Making digital tools work for farmers in Africa

How can digital tools improve smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, promote gender equality, and enhance food security?

Digital solutions for agriculture (D4AG) have the potential to revolutionize agriculture by helping smallholder farmers improve productivity, access critical services, and adapt to climate challenges. D4AG covers a spectrum of digital innovations that address various bottlenecks in agriculture, from production, post-harvest handling, and market access to finance and supply chain management. For example, mobile apps can provide real-time weather updates and market prices, while digital financial platforms targeting farmers improve access to credit and insurance. However, despite their promise, many digital tools fail to achieve widespread adoption or deliver meaningful impact.

What factors shape their success across different regions in Africa?

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and IDinsight partnered in 2024 to explore this question as part of IDRC’s Climate-Resilient Food System research agenda. Recognizing the increasing role of digital tools in agriculture on the African continent, IDRC commissioned a scoping study to assess research gaps around D4AG. The findings aim to shape IDRC’s research agenda and inform practitioners across the sector. The goal was to highlight ways to design more inclusive and effective digital tools that support smallholder farmers rather than leaving them behind.

Over six months, IDinsight conducted an extensive scoping process—including a literature review and key informant interviews—to map the landscape of digital tools in agriculture in Africa. This initial phase identified key research gaps and priority regions, leading to deep-dive studies which included in-country interviews with local stakeholders (D4AG organizations, research institutions, governing bodies, and farmer associations) and farmer focus groups in Kenya, Senegal, and Morocco. These countries represent diverse ecosystems: Kenya’s advanced digital agriculture sector, Senegal’s growing entrepreneurial scene designing ag-tech products, and Morocco’s government-led digitization efforts.

Our findings highlight key barriers to digital adoption, including rather limited government support (Senegal), a lack of farmer-centred solutions (Kenya), and the potential for more inclusive, impact-driven digital strategies (Morocco). The study outlines a research agenda to guide future work in data-sharing, ecosystem strengthening, and understanding gender dynamics in digital agriculture.