  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.
