Digital technologies, hyper-transparency and smallholder farmer inclusion in global value chains

Globalization of food value chains has increased the demand for greater transparency over where food is produced, how, by whom and with what effect on society and the environment. A range of new digital technologies are available to facilitate transparency, with the promise of leading the global food system to an era of 'hyper-transparency'. Its impact on smallholder farmer inclusion, however, remains questionable. The potential benefits of hyper-transparency for smallholders are improved access to services and markets. Thus far, important challenges remain. These are limited access to these technologies for smallholders and new power relations that emerge around access, use and control of data.