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 7 / 20 Step 2. Semi-structured interviews: The goal of the interviews was to understand the broader context in which digital solution initiatives were being developed. What challenges do they face? what are the opportunities for future growth? We did not examine the technical details of individual innovations. The interviews were guided by a semi-structured framework based on key thematic areas outlined in the interview guideline. These themes included: (i) the organizational background, (ii) innovation characteristics and service Models, (iii) climate and agricultural advisory services, (iv) enabling environment (e.g., infrastructure, policies, financing); (v) data use and harmonization, (vi) social inclusion (for data access and use) and (vii) future outlook for digital advisory services. Step 3. Country-specific reports: Based on the literature review and semi structured interviews, a report was pro- duced for each of the six countries, addressing the current state of climate and agronomic digital advisory services in their respective agri-food systems (Table 2). Each report focused on the following four key topics: • State of the art of existing services: This section details the type of information provided by the digital services (e.g., weather forecasts, soil analysis, crop management advice), the frequency and format of the data (SMS, USSD, web- based platforms), and the analytical techniques used. Additionally, we examined the financial models sustaining these

services identifying whether they were donor-funded, government-supported, or market-driven. The reports also ana- lyzed the current and potential end-users of these services, including farmers, extension agents, service providers, and policymakers. The report also assessed the existing and future demand for such services. • Impact on Decision-Making: The reports further explored how digital services contribute to better decision-making in terms of climate adaptation and resilience. The reports looked at the capacity of institutions to administer, analyze, and use the data from these services for decision-making in agri-food systems. • Challenges and Barriers: A critical section of each country report was dedicated to identifying the main challenges asso- ciated with the implementation and scalability of climate and agronomic digital advisory services. Table 2. Description of digital agricultural solutions considered for review in WCA. Digital AGricultural solutions (DAGs) Service category Service Agronomic Advisory Farm operation, Storage, Input application Extension Extension Identification of P&D On-farm, Off-farm, Remote Agricultural service providers On-farm operation Ploughing, Harvesting Off-farm operation Transport, Storage Climate Climate information Rainfall, Wind, Pests, Seasonal CSA Seed, Ploughing system, Water man- agement, Fertilizer, Cropping system, all Crop insurance Risks Drought, Flood, Pest, Fire Market information Inputs Seed, Fertilizer, Pesticide Outputs Price, Quantity, Contacts off-takers

Finance Input-credit Seed, Fertilizer, Pesticide Investment Investment On-farm operation On-farm operation Output-credit Output-credit Financial education Financial education Other DAGs Others Others https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0338010.t002