Agricultural Mobile Apps in Sri Lanka: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The increment of technology becomes very important for the smallholder farmers, helping them to improve the productivity and handle the challenges they face, but still in Sri Lanka, the use of technology tools is not applied, which leads the issues on existing digital platforms not adequately supporting paddy farmers and agricultural officers. Through this systematic review the aim is to examines the environment of mobile- and web-based agricultural solutions in Sri Lanka and assesses their functional coverage, evidence from Sri Lanka-specific documents including peer reviewed articles, theses, government publications, project reports, and official app or platform descriptions published between 2000 and 2025 was synthesized, while using international studies only for comparison but was not included in the core evidence set. By following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines, Searches were conducted across major academic databases using predefined queries, Sri Lankan government and international agency websites, and the Google Play and Apple app stores. Data were extracted based on several factors such as platform developers, target users, delivery channels, and functions. The review reveals a discrete ecosystem of government, private-sector, and hybrid platforms, each addressing only a subset of farmer needs. However, farm level data management, integrated resource requests, and structured two-way digital communication with agricultural officers are not in any single place. No comprehensive, integrated national-level platform was identified that supports the full spectrum of paddy farmers’ information and service requirements. These findings emphasize the need for coordinated digital agriculture strategies, interoperable system design, and supportive policy frameworks to move towards an integrated, farmer-centered platform ecosystem in Sri Lanka.