How tokenism is changing lives in Africa.

Blockchain technology is planting the seeds of change in Africa's agricultural sector, providing solutions to long-standing barriers such as market access, financial constraints and fair pricing.

For farmers like Sophia Wambui Ngamete, 54, from Nakuru County, Kenya, it was a lifeline. “One million avocados has helped me tremendously by planting over 120 avocado trees in Shambaye,” she said, explaining the Kenyan crypto project's aim to plant one million avocado trees across Africa using fruit tokenization.

“They have trained me, connected me with other farmers, provided fertilizer and even helped us find better markets,” she said.

This agricultural revolution is more than digital – it's tangible. Farmers like Ngamate are getting the tools, knowledge and financial support to transform their livelihoods.

And by connecting rural farmers to global markets and resources, blockchain is opening up new opportunities, offering a glimmer of hope to small-scale farmers across the continent.

Half of Africans rely on agriculture for their livelihood.

With more than 1.4 billion people and an area of ​​30 million square kilometers (11.5 million square miles), Africa's heartbeat lies in its agricultural sector. More than half of its population depends on agriculture, which contributes 30% to 40% of the continent's GDP.

However, despite the important role of the African agricultural sector, it faces a myriad of challenges that threaten its sustainability and growth. Farmers, most of whom own smallholder farms, are considered high-risk borrowers and often face barriers to access to credit.

Also read: We took ETHSafari to see how crypto works in Africa

This deprives them of the necessary capital to increase production, high transaction costs and middlemen eat into their profits.

And other stakeholders in the agricultural sector such as input providers, cooperatives, government agencies, research institutes, insurance companies and other stakeholders do not have enough information to assess the farmer's creditworthiness and risk, thus hindering African farmers from getting cheap credit.

New technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are now emerging to provide new solutions that promise to transform African agriculture.

Although the path is challenging, how technology-based agricultural platforms are beginning to transform agriculture.

Trade tokenized coffee trees for money

Paul Gachora is the co-founder of Project Mocha, which helps coffee farmers by simulating (digitally) coffee trees on the blockchain.

The project was launched in June this year and is currently in the pilot phase with 2,000 trees and 1,500 farmers on standby. Project Mocha allows smallholder farmers to sell tokens that represent economic rights to some of their coffee trees, giving patients a share of the proceeds from coffee sales for 10 years. This will enable farmers to access financial support now for farm rehabilitation, materials and training.

“i have [been a] It bears witness to my mother's illness and struggle, especially her inability to find affordable capital, as she faced constant financial problems.

“Many farmers who are rich in resources, own land and coffee trees, but are poor, cannot afford loans or investments for farm rehabilitation. This leads to a decline in productivity.

“We turn coffee trees into digital assets that are easy to trade like tokens, which help farmers mobilize resources to improve their fields and increase productivity. Using a distributed ledger, we ensure that everything is transparent and traceable from the farm to the consumer, so farmers get their fair share of what they produce.”

For greater transparency, we trace the coffee bean through the value chain to the consumer.

He is also planting a million avocado trees.

One Million Avocados, which operates in East Africa, operates on a similar model, said founder Kevin D. Nyakaru.

“One Million Avocados designates each avocado tree as an NFT. We create a numerical value that represents the future yield of the tree,” he shares. “Investors will then buy these NFTs. This will enable farmers to access finance by providing them with much needed capital to invest in their farms.

Also Read: South Africa's Digital-Nomads Crypto Hub: Cape Town, Crypto City Guide

Blockchain ensures that all information related to production, development stages and production capacity is recorded and accessible, giving all stakeholders confidence in the validity and reliability of their investment.

IoT technology plays a critical role, especially in gathering accurate, actionable data that supports better decision-making.

“By deploying IoT devices, we collect accurate and precise data on farm conditions such as soil moisture, temperature and crop health. This helps us make informed decisions to ensure transparency, comply with environmental regulations and improve farm productivity and attract investments,” Nyakaru explains.

The technology has proved useful in early detection of crop diseases and early remedial measures. “The health of the trees is recorded on the blockchain, which gives all stakeholders visibility into the production process,” he said.

“One of our farmers, Charles, got infected with bacteria on some of his trees. Using data, we are able to predict and mitigate.

Investa Farm Banks unbanked farmers

Smallholder farmers make up 80% of farms in sub-Saharan Africa and are often excluded from the financial system. They cannot access credit from traditional lenders, which reduces farm productivity and are sometimes exploited by middlemen in the value chain for their income.

Based in Kenya and the UK, Investafarm helps farmers get financial support by providing crypto loans to smallholder farmers who cannot get loans from traditional banks due to lack of proper documentation and an easy option to access financial support.

By recording farmers' transactions on the blockchain, they can build a credit history even if they don't have regular banking. Over time, they can verify their creditworthiness and get the loans they need to grow their farm.

“Using blockchain, every transaction is recorded and immutable, which reduces the risk of fraud and increases trust between financial institutions,” said Moses Leach, founder of Investa Farm. It uses AI to speed up loan approvals and offer insurance and other financial products previously unbanked.

“By considering non-traditional data points, we provide a more accurate credit score, which increases farmers' access to credit and financial services,” he says. “Our AI-based credit scoring model takes into account a variety of factors, including farm property values, rather than financial transactions.”

“One of our amazing success stories is a farmer in Kenya who was able to double his crop production by getting a loan from Investa Farm. The loans have led to significant increases in productivity and income by investing in better seeds and irrigation, Leach says.

Speaking their language

As a mainstream adopter, a major barrier to adoption by African farmers is the overuse of technical jargon. Blockchain's complexity often alienates non-technical stakeholders like farmers. But Sirungai Alan Kakai, a crypto policy analyst from Kenya, says it's important to communicate the benefits of the technology in language that resonates with a non-technical audience.

“Your DAO is basically a collaboration, your custodian wallet is like a neobank, and your tokenized coffee is just another commodity,” he says. “It's time to speak a language that resonates with people who don't know (or don't care) about the technology behind the product.”

Leach said getting farmers from InvestFarm to understand the technology can be a challenge, so InvestFarm uses agricultural stores that frequent the farmers as agents.

“When a farmer like John visits an agricultural store that he trusts for seeds and fertilizers, the store owner introduces him to a blockchain-based loan service. The store helps John set up a digital wallet, explains how stablecoin works and guides him through the loan process.

Access is another challenge, as network limitations and poor connectivity in some rural areas lead to marketing failure. “Project Mocha is designing the platform” to be widely available even in areas far from mobile networks and basic Internet services. This ensures reliable access to the platform despite occasional network limitations, Gachora explains.

Regulatory instability hinders growth

Regulatory uncertainty is a major barrier to blockchain adoption across Africa,” said Kenyan blockchain lawyer Victoria Cariti of Mwanyumba Cariti Consulting.

In Kenya, blockchain projects are moving cautiously due to uncertainty over the laws, while in Nigeria, the threat of sudden regulatory changes has somewhat stifled innovation.

“Farmers and agritech companies want to use blockchain for supply chain provenance, transparency and smart contracts, but the lack of simple and clear guidelines poses significant risks,” she said.

“The fragmented regulatory environment in Africa complicates cross-border initiatives/projects, inhibits their growth and slows adoption.”

Gachora: There is uncertainty about the legal status of real-world asset tokens in Kenya, affecting compliance, taxation and user adoption.

“We are actively working with regulators and industry bodies in Kenya to influence policy development and demonstrate the benefits of blockchain for financial inclusion in agriculture,” he said.

“We are also working to build a foundation for innovation within regulatory constraints by ensuring that our offerings are aligned with legal frameworks and international best practices.”

DeFi disruption is unacceptable

Complicating these regulatory challenges is the way blockchain is often presented as a disruptive force. While its potential to advance traditional systems is undeniable, the narrative of the violent “disruption” has in some cases prevented constructive dialogue with established institutions. Many in the space have consistently hammered this message.

“Focusing on the ‘here we are' narrative—especially on public platforms like Twitter—does more harm than good,” Kakai said. Banks and other TradFi institutions that have established relationships with regulators will almost certainly roll out the red carpet if DeFi is positioned as a hostile threat. It's like showing your poker hand early: make sure your opponents adjust and don't win.

But blockchain projects are bearing fruit in Africa.

These blockchain-based platforms are not just theoretical solutions – they are already starting to make a real impact on the ground.

“I am the proud owner of an avocado NFT representing a real avocado tree growing in Gatundu North Kiambu County,” Kenyan Senator Karungo wa Tangwa said on X.

“I am ready to lead the adoption of crypto and blockchain in Kenya because I believe in the transformative power of these technologies to transform our economy.”

These real-world examples show how blockchain and AI have the potential to shape Africa's agricultural landscape. As these technologies evolve, they promise to unlock unprecedented growth, encourage financial inclusion and enhance sustainability – creating a more prosperous future for Africa's farmers.

I was like Nejenga.

Ndabari Njenga is a blockchain and AI writer with a focus on technology, finance and sustainable development in Africa. He has written for leading publications on topics such as DeFi, Digital Identity and Asset Tokenization, showcasing innovative solutions that are making a real impact in Africa.