From collection to control: Data governance, digital technologies, and the politics of inclusion in the digitalisation of smallholder agriculture

As digital technologies reshape agricultural systems across the Global South, smallholder farmers have become prolific data producers, yet remain largely excluded from decisions about how that data is governed, interpreted, or valorised. This paper examines the motivations and processes underlying agricultural data collection among smallholders, with a focus on both policy and digital drivers. Drawing on a systematic review of fifteen empirical and conceptual studies, the analysis reveals that data is primarily collected to serve the operational goals of donors, fintech providers, and agribusinesses, rather than the needs of farmers. The study identifies four intersecting dynamics: externally driven motivations for data collection, technologies that constrain farmer agency, governance models that centralise control, and empowerment outcomes that are often instrumentalised. These patterns are analysed through the lens of critical development theory, including Scott's ‘legibility,’ Jasanoff's ‘sociotechnical imaginaries,’ and Heeks's ‘data justice.’ The findings show that digital platforms often fail to provide clear mechanisms for consent, redress, or co-governance, instead relying on extractive logics that render farmers visible without granting them a voice. The paper calls for a shift from data extraction to inclusive data governance, emphasising participatory design, shared control, and farmer-led infrastructure as essential to meaningful empowerment of smallholders. By framing data not as a neutral input but as a site of power, the study contributes to emerging debates on digital sovereignty, platform justice, and the future of agricultural development.