“When farmers have the right tools in the right way, they can create a space to improve their knowledge, change behaviour and bring other farmers with them.”
Getting farmers into apps might seem a strange approach to accelerating the transition to agroecology. But digital tools have plenty of potential to help people connect, learn, share and troubleshoot as they trial new approaches to growing food—and to scale their innovations beyond what’s possible through conventional technical assistance and performance assessment methods.
Yet, effective application of digital possibilities is not as simple as creating tools and telling farmers to use them. To be inclusive, empowering and transformational requires rather more complex processes of knowledge exchange and co-creation.
“We’ve learned that digital tools can really empower farmers, but these are usually still driven by very top-down processes by the digital developers themselves, and so the knowledge reflected in digital tools is all too often not that of farmers,” said Lini Wollenberg, the policy and institutions lead for climate action at the Alliance of Bioversity and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture(CIAT).
“We need more farmer-centric engagement; we need to enable co-creation, not just in the design of the tool, but the design of agricultural practices,” Wollenberg continued. “And, we need to have that human connection to make sure that we’re moving forward alongside and within these knowledge systems.”
She made the remarks at a webinar on 8 May 2025, in her role as leader of the three-year, EU-funded Agroecological TRANSITIONS: Inclusive Digital Tools Project (IDTP), which forms part of the Transformative Partnership Programme for Agroecological Transitions (AE-TPP). At the event, the project team shared final recommendations and a new framework for enhancing farmers’ agency in using digital tools and promoting inclusivity in farmers’ roles in the co-creation of agricultural practices. “We can be very sure that when farmers face challenges, they are already trying to find solutions,” said digital and social inclusion specialist Mariette McCampbell. “So if we want to develop a digital resource for an agroecology problem, farmers are very likely able to provide invaluable insights for that solution—and not only does that then result in better tools that embrace diversity and integrate a variety of technology systems, it also empowers communities: prioritizing their needs, their interests, capacities, knowledge and practices.”
Violaine Laurens, the regional manager for digital solutions at Solidaridad Latinoamérica, then shared a case study from the Brazilian Amazon, where the international non-profit is working to support farmers to transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient production systems. Alongside offering in-person learning opportunities for small groups of farmers, Solidaridad has co-designed with farmers an app called Solis, which provides tailored action plans and a digital learning community.
“This combination of hands-on activities in the field and digital sharing is designed to strengthen farmers’ agency by giving them an active role in shaping practices, sharing knowledge that reflects their reality and learning from others,” said Lawrence.
As an example, she introduced the group to Irivelton Tavares, a Solis ‘ambassador’ and local farmer who was one of the first in the area to adopt rotational grazing—a practice that can optimize pasture productivity and reduce the temptation to encroach on forested lands—and who regularly shares videos of his practices through the app. “Farmers are far more likely to trust content that is produced by their peers,” she said.
Trang Vu, a research scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Vietnam, next shared learnings from IRRI’s process of developing a digital Farmer Tool (FarMoRe), with local farmers’ input, to provide performance assessments and benchmarks for sustainable rice farming.
“One of the most important pillars in our work was the human interaction that the tool supports,” said Vu. “So, digital tools are not to replace human interaction: they should actually enhance or empower interaction through building trust, adding science, and providing insights to empower co-creation and dialogue among different stakeholders.”
Over the past year, the tool has been used by over 1300 farmers and field agents across all 14 provinces of the Mekong Delta. “Ultimately, our experience with farmers in Vietnam underscores a very powerful truth,” said Vu. “When farmers have the right tools in the right way, they can create a space to improve their knowledge, change behaviour and bring other farmers with them.”
Wollenberg then opened the floor for questions, which centred on themes such as: the practical challenges of farmers using digital tools and the importance of human connection; the importance of providing a fun experience and using gamification to engage and retain users; the need for incentives and aligning digital tools with larger programs or incentives for sustainability; and the best business models for sustaining digital tools.
Viviane Filippi, a program officer at the International Fund for Agricultural Development, offered closing remarks. “Digital transformation is not just about technology; it’s about people,” she said. “For digital tools to truly support agroecology, we must first ensure that we are talking about digital literacy, accessibility and how such tools should be designed to align with farmers’ reality. Co-creation of knowledge is not optional; it is essential.”
For Wollenberg, broader political and financial support is also required to spur the needed shifts in practice. “Ultimately, we need to complement digital tools with societal transition,” she said. “These tools really only reflect the state of agroecology and society, so we’ll have limited behaviour change until we can see more of the finance and the policy complementing and supporting them.”
Acknowledgements
The TRANSITIONS programme is implemented by The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, CIFOR-ICRAF, IRRI, IWMI, The Transformative Partnership Platform on Agroecology, and the University of Vermont. It is generously funded by the European Union and managed by IFAD.
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