Kenya's 'Mobile Agriculture' Discourse: Unpacking notions of technology, modernisation and development

Abstract

By using the m-agriculture discourse in Kenya as a case study, uncovering its dynamics through a Foucauldian discourse analysis, this chapter contextualises and historicises the emergence of new mobile phone technologies in Africa. In looking at the origins of m-agriculture, this chapter demonstrates how the concept of the digital divide, the accompanying underlying assumptions, and experiences in combination with neoliberal policies in agricultural information and service provision (agricultural extension) have informed the m-agriculture discourse. The chapter shows that m-agriculture initiatives draw upon concepts of the digital divide, the Information Age, and (digital) modernisation ideologies, which facilitate the creation of a narrative that advocates short-term technical instead of structural solutions. Furthermore, this chapter illuminates that, in the context of global neoliberalism, the privatisation of agricultural extension in Kenya facilitated the emergence of m-agriculture. Lastly, the Foucauldian discourse analysis demonstrates that the m-agriculture initiatives perpetuate their position as a legitimate provider of support to farmers by disguising the Eurocentric, modernisation, and technological determinist assumptions on which it rests.