Adrian Cross

If you’re building AgriTech in South Africa in 2026 and your first instinct is to develop a beautiful smartphone app, you might be making a costly strategic mistake. While the global AgriTech narrative celebrates flashy mobile apps, AI dashboards, and sleek user interfaces, the most successful early-stage startups in South Africa are quietly doing the opposite: prioritising USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) and WhatsApp-based solutions over traditional app store products. This is...

Roger Blewett , OneSoil Business Development in Africa Two years ago, OneSoil — a global precision agriculture platform known for its satellite-based crop monitoring tools — made a deliberate push into Africa. What started as an ambitious expansion has evolved into a meaningful effort to bring data-driven farming solutions to farmers across the continent. In a detailed reflection published on their blog, OneSoil shared insights from their journey, highlighting both progress and the realities...

Ag Leader Technology has introduced Z-Row, a new integrated corn head row guidance system designed to make harvesting simpler, more efficient, and less stressful for operators — a development that could be particularly valuable for South African maize growers. The system works seamlessly within Ag Leader’s existing InCommand Go display, eliminating the need for additional screens or separate controllers. It integrates row guidance directly with harvest data, allowing the combine to stay...