How Technology Is Changing Small Farmers’ Lives in Rural Areas

By Shalom Shawurwa

In the farming areas of Makonde District, where rains are now less reliable and droughts happen more often farmers are starting to use new ways to understand their land.

Small-scale farmers, village leaders, researchers and government workers are now using science and digital tools to learn what the soil needs and how to keep it healthy.

One of the new methods being introduced is called biomonitoring. This means using things found in nature such as plants, insects and tiny living organisms in the soil to check the health of the land.

The idea was discussed at a recent two-day training workshop organised by PELUM Zimbabwe under its Holistic Land and Livestock Management programme.

For many farmers, the lesson is simple: instead of guessing they are learning how to “read” the land.

Shingirai Majaji, a land mapping specialist with Grazing Concepts said his work involves dividing farmland into sections and studying how each part changes over time.

This includes checking soil hardness, fertility and areas that are well managed or neglected.

He said the information is then used to create a digital map showing the health of the land, which will be updated every year until 2030.

“We are focusing on mapping paddocks so farmers can see the total area under management versus unmanaged land. Mapping is very important because it helps small-scale farmers track changes and see whether their practices are improving or degrading the land,” he said.

Farmers are also using mobile phones to record conditions in their fields.

Even in places without internet access, the information can be saved offline and later shared through platforms such as WhatsApp with partners, government departments and donors.

This means farmers no longer have to wait for occasional visits from agricultural officers before problems are noticed.

“Instead of waiting for periodic inspections or extension visits, farmers and stakeholders can now track land conditions more continuously and respond faster to emerging problems,” Majaji said.

The changes are already helping some communities.

By identifying hard soil, damaged land and overgrazed areas, farmers can now make better decisions on where to graze livestock or where to allow land to recover.

However, there are still challenges.

Many rural families do not have smartphones, internet networks can be weak, and mobile data is often expensive.

Because of this, many farmers still depend on traditional farming knowledge passed down through generations.

Experts also warn that while technology offers hope, it has not yet led to large improvements in harvests or incomes in many areas.

They say the real challenge is not just gathering information, but making sure it leads to better farming methods and real benefits for families.

Even so, in the fields of Makonde a new style of farming is slowly growing — one that combines old knowledge with modern tools and pays closer attention to the needs of the land before it is too late.