Hotspot to Harvest: Making Digital Tools Work for Smallholders – and for the People Supporting Them

Digitalization is increasingly reshaping agricultural advisory systems worldwide. From AI-based advisory to offline toolkits and digital learning platforms, new tools promise broader reach, faster delivery, and more efficient support for farmers. For organizations working in smallholder agriculture, this is an appealing prospect: Digital solutions can help reach farmers in remote areas, assess the ecological conditions on their plots, and continue providing guidance beyond the lifespan of projects. This matters because smallholder farmers often have limited access to extension services, markets, and timely agronomic advice, while remaining highly exposed to climate shocks, volatile markets, and weak infrastructure.

But digitalization does not create impact by default. It creates value only when it is designed around the realities, needs and constraints of the people it is meant to serve. That was one of the clearest messages from HRNS’s recent webinar “Hotspot to Harvest – Making Digital Leaps Deliver for Smallholders”, which brought together perspectives from research, implementation and field practice. As moderator Jesko Johannsen, Global Head of Communications at HRNS, put it at the outset, the key question is whether “digital tools truly deliver for smallholder farmers – and under what conditions?”

A recording of the event is available here.

Berta Ortiz Crespo from the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT offered an important explanation for why many digital advisory solutions fail to deliver at scale. The study she co-authored, Error 404, Farmer Not Found, revealed a striking paradox: While phone ownership among smallholder farmers is high, only around 10% of potential users actively engage with agricultural mobile services. As Ortiz Crespo made clear, the barriers are often behavioral rather than technical. Information may not reach farmers because calls from unknown numbers are ignored, phones are shared, or SIM cards are changed frequently. In other cases, information arrives but is not accessible when needed: Devices are not always carried throughout the day, notifications are missed, or text messages are deleted to free up limited memory. Even basic usability issues can become real barriers: “For example, messages are hard to read on cracked screens, and some users do not scroll down and miss part of the content,” she reported.

And even when messages are received, they do not automatically lead to action, especially when the wording is too technical or the advice does not feel relevant. As Ortiz Crespo put it, “our findings serve as a reminder that behind each technical tool, there are people with unique challenges and preferences.”

The implication is clear: Digital services need to be grounded in a much better understanding of how farmers actually use their phones.

Adoption is more likely when tools address problems farmers actually recognize. As Ortiz Crespo emphasized, the starting point should always be the community itself: What problem is the tool solving, and does the community see it as important? Godfrey Wilgod from HRNS Tanzania reinforced this point from field practice. In his experience, farmers value digital tools that respond to immediate challenges and help improve yields and resilience.

This also means that relevance has to be locally defined. Anika Nicolaudius from the initiative for coffee&climate highlighted this point through the c&c toolbox – a digital platform offering climate-smart practices for coffee farming families alongside training materials for extension workers. “Its content is locally specific,” she explained. “Users are directed to regionally relevant materials when they enter the toolbox.”

However, relevance is not enough. “Even when a tool addresses actual problems, it will only be used if farmers can understand it easily and apply it in practice,” Wilgod emphasized. Content therefore needs to be intuitive, practical, and adapted to different levels of literacy. Ortiz Crespo added that usability is also critical for moving beyond pilot phases: If a tool requires too much training, it is unlikely to scale. She also noted that not all channels work for all users, making a multi-channel approach essential.

Nicolaudius explained how this can work in practice. The c&c toolbox is available in major local languages and uses a recipe-like structure that explains which materials are needed and which steps farmers should follow. Each practice is also supported by a simple explainer video designed to overcome literacy barriers. Feedback, she said, suggests that a combination of text and video works particularly well, as long as videos remain low-data and easy to access.

Trust emerged as another key factor in the discussion. Farming decisions are high-stakes, Ortiz Crespo emphasized: “If farmers act upon a wrong message, they may lose their source of income.” For that reason, trust must be taken far more seriously in the design of digital services. This also explains the panel’s caution around AI-based advisory. As Wilgod reported from the field, farmers do not fully trust AI, especially when it impacts their livelihoods.

Where trust in mobile phones is low, non-digital last-mile delivery is therefore still necessary. Farmers may need a trusted person to relay information – which is where hybrid models matter most. Nicolaudius added that extension services are also important for more complex tools that require interpretation or technical support.

Human interaction also helps close inclusion gaps. According to Ortiz Crespo, women often experience phone use differently from men, feeling more insecure and more exposed to scams or threats. Wilgod observed a similar pattern in Tanzania: “Women’s participation in digital farming is often lower because they don't have their own smartphone or digital tools are seen as too technical.” One practical response, he added, is to train households – and women in particular – directly in how to use the tools.

Digital advisory is not a finished product once it goes live. It must be continuously tested and improved based on user feedback. Ortiz Crespo’s advice was simple: “Test everything. Test it a million times,” she said – because people often use tools in ways that designers had not anticipated.

Nicolaudius described this as a core part of the c&c toolbox: “Since launch, we have carried out several trials across regions and adapted the platform accordingly.” One example was the amount of text: While farmers in Indonesia preferred very short, direct information, users in Brazil and Uganda appreciated more background explanation that also extensionists would provide. “The lesson,” she said, “is to stay in close contact with farmers and those who work with them – and to keep adjusting the system accordingly.”

In the end, the webinar left little doubt that digital advisory can create real value for smallholder farmers and the organizations that support them. But that value will not come from technology alone. It depends on relevance, usability, trust, and a willingness to keep learning. Ultimately, the future of digitalization in agriculture will be shaped not by how advanced the tools are, but by how well they fit the realities of the people they are meant to serve. As Johannsen summed up toward the end of the webinar, “Start with the people before developing the technology.” For programs, this means investing not only in tools, but also in the conditions that shape their success — from onboarding and support to continuous adaptation over time.