, markets in developing countries are normally not optimized. They tend to be fraught with risk, rent-seeking behaviors, child labor, and other challenges. Furthermore, existing risk management approaches prove ineffective in mitigating costly, but predictable risks. This makes it very difficult for supply chains to work effectively in these countries.

Supply chain risk management is key

To optimize agriculture’s potential, supply chain risk management is essential. The strength and resilience of supply chains and suppliers can determine sourcing risks, a company’s reputation, access to (ESG/impact) finance, and a company’s overall risk profile. In agricultural value chains, current supply chain management approaches remain limited in their effectiveness because of limited reach, sparse data, poor collaboration, and lack of capacity and incentives. The COVID-19 crisis exposed these gaps even more and highlighted how vulnerable agricultural supply chains are.

Agricultural supply chains are complex, which means there are many possible places for problems. While supply chain risk management is difficult, it is crucial to be on top of your supply chain to reduce the risk of serious challenges. The cost of insufficient supply chain management is high, and it can have a lasting impact on companies, suppliers, and the supply chain as a whole.

Using digital tools to optimize agricultural potential

With these challenges ahead of us, it is crucial to determine a way to optimize agricultural value chains and mitigate risks as much as possible. One possible option is through digital solutions. After more than a decade of assessing and collecting data, SCOPEinsight is building digital models to introduce a new approach to risk measurement and management. Our Business Intelligence unit has created six unique solutions for both private sector and public sector partners to help facilitate work in emerging markets.

By using our digital tools and data, we can address the biggest challenges in doing business in emerging markets. With food production expected to increase to 70 percent by 2050 due to rising demand, there is a unique opportunity for emerging market countries to elevate their agriculture industry. Large-scale implementation of SCOPEinsight’s digital solutions can help de-risk investments and strengthen value chains. We can use digital solutions to tap into agriculture’s potential.

Are you interested in using data to increase agriculture’s potential? Contact us today to see how you can become part of this data revolution.

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