Do digital agricultural tools improve women’s agency and well-being?
Digital tools benefit women in agriculture in a variety of ways. Evidence from multiple countries shows gains in financial inclusion, decision-making power, access to credit, and well-being when services are designed to meet women’s needs.
- gender
- Digital innovation
By Claudia Ringler and Niyati SingarajuOctober 16, 2026
Key takeaways
- Digital tools benefit women in agriculture in a variety of ways. Evidence from multiple countries shows gains in financial inclusion, decision-making power, access to credit, and well-being when services are designed to meet women’s needs.
- Yet access alone does not guarantee benefits. Women gain the most when digital services are affordable, practical, linked to resources, and tailored to their priorities.
- Women should help shape digital innovations. Involving women in the design, testing, and evaluation of digital and AI tools can make them more inclusive and effective.
This year’s World Food Day theme is “Innovate today. Nourish tomorrow.” Digital tools are among the most promising agrifood innovations, ranging from video-based extension and mobile money to AI-enabled advisory services offering information on climate, agricultural techniques, or market conditions. These are often promoted as low-cost alternatives that democratize access to agricultural information and expand access to finance.
Yet embracing digital technologies risks reinforcing existing gaps in access to resources and opportunities. Access to and use of digital tools remain highly unequal between urban and rural areas, between richer and poorer farmers and between women and men farmers. Access to electricity, finance, and other resources, as well as literacy and social norms, all shape who can access and benefit from these tools. In low- and middle-income countries, women are 13% less likely to own a smartphone than men, and around 810 million women remain unconnected, largely in rural areas.