Digital Technologies in Crop Production: A Scoping Review with Transferability Analysis for Central Asia

This scoping review maps 224 empirical studies (205 from a structured Scopus search, 2020–2026, plus 19 from a targeted Central Asia supplement) across four digital technology domains for crop production: IoT and sensor-based systems, UAVs and remote sensing, machine learning and AI, and nanostructured agrochemicals. The review follows the PRISMA-ScR framework and pursues three research questions concerning documented effects and validation limitations (RQ1); cross-cutting barriers in human capital, data governance, and infrastructure (RQ2); and the state of empirical evidence from Central Asia and Kazakhstan relative to international findings (RQ3). Across all four domains, the strongest reported effects occur where the data-to-decision-to-action loop is closed and sustained over multiple seasons, yet most published metrics rest on single-season, single-site, or controlled-environment validation that overstates likely field portability. IoT and selected UAV and ML workflows are closest to operational readiness where maintenance, calibration, and advisory support are sustained. Nanostructured materials remain the least mature domain in agronomic terms. For Central Asia, foundational monitoring and salinity-oriented remote sensing are the most immediately transferable elements; intervention-grade ML and integrated digital systems require local calibration, extension infrastructure, and multi-season field validation that are largely still absent. The review identifies the digital skills gap, incomplete data governance, and underreported total cost of ownership as the principal institutional barriers to scaling. Policy priorities include shifting from technical pilots to multi-season agronomic proof, building intermediary service capacity, and establishing transparent data-governance frameworks before large-scale procurement.