October 30, 2025
Kata Cieslik and colleagues have launched the UMRI project “Platformisation of Rural Africa: Dependency, Dispossession and Data in the Platform Economy.” The project explores how digital agritech platforms are transforming farming and data governance across Sub-Saharan Africa, asking a vital question: what happens to farmer autonomy in a datafied agricultural landscape?
This interdisciplinary initiative brings together researchers from the University of Manchester, Radboud University, and Wageningen University to examine the political economy of agricultural data. As digital tools—from mobile apps and advisory services to credit and market platforms—reshape African agriculture, the project seeks to uncover how data ownership, control, and dependency influence farmers’ livelihoods and sovereignty.
The research focuses on four key areas: mapping how farmer data is collected and monetized, understanding how funding models shape platform design and governance, assessing the policy implications for data rights and economic autonomy, and advancing interdisciplinary collaboration between data science and social research.
Led by Dr. Katarzyna Cieslik, the team includes Dr. Gunes Acar, Dr. Mariette McCampbell, Josephine Ewoma, Chibueze Peace Obioma, and Joseph Garni. Together, they aim to bridge critical and technical perspectives on how digital platforms function both as tools for development and as mechanisms of dispossession.
The project also invites collaboration with farmers, developers, policymakers, and practitioners working with digital agriculture across Sub-Saharan Africa. Fieldwork and interviews will take place between November 2025 and March 2026, gathering first-hand experiences to inform equitable and sustainable digital futures for farming communities.
Funded by the University of Manchester Research Institute (UMRI) Interdisciplinary Fund 2025, this research highlights the need for inclusive and transparent data practices in agriculture — ensuring that digital innovation supports, rather than undermines, farmer autonomy and rural equity.