Digital tools now reach farmers through phones, radio, payment platforms and satellite data, and governments and donors are investing heavily in digital agriculture. The track record is mixed. Services that ignore how smallholders actually live and trade often record sign-ups but little sustained use, and some have introduced new risks around privacy, exclusion of women and dependence on a single provider.

This course focuses on good practice in choosing, designing and scaling digital agritech for smallholder systems. Participants begin with human-centred needs assessment and the mapping of digital and information gaps along a value chain. They compare the main solution types, from advisory messaging and weather information to farmer registration, input and produce marketplaces, mobile payments, savings and credit scoring, insurance triggers and traceability. Sessions examine delivery models that work in low-connectivity settings, including agent networks, cooperative champions, voice and USSD services and offline-first applications.

The programme then turns to sustainability and responsibility: business models and pricing, partnerships with telecom and financial providers, consent and data ownership, inclusion of women and youth, and measurement of adoption, use and outcomes. Participants work through case studies, test prototypes and finish with a rollout plan and monitoring framework for a service of their own.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Assess the information, finance and market needs of smallholder farmers before choosing technology.
• Compare digital channels and tools for suitability in low-literacy, low-connectivity settings.
• Specify requirements for advisory, registry, payment and marketplace services.
• Design agent and cooperative-based delivery models that build farmer trust.
• Apply inclusion, consent and data protection safeguards in digital services.
• Develop pricing and partnership models that sustain a service beyond grant funding.
• Monitor adoption, usage and outcomes and use the results to improve the service.

The course is intended for those who design, fund or deliver digital services for farmers, including:

• Programme managers in agriculture and food security projects
• Agritech founders and product managers
• Extension officers and agricultural training providers
• Cooperative, farmer union and out-grower scheme managers
• Digital financial service and mobile money providers serving rural clients
• County and national agriculture ICT and planning officers
• Donor and development partner officers in digital development
• M&E specialists measuring technology adoption

Participants leave with practical outputs and judgement, including:

• A farmer needs and digital readiness assessment for their target group.
• A comparison matrix for selecting channels and tools.
• A draft service specification with user stories and content plan.
• An agent network and field rollout plan.
• A safeguards checklist covering consent, privacy and inclusion.
• A monitoring framework with adoption and outcome indicators.

Training is field oriented and built on practice from smallholder programmes. Methods include:

• Case studies of advisory, payment and marketplace services that scaled or stalled
• Hands-on testing of sample SMS, USSD and app-based services
• Farmer persona and journey-mapping exercises
• Group design of rollout and agent training plans
• Peer review of monitoring frameworks and safeguards

Delegates who attend all sessions and submit their rollout and monitoring plans receive a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion from Vision Reach Global Consultancy.