Two million subscribers sounds like a success story for a digital agricultural platform. But what if many of those farmers barely remember signing up, let alone using the technology?
On 20 October, the Netherlands Food Partnership brought together policymakers, companies, NGOs, researchers and partners from low- and middle-income countries for World Food Day 2026 at the Fokker Terminal in The Hague. Under the theme Partnerships that Feed the Future, the day explored how food systems can become more sustainable, resilient and fair.
During the session Innovating & Scaling Responsibly, moderated by Rhys Bucknall-Williams (Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT), Oane Visser (ISS and the International Centre for Frugal Innovation – ICFI) joined Marc Schut (CGIAR) and Mar Palmeros Parada (TU Delft) to discuss what responsible innovation looks like beyond the initial design and how it can be scaled without leaving people behind.
Oane challenged some of the assumptions behind digital innovations for smallholder farmers in Africa. His research showed that the problem isn't necessarily farmers' ability or willingness to use technology. Many already use WhatsApp, YouTube and mobile money. What they need is relevant, local information and the opportunity to ask questions, rather than standardised messages that don't reflect their realities.
An app can be cheap to run and reach millions of people on paper. But if it doesn't help farmers make better decisions, what has it really achieved?
Oane's message was clear: check your assumptions, involve users in the design, and don't underestimate them. Otherwise, even the most promising innovations risk failing when scaled.
The wider discussion, with contributions from Marc Schut on responsible scaling and Mar Palmeros Parada on anticipating the impacts of emerging technologies, raised a shared question: who actually benefits from innovation, and who risks being left behind?
Dr Timmo Gaasbeek (Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs) also reflected on the importance of questioning whether innovations address people's real needs in the first place.
Because reaching more people doesn't necessarily mean making a greater difference.
Head over to the ICFI website for the full recap of the session, including the discussions, examples and key takeaways on innovating and scaling responsibly.