March 2021 agricultural “platforms” in a digital era

Figure 4: Common Platform associations in agriculture
Notes: Digital solutions are the subject of much recent work on service delivery models, for instance the Service Delivery Model work by IDH 
Farmfit, the Digitalization of African Agriculture report developed by CTA in 2019, and Grow Asia’s Digital Program. Coordination initiatives 
have existed for a long time in SHF agriculture, and these models have been the subject of much research and knowledge sharing, most 
recently through the work of the Royal Tropical Institute on Multi-stakeholders Platforms (MSPs)
Source: ISF Advisors and RAF Learning Lab analysis
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Digital solutions have also become more 
commonplace in the last decade. These have 
included: 
• B2B software solutions:
Specialist software 
solution providers—such as FarmERP and 
Cropin—that create the enabling systems for 
other businesses to use. Can include specialist 
customer relationships management (CRM), 
enterprise resource planning (ERP), and core 
banking solutions that are typically licensed 
on a Software as a Service (SaaS) basis.
• B2C and B2B2C digital service solutions:
 
Specialist digital service providers—such as 
Arifu, iProcure, and aWhere—that provide 
specialist digital services (e.g.,agronomic 
advice, digital wallets, or communication 
applications) that can be delivered directly to 
farmers or complement the core services of 
other businesses.
• In-house software solutions:
 
The development 
of in-house software solutions—such as 
Olam AtSource, Cargill’s CocoaWise suite of 
digital tools, and Barry Callebaut’s BC Live—
that are created to enable smooth operations 
of pipeline businesses.
THE GREY AREA:
Some of the distinctions
between Digital Platforms and digital solutions 
can seem very fine, with a number of Digital 
Platform models operating alongside a more 
traditional pipeline business-based digital solution. 
Some of these Digital Platform models that 
heavily curate participation on the Platform, have 
limited numbers of product or service providers, 
or directly manage contracted fulfillment could 
be considered more of a digital solution. Similarly, 
many digital solutions providers