Opinion Piece: Smallholders Are Being Left Behind – Again

The Quiet Exclusion of South Africa’s Smallholder Farmers from the AgriTech Revolution

Communal farmers

While the headlines celebrate record AgriTech investments, breakthrough drone trials, and impressive AI agronomists, a quieter, more troubling story is unfolding across rural South Africa.

The 2.5 million smallholder and emerging farmers — who produce a significant portion of the nation’s food — are once again being left behind in the digital transformation of agriculture.

This is not because they are uninterested or resistant to new technology. It is because most AgriTech solutions currently available were simply not designed with them in mind.

The Widening Gap

South Africa already suffers from one of the starkest productivity divides in the world. Commercial farms, with access to precision tools, satellite monitoring, automated irrigation, and professional agronomic support, continue to pull further ahead. Meanwhile, the majority of smallholders still rely on guesswork, limited extension services, and traditional methods.

The arrival of AgriTech was supposed to help close this gap. Instead, in many cases, it is widening it.

Most solutions on the market today require:

• Reliable internet connectivity (still absent in much of deep rural South Africa)

• Smartphones with reasonable data bundles

• High levels of digital literacy

• Significant upfront capital

• Comfort with complex apps and dashboards

These assumptions simply do not match the reality faced by most smallholder farmers — many of whom are women, operate on less than five hectares, have limited formal education, and face daily cash constraints.

The result is predictable: commercial and well-resourced farmers adopt precision tools and capture efficiency gains of 20–40%, while smallholders watch from the sidelines, sometimes even falling further behind as input costs rise and markets become more demanding.

Why This Matters

This exclusion is not just an equity issue — it is a national risk.

Smallholders are the backbone of local food production and rural economies. If they are systematically excluded from productivity-enhancing technologies, South Africa will struggle to achieve meaningful food security, successful land reform, and inclusive rural development.

We cannot build a resilient agricultural sector while leaving the majority of food producers behind. A thriving smallholder sector is essential for employment, poverty reduction, and stable food supply — especially as climate change makes farming more unpredictable.

What “Smallholder-First” AgriTech Should Look Like

If we are serious about inclusive digital agriculture, we must demand better from AgriTech developers, investors, and policymakers. Truly effective solutions for smallholders should have these characteristics:

• Offline-first or extremely low-data design with strong SMS and voice note capabilities

• Ultra-low or no cost entry points (freemium models, heavy subsidies, or pay-per-use)

• Local language support (isiZulu, Sepedi, isiXhosa, Afrikaans, etc.) and simple, visual interfaces

• Clear, fast ROI — solving immediate problems like water management, pest detection, or market access within the first season

• Strong local support networks — community agents, youth digital champions, and reliable after-sales service

• Focus on real smallholder problems rather than luxury features for commercial farms

  
  

Some encouraging examples already exist — tools like AgriCloud, certain WhatsApp-based advisory services, and simplified satellite platforms — but they remain the exception rather than the rule.

The Way Forward

Government, AgriTech companies, telcos, and development partners all have a role to play:

• DALRRD and the Land Bank must prioritise funding for smallholder-appropriate tools

• Mobile operators should offer zero-rated AgriTech data bundles

• Developers must stop building for Silicon Valley assumptions and start building for Cinci Reserve, Vhembe, and Mthatha realities

• Commercial farms and cooperatives should support outgrower schemes that include digital tools

  
  

The AgriTech revolution will only be considered successful when the smallest farms benefit the most — not when the largest farms become slightly more efficient.

We cannot afford another chapter in South Africa’s agricultural story where innovation benefits the few while the many are left behind.

It is time to build AgriTech for smallholders, not just about them.