Readiness of the South African Agricultural Sector to Implement IoT

Abstract: As the world's population increases, so does the demand for food. This demand for food in turn puts pressure on agriculture in many countries. The impact of climate change on the environment has made it difficult to produce food that may be necessary to accommodate the growing population. Due to these concerns, the agriculture sector is forced to move towards more efficient and sustainable methods of farming to increase productivity. There is evidence that the use of technology in agriculture has the potential to improve food production and food sustainability; thereby addressing the concerns of food security. The Internet of Things (IoT) has been suggested as a potential tool for farmers to overcome the impact of climate change on food security. However, there is dearth of research on the readiness of implementing IoT in South Africa's agricultural sector. Therefore, this research aims to explore the readiness of the agricultural sector of South Africa for a wide implementation of IoT. This research conducts a desktop study through the lens of the PEST framework on the special case of South Africa. A thematic literature and documents review was deployed to examine the political, economic, societal and technological factors that may facilitate or impede the implementation of IoT in the agricultural sectors of South Africa. The findings suggest that the wide ranging political, economic, societal and technological constructs enable the implementation of IoT within South Africa's agricultural sector. The most important include current policies, technological infrastructure, access to internet, and mobile technology which places South Africa in a good position to implement IoT in agriculture.