Why we must look beyond the suburbs to build an inclusive digital society

Digital technology is transforming society and economies for the better. But it’s vital that this transformation is inclusive: affording all people - no matter where they live, what work they do - the opportunity to benefit. Digital progress cannot rest on ‘knowledge industries’ alone, and white-collar jobs that are predominately city-based.

We must look beyond the suburbs.

There is an urgency: Industries that are the mainstay of rural communities, such as agriculture, food production and tourism are lagging digitization. This, despite these sectors represent a large swathe of employment in many CEE countries. If we don’t act, we risk creating a second tier of ‘digital citizens’. Get it right, we can unlock more opportunity for all, making our societies and economies stronger.

Cultivating digital farming

A traditional industry that is a flagbearer for why digital inclusion matters is agriculture – a sector I’m particularly passionate about.

A quarter of the world’s population is responsible for feeding the other 75% - a challenge that is getting harder. There will be more mouths to feed, with the global population growing from 7.5 billion today to a predicted 10 billion over the next 30 years. In the same timeframe, EU research predicts up to 22% of corn crops across the continent could be lost by 2050 due to changes in temperature, rain, and other climate related factors. 

It's abundantly clear that for all us – not just for the sake of rural communities, but for the whole of society – we cannot afford to leave agriculture digitally behind.

There are many examples of big thinking and bold use of technology that point the way:

• Smarter crop protection: The Polish Potato Federation is using data, IoT (Internet of Things) and AI to model and predict the occurrence of biological hazards - such as weeds, fungi and parasites during the incubation period and the initial stage of plant development. This intelligence will enable more precise and accurate use of control measures, reducing the amount of chemicals used to protect crops which is good for the environment and will save farmers money.
• Smarter harvesting: In Russia, the Financial University and the Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center, have created a robot for picking apples based on Microsoft AI technology. Up to 40% of fruit currently goes unharvested. By improving the accuracy of picking and solving for labour shortages, it’s estimated the robot will improve farm incomes by 30% in the first year of operation.

Away from the field and in the farmhouse, technologies like AI and the cloud are helping farmers to modernize processes and improve efficiency of their business:

• Smarter production: By connecting the entire food-production lifecycle into one simple, consolidated and flexible IoT data integration platform (running on Microsoft Azure), FarmCloud from Poland-based Agri Solutions enables customers to track their food all the way from farm to fork, ensuring safety and transparency every step of the way.
•  Smarter financing: The Agency for Investment in Rural Areas is the main government agency supporting Romanian farmers to access EU grants and helps secure an average of €2 billion a year to fund for rural development projects. It uses AI technology to enhance forecasting and has reduced time for fund approval from months to days; farmers can apply from home, see at what stage it is and be certain the money comes when they need it.

If we can learn from and scale these innovative approaches, then I’m confident we can make positive progress. Companies like Microsoft have an important role to play here, and not just in terms of providing cloud infrastructure and technology platforms, but also by bringing together our vibrant network of partners with deep specialist expertise and skills to solve key challenges and create new opportunities.

Plugging rural life into the digital economy

Of course, we must not just think about industries but individuals too when it comes to digital inclusion.

Part of making rural life sustainable, efficient and attractive to future generations must be access to quality services, especially health and education. The response to the pandemic drove widescale innovation in digital service provision, especially in areas like telemedicine. But for rural communities to access these services, people need both data connectivity and basic digital skills.

Providing for these needs and advancing digital inclusion will require a willing coalition of stakeholders, including private business, public sector organizations and policy makers.

Rural communities have often been the last to benefit from major societal transformations, be that getting physically connected to the railway or having access to electricity, for example.

It’s vitally important that digital advancement across the CEE region bucks these historical precedents, so that progress is more inclusive.

For many countries, my home Belgium included, building a strong rail network was THE way to industrialization and progress. Infrastructure and access matter.

I find it encouraging that the EU’s €1.8 trillion post-COVID-19 recovery fund is centred around building back a greener and more digital Europe, and includes a focus on modernizing agriculture policy.

As we look ahead, our horizons and aspirations for the ‘next normal’ must stretch beyond the city. That will help ensure the green shoots of a digitally-led recovery blossom into an inclusive future for all.