OneSoil’s Two-Year Journey: Transforming Digital Agriculture Across Africa

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 of deploying AgriTech in diverse African farming systems.

From Pilot to Presence

Since entering the African market, OneSoil has focused on making its platform accessible to both smallholder and commercial farmers. The company’s core offering — free and paid satellite monitoring tools that track crop health, soil moisture, and field variability — has been adapted to work effectively even in areas with limited connectivity.

Key achievements over the past two years include:

• Significant User Growth: Thousands of farmers across countries including South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia now use OneSoil’s tools for daily decision-making.

• Localized Solutions: The platform has been improved to support local crops, languages, and farming practices. Farmers can receive insights via mobile apps and, in some cases, simplified SMS or voice alerts.

• Partnerships: Collaboration with local cooperatives, NGOs, input suppliers, and governments to extend reach to smallholder communities.

• Measurable Impact: Early data shows users achieving better input efficiency, reduced crop stress, and improved yields through timely, data-backed decisions.

The South African Context

In South Africa, OneSoil’s tools have found strong relevance among both commercial grain producers in the Free State and Mpumalanga, and emerging farmers looking for affordable ways to optimise limited resources. The ability to monitor fields remotely has proven especially valuable in water-scarce regions and during erratic weather patterns.Farmers using the platform report being able to:

• Identify problem areas earlier

• Apply fertiliser and water more precisely

• Make better harvesting and marketing decisions

Challenges on the Ground

OneSoil’s blog candidly acknowledges the difficulties of operating in Africa:

• Connectivity Gaps: Many rural areas still have limited internet access.

• Device Accessibility: Not all farmers have smartphones capable of running advanced apps.

• Trust Building: Convincing farmers to rely on satellite data instead of traditional knowledge takes time and demonstration.

• Diverse Conditions: Solutions must work across vastly different climates, soil types, and farm sizes.

The company has responded by focusing on hybrid solutions (app + SMS), improving offline functionality, and investing in local support teams.

A Promising Path Forward

OneSoil’s two-year review shows a company committed to long-term presence rather than quick wins. Their focus remains on making precision agriculture practical and affordable for African farmers, not just exporting Western models.

For South African agribusinesses and farmers, this type of sustained investment from international AgriTech players is encouraging. It signals growing confidence in the African agricultural market and brings valuable tools that can complement local innovations from companies like Aerobotics, Farmonaut, and MyFarmWeb.

As digital agriculture continues to gain momentum across the continent, initiatives like OneSoil’s expansion demonstrate both the challenges and the enormous potential of bringing satellite intelligence directly to the farm.

Source: This article is based on OneSoil’s official blog post titled “OneSoil’s Two-Year Journey: Transforming Digital Agriculture in Africa.”