Agriculture and the Utilisation of Information and Communication Technology: A Bibliometric Review

Food security, rural development, and sustainable agriculture are global issues that have been revolutionized by the application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in agriculture. To map the research trends, major contributors, and thematic pathways of ICT-based agricultural research, a thorough bibliometric analysis is conducted in this study. After data refinement, 234 papers were selected for analysis out of the 746 papers that were initially retrieved from the Scopus database. Using tools like VOSviewer, the method integrates science mapping techniques like co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and keyword co-occurrence with performance analysis. According to the findings, there has been a significant increase in the number of publications since 2016, indicating a growing interest in precision technologies, smart farming, and digital agriculture worldwide. Prominent themes identified by keyword cluster analysis include information sharing, mobile advisory services, smallholder farming, rural development, and AI-based agricultural solutions. The global nature of ICT-agriculture research is reflected in the strong research contributions and collaborative networks that come from the US, China, India, as well as some European and African countries, according to country-by-country data. Principal sources of influential work in this field include highly cited publications like Computers and Electronics in Agriculture and Sustainability. The analysis also reflects interdisciplinary links between development policy, computer science, environmental studies, and agricultural sciences. It highlights the growing importance of technology in enhancing agricultural sustainability, efficiency, and productivity. The findings support continued policy efforts, digital infrastructure spending, and building ICT-using capacity for equitable and sustainable agricultural growth.