Abstract:
The creation and deployment of digital technologies throughout the agro-food system
contribute to achieving Sustainable Development Goal nine. However, various digitalization studies
offer limited insight into the policy issues and solutions around emerging technologies and big data
systems in agriculture. There is a need for an additional understanding of how agricultural policymaking
should respond to the usage of digital technologies in the agri-food sector. Furthermore,
evidence is limited on how existing agricultural government programs such as land reform can
be linked with digitalization policy. This systematic review of literature sought to determine the
transformation that is needed in the political and economic environment for the digital revolution to
take place within South African land reform agriculture. A thematic analysis of data sampled from
ProQuest Central, Scopus, Dimensions, and Google Scholar reveals five areas of intervention from
agricultural policymaking. The digital revolution in agriculture can be brought about by transforming
digital infrastructure, data interoperability and governance, digital markets, the compatibility of government
incentives with the private sector, and the digital cultural landscape. This essay contributes
to agricultural policy and decision-making dialogues that pay attention to digital technologies and
land reform programs in South Africa.
