Mapping the climate and agronomic digital advisory services landscape in West and Central Africa: A step towards making food systems productive and climate resilient

PLOS One | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0338010 December 3, 2025 15 / 20 is risk awareness and a general intent to manage climate risks, the main obstacles were unclear risk ownership, limited trust, and/or a lack of incentives. 4.1. Digital agricultural solutions as an adaptation pathway Digital innovations in agriculture sector offers a promising pathway to enhance climate resilience [41]. Agricultural exten- sion and advisory services (EAS) have undergone rapid digitalization over the past decades [42]. The rapid growth of DAGs across the study countries, and the dominance of mobile-based platforms for disseminating climate and agronomic information illustrates the transformative potential of digital tools in bridging information gaps for farmers. Digital inno- vations bring new opportunities for EAS delivery, including improving accessibility to services in geographically remote areas, bridging the information gaps among different value chain actors, and contributing to fair trade and inclusive mar- kets, social and financial inclusion and others [42]. The high registration rates for agro-advisory and bundled services in the study area reflect their perceived value and growing user demand. The predominance of innovations in agronomic, market information and climate services reflects the agriculture sec- tor’s vulnerability to climate risk [13,43] and increasing awareness about climate adaptation. However, the uneven distri- bution of services across the countries indicates significant service disparities, i.e., farmers in Burundi, Ivory Coast, and

the DRC may remain underserved relative to those in Ghana, Nigeria, and Rwanda. The predominance of private-sector- led initiatives (82%) further suggests that while market-driven approaches are driving innovation, public sector involve- ment remains limited. This raises concerns about inclusivity, as resource-poor farmers and marginalized groups may be bypassed without stronger public sector engagement. This imbalance may constrain the long-term scalability and inclusiv- ity of digital agriculture, especially for marginalized groups who may be less attractive to private investors. Ofosu-Ampong et al. 2025 reviewed a range of Digital agro-advisory tools in the global south and their adoption rate [44]. The authors found CSA, farmer empowerment as the top priority, followed by financial inclusion and EWS as having a medium adoption rate. Tools providing services related to information dissemination and post-harvest loss reduction were classified as low-adoption tools. Similar to our study, digital literacy, inadequate infrastructure, along with insufficient human capital development and policy environments were identified as the key constraints for smallholder farmers to access and benefit from digital EAS [44,45]. 4.2. User adoption and barriers Although awareness and adoption of digital tools are increasing, several barriers continue to limit effective uptake. Limited digital literacy, high service costs, poor connectivity, low trust in service providers, and socio-economic exclusion constrain

the reach and impact of DAGs [44,45]. Gender disparities are particularly critical, as women—though integral to agricul- tural production—have disproportionately lower access to digital tools, which reflects broader structural inequalities in land access, finance, and technology ownership. Weak extension services further restrict farmers’ ability to integrate digital information into practice, with farmer-to-extension worker ratios far exceeding FAO recommendations. The lack of inte- gration between public and private initiatives exacerbates inefficiencies, as does the absence of harmonized agricultural data systems. In countries like the DRC and Burundi, fragmented data collection reduces opportunities for coordinated planning, while regulatory gaps in Nigeria hinder data privacy and interoperability. Without strengthening these enabling systems, the transformative potential of DAGs will remain underutilized. The exclusion of end-users—particularly farmers—from the design and development process further compounds the issue. The use of Human-Centered Design (HCD) approaches, which involve co-creation with farmers, service providers, and policymakers, offers a promising pathway to enhance usability, accessibility, and relevance. HCD also enables better integration of climate data into business models and policymaking platforms, while ensuring services are tailored to local language and context. Similar to our study, inclusive design and requirement elicitation were found essential to ensure

that these tools are accessible and relevant to the needs of smallholder farmers [44]. This review emphasizes that for