A farmer in a maize-growing area harvests 50 bags of maize. From our experience, he knows the current market price is around KES 3,500 per bag. But the broker who comes to his farm offers KES 2,800. Take it or leave it, the broker says. The farmer needs cash for school fees next week. He takes it.
This is not a story about a bad broker. It is a story about a system where the person who controls the connection to the buyer also controls the price. The farmer has no way to reach the buyer directly. The broker is not evil — he is providing a service that the farmer cannot provide for himself. The problem is that this service comes at a cost the farmer cannot afford to pay.
Kenya now has at least 95 digital agriculture services, according to the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA). That is almost double the number in any other African country. Yet the same report estimates that only 20% to 30% of Kenyan farmers actually use any of these tools. The gap between what exists and what works is wide.
95— The number of digital agriculture services available in Kenya, according to KIPPRA. From our experience, yet only 20% to 30% of farmers adopt any of them. The tools exist. The adoption does not.
The Middleman Is Not the Enemy
Every conversation about connecting farmers to buyers starts with blaming the middleman. It is the easy thing to do. But the middleman exists because farmers do not have the time, transport, or market knowledge to sell directly. The middleman provides logistics, cash on the spot, and a guaranteed buyer. Those are real services.
The question is not how to eliminate the middleman. The question is how to give farmers enough information and options so that they do not have to accept whatever price is offered. That is the real problem.
From our experience working with agricultural cooperatives and farming groups, the most effective approach is not a fancy app. It is a combination of three things that work together: price transparency, contract farming, and collective logistics.
Price Transparency That Works on Any Phone
The most practical tools are the simplest ones. USSD codes and SMS-based price information systems do not require smartphones or internet data. A farmer with a basic feature phone can dial a code and get current prices for maize, beans, tomatoes, or milk from multiple markets.
Platforms like Mkulima Young and iShamba already provide this. The problem is that many farmers do not know they exist, or they check once and forget. The technology is not the bottleneck. The habit is.
What we have seen work is when a farmer cooperative or a county extension officer integrates price checks into a regular routine. For example, a group of dairy farmers in a cooling hub checks prices together every morning before deciding where to send their milk. The information becomes part of the decision, not an afterthought.
Contract Farming: The Anchor That Stabilizes Price
The second piece that works is anchor buyers and contract farming. This is where a farmer agrees to supply a known buyer — a school, a hospital, a processor, a hotel chain — at a pre-agreed price for a season. The farmer knows what they will earn before they plant. The buyer knows the supply is guaranteed.
According to a 2023 study by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA), contract farming arrangements significantly reduce price volatility for farmers. The farmer does not need to chase the market because the market comes to them.
The challenge is trust. Both sides have to believe the other will keep their word. That is where a simple digital record helps. A cooperative can use a basic web or mobile app to log contracts, track deliveries, and record payments. When everything is visible to both sides, the trust problem shrinks.
Collective Logistics: The Real Cost Killer
The single biggest reason farmers sell to brokers is transport. A farmer with 10 bags of maize cannot afford to hire a lorry to take them to the market. A broker with a truck can aggregate produce from 50 farmers and take it all at once. That is real value.
But when farmers organize into groups, they can do the same thing. A cooperative that pools produce from its members can hire a single truck and split the cost. A simple WhatsApp group or a basic dispatch app can coordinate pickups. The farmer keeps the margin that would have gone to the broker.
From our experience, the groups that succeed at this are the ones that treat logistics as a shared business, not a favor. They set rules, track costs, and pay members promptly. The technology is secondary — a shared spreadsheet or a group chat is often enough to start.
Digital Platforms That Actually Work
There are success stories. Platforms like Mfarm and Digifarm have connected thousands of farmers to buyers. According to a 2024 study in the World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, farmers using e-commerce platforms report a 25% increase in profits from direct-to-buyer sales. The key is that these platforms do not just list prices — they facilitate the transaction end to end, including payment through M-Pesa.
But the same study notes that only 55% of surveyed farmers use any digital platform for price discovery, buyer connections, or transaction management. From our experience, the other 45% still rely on word of mouth, local traders, or brokers.
From our experience, 25%— Average profit increase reported by farmers using digital platforms to sell directly to buyers, according to a 2024 study in the World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. The margin comes from cutting out the broker.
The platforms that survive are the ones that solve a real logistics problem, not just a price information problem. A farmer who knows the price in the city still cannot get there without transport. The platforms that arrange transport or connect farmers to buyers who arrange pickup are the ones that get used.
Where Technology Helps and Where It Does Not
Technology can solve information asymmetry. It can connect people who would otherwise never meet. It can make payments instant and traceable through M-Pesa. But it cannot solve a broken road, a lack of storage, or a farmer who does not trust a digital promise.
The most effective digital tools for Kenyan farmers are not the most sophisticated ones. They are the ones that work on basic phones, use simple language, and integrate with how farmers already operate. A USSD menu that a farmer can use in under a minute is more useful than a beautiful app that requires a smartphone and data.
According to the Communications Authority of Kenya's Q3 2025-2026 Sector Statistics Report, while smartphone penetration is growing, feature phones still make up a significant portion of the mobile market. Any solution that ignores feature phone users is leaving out a large part of the farming community.
What the Farmer in the Opening Story Needs
That farmer with 50 bags of maize does not need a blockchain platform. He needs three things: a way to know what his maize is worth in three different markets before the broker arrives, a cooperative that can pool his produce with others to share transport costs, and a buyer — like a school or a processor — who will commit to a price before planting season.
From our experience, if he has those three things, the broker's offer of KES 2,800 becomes a choice, not a necessity. He can say no. He can hold out for KES 3,200. And if the broker wants the produce, the broker will have to offer a fair price.
That is what connecting farmers to buyers without the middleman actually looks like. It is not about eliminating the broker. It is about giving farmers enough information, organization, and options that they do not have to accept a bad deal.
The technology is the easy part. The hard part is building the trust, the habits, and the logistics to make it all work. But it is possible. We have seen it happen.
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