Digital Literacy in Agriculture: Current State and Development Prospects

Digitalization of Kazakhstan’s agricultural sector is a strategic direction of state socio-economic policy. The introduction of digital technologies into the agro-industrial complex contributes to increasing the efficiency of production processes and rationalizing the use of material, financial, and natural resources. Objective – to substantiate the impact of digital literacy on the performance of digital management in the republic’s agricultural sphere, to determine vectors for the development of digital competencies of economic entities. Methods – a systems approach allowing digital management to be viewed as a complex multi-level series of interconnected elements to establish the scale of AIC computerization in the country. The quantitative principle was applied in assessing the effect of digital culture on the effective regulation of the agricultural industry. The information base of the study consisted of legal acts of the Republic of Kazakhstan, state programs in digital transformation of agro-industrial production, statistical data, materials of international organizations, and scientific works of domestic and foreign researchers. Results – it was shown that information readiness represents not only a set of individual skills and knowledge, but also a vital institutional potential necessary for the optimal functioning of the agricultural sector administration model. Conclusions – it was revealed that the presence of formal access to digital technologies and information systems does not ensure methodically structured coordination in the absence of digital erudition among specialists and managers of the agro-industrial complex. The widespread dissemination and promotion of digital literacy will reduce management costs, strengthen competitive advantages in the agri-food market, address pressing environmental problems, stimulate labor productivity growth, adapt to climate change, improve crop yield indicators, and enable timely planning of field work.

1. Pangrazio, L., Godhe, A.L.E. & López Ledesma, A.G. (2020). What is digital literacy? A comparative review of publications across three language contexts. New Media & Society, 17 (6), 442–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/2042753020946291 [in English].

2. Van Deursen, A. & Van Dijk, J. (2023). IQ and digital inequality: An empirical investigation. New Media & Society, 25 (6), 1248–1270. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448211024012 [in English].

3. Farias-Gaytan, S., Aguaded, I. & Ramirez-Montoya, M. (2022). Transformation and digital literacy: Systematic literature mapping. Education and Information Technologies, 27 (2), 1417–1437. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-021-10624-x [in English].

4. Schwab, K. (2021). The Fourth Industrial Revolution: What it means, how to respond. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/The-Fourth-Industrial-Revolution-2119734 (date of access: 15.06.2026) [in English].

5. Irani, Z., Abril, R.M., Weerakkody, V., Omar, A. & Sivarajah, U. (2023). The impact of legacy systems on digital transformation in European public administration. Government Information Quarterly, 40 (17), 101784. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101784 [in English].

6. Eom, S.J. & Lee, J. (2022). Digital government transformation in turbulent times: Responses, challenges, and future direction. Government Information Quarterly, 39 (2), Article 101690. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2022.101690 [in English].

7. Talaviya, T., Shah, D., Patel, N., Yagnik, H. & Shah, M. (2020). Implementation of artificial intelligence in agriculture for optimisation of irrigation and application of pesticides and herbicides. Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, 4, 58–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiia.2020.04.002 [in English].

8. Bertoglio, R., Corbo, C., Renga, F.M. & Matteucci, M. (2021). The Digital Agricultural Revolution: A Bibliometric Analysis Literature Review. IEEE Access, 9, 134762–134782. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2021.3115258 [in English].

9. Misnik, O., Yesenova, G. & Zholamanova, M. (2023). Digital trends for SMEs in agriculture of Kazakhstan. Vestnik Evrazijskogo nacional’nogo universiteta imeni L.N. Gumileva. Serija Jekonomicheskaja - Economic Series of the Bulletin of L.N. Gumilyov ENU, (2), 36–42 [in English].

10. Shalbolova, U., Smagulova, Zh. & Rakhmetova, R. (2025). On the issue of digitalization of agriculture in comparison with other sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan. Vestnik Evrazijskogo nacional’nogo universiteta imeni L.N. Gumileva. Serija Jekonomicheskaja - Economic Series of the Bulletin of L.N. Gumilyov ENU, (4), 8–29. https://doi.org/10.32523/2789-4320-2025-4-8-29 [in English].

11. Suieubayeva, S.N., Gola, A. & Zakimova, A.M. (2023). Satellite systems and digital technologies in agriculture: state, problems, professional competencies. Problemy agrorynka - Problems of AgriMarket, (2), 81–93. https://doi.org/10.46666/2023-2.2708-9991.08 [in English].

12. Bekbossinova, A. & Doszhan, R. (2025). The Impact of Digitalization and Investment on Agricultural Development in Kazakhstan. Eurasian Journal of Economic and Business Studies, 69 (1), 81–96. https://doi.org/10.47703/ejebs.v69i1.474 [in English].

13. Alt, V., Isakova, S. & Balushkina, E. (2020). Digitalization: problems of its development in modern agricultural production. E3S Web of Conferences, 210, Article 10001. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202021010001 [in English].

14. Rejeb, A., Rejeb, K., Zailani, S., Keogh, J.G. & Appolloni, A. (2022). Examining the interplay between artificial intelligence and the agri-food industry. Artificial Intelligence in Agriculture, 6, 111–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aiia.2022.08.002 [in English].

15. Abuova, A.B., Tulkubayeva, S.A., Tulayev, Y.V., Somova, S.V. & Kizatova, M.Zh. (2020). Sustainable development of crop production with elements of precision agriculture in Northern Kazakhstan. Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Issues, 7 (4), 3200–3214. https://doi.org/10.9770/jesi.2020.7.4(41) [in English].

16. Pashkov, S.V. & Mazhitova, G.Z. (2021). Cifrovizacija zemledelija v Kazahstane: regional’nyj opyt [Digitalization of agriculture in Kazakhstan: regional experience]. Geograficheskij vestnik - Geographical Bulletin, 4 (59), 27–41. https://doi.org/10.17072/2079-7877-2021-4-27-41 [in Russian].

17. Ryskeldi, O., Shelomentseva, V. & Mirkovic, M. (2024). The economics of digital tools in Kazakh agriculture. International Journal of Innovative Research and Scientific Studies, 7 (2), 366–376. https://doi.org/10.53894/ijirss.v7i2.2629 [in English].