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Tanzania’s smallholder farmers struggle to benefit from digital agriculture
Tanzania’s digital agriculture services are intended to help farmers find market information, get farming advice and connect with buyers, but some smallholders say they lack the training or timely responses needed to benefit. Their reliance on cooperative auctions, public meetings and media highlights the gap between making a service available and making it useful in daily farming decisions.
The government’s $3.62 million programme, running from September 2024 to August 2027, aims to improve digital literacy for 500,000 farmers and train 500 extension workers. A 2024 study reported about 7.2 million farmers registered on M-Kilimo and 75,623 advisory consultations, but it did not show how many farmers actively used the service or benefited; it also identified roughly 400,000 incomplete registrations and digital access challenges.
In short
- Some farmers lack training to use digital agriculture services.
- M-Kilimo responses can arrive too late to help.
- A government programme aims to reach 500,000 farmers.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Digital agriculture services could help smallholders access timely advice, market information and buyers beyond the limits of local meetings and auctions. The government programme’s investment in farmer literacy and extension workers addresses practical barriers, while the reported registrations and consultations suggest that some infrastructure and demand already exist.
The case against
A service’s availability and registration figures do not show that farmers can use it effectively or receive advice when decisions must be made. Incomplete registrations, limited digital access and farmers’ reports of inadequate training or slow responses raise fair questions about whether the programme will deliver practical benefits, and whether resources would be better directed towards trusted in-person support and established market channels.