Arabfields, Ngab Niyonzima, special correspondent, Dodoma, Tanzania — Tanzania’s efforts to modernise agriculture through digital technology are facing a major challenge as smallholder farmers struggle to turn online services into practical economic benefits. Despite millions of registrations on government platforms, limited digital skills, slow responses and poor access to market information continue to restrict their adoption in rural communities.

For farmers such as Theresia Abel Nyoka, who grows crops in Paranga village in the Dodoma region, digital agriculture remains largely unfamiliar. Although she has received messages promoting M-Kilimo and e-Kilimo, she has yet to register for either service, saying she has not received sufficient guidance on how the platforms work or what they could offer her business.

Instead, she continues to sell her produce through a local agricultural cooperative, where farmers organise their harvests and negotiate sales through established market arrangements.

Her experience reflects a wider problem facing Tanzania’s agricultural digitalisation strategy. While authorities are expanding access to online services, many rural producers still depend on traditional trading networks, public meetings and direct contact with buyers to make decisions about their crops.

The government has invested $3.62 million in the Data for Digital Agricultural Transformation programme, launched in September 2024 and scheduled to run until August 2027. The initiative aims to improve digital literacy among 500,000 farmers and train 500 agricultural extension workers, with particular attention to women and young people.

The programme is designed to strengthen agricultural data systems, improve access to farming advice and connect producers with markets. However, the gap between policy ambitions and everyday farming conditions remains significant.

Data from a 2024 study based on Ministry of Agriculture information showed that M-Kilimo had approximately 7.2 million registered farmers. The platform had also recorded 75,623 agricultural advisory consultations, with 73,839 receiving responses.

Yet the registration figures do not necessarily reflect active participation. The same study identified around 400,000 incomplete registrations, highlighting the difficulties farmers face when attempting to access digital services.

For Jeremiah Luwe, a 49-year-old maize and pigeon pea producer in Kongwa district, the main concern is the time required to obtain useful information. Although he has experimented with M-Kilimo, he says answers to questions about agricultural markets and inputs can take as long as two weeks.

By the time the information arrives, market conditions may already have changed, forcing him to rely on auctions, community meetings and local media instead.

The problem is particularly important for small-scale producers, who often have limited financial resources and cannot afford to wait for better selling opportunities. Larger commercial farmers generally have greater access to storage facilities, established buyers and supply contracts, allowing them to negotiate more favourable prices.

According to agricultural specialist Praygod Malisa of Rikolto East Africa, digital services could help reduce this imbalance, but only if farmers receive adequate training and can access reliable connectivity at an affordable cost.

The challenges extend beyond smartphone ownership. In some communities, farmers use basic mobile phones and have limited experience with digital applications. Others remain unaware of the services available through government platforms.

Adam Rashidi, a farmer in Kingale village who cultivates pigeon peas and sesame on more than six hectares, continues to obtain market information through organised auctions. He says he would be willing to register for digital services if someone showed him how to use them.

Another farmer, Shaban Omary, relies mainly on television for price information because he does not own a smartphone. Although M-Kilimo offers certain services through basic mobile phones, navigating the system remains difficult for some users.

The experience of Vedalinda Asiya, a 35-year-old sesame and maize producer in Kongwa district, illustrates both the potential and limitations of the technology. After registering for M-Kilimo, she managed to access information about subsidised fertiliser, but says the platform has not consistently provided the market prices and agricultural advice she needs.

Agricultural experts believe the next stage of digital transformation should focus on making existing systems more responsive and accessible rather than simply increasing registration numbers.

Kadeghe Goodluck Fue of Sokoine University of Agriculture argues that farmers need reliable information about prices, buyers and markets beyond their immediate communities. Better access to such information could improve decisions about when to sell, where to transport produce and which crops offer the strongest commercial opportunities.

There is also growing interest in combining digital services with communication channels already used in rural areas. Mahadia Tunga, cofounder of the Tanzania Data Lab, has advocated using existing community networks, including WhatsApp groups managed by agricultural extension officers, to make information easier to understand and access.

Such an approach could help bridge the gap between government technology platforms and farmers who are more comfortable receiving advice through familiar local contacts.

The coming months will be important for Tanzania’s digital agriculture programme as it moves towards its August 2027 completion date. Its targets of reaching 500,000 farmers and training 500 extension workers provide a framework for measuring progress, but the wider challenge will be demonstrating that these investments translate into better farming decisions and higher incomes.

If implementation improves, digital services could become an important tool for strengthening agricultural productivity, improving price transparency and reducing the information gap between smallholders and larger commercial producers.

The outlook, however, will depend on whether authorities can deliver faster responses, expand practical training and ensure that farmers without smartphones or reliable internet connections are not excluded.

For Tanzania’s rural producers, the real measure of digital transformation will not be the number of people registered on an application, but whether the technology helps them find better markets, reduce production risks and earn more from their harvests.