By Abraham Nyabera, Co-founder, FarmFuzion
Africa’s farmers power one of the continent’s most important industries, yet remain among its least adequately financed participants. Agriculture contributes approximately 30% of Africa’s GDP but receives only 6% of commercial bank lending, according to the African Development Bank. The financing gap facing Africa’s agricultural SMEs is estimated at US$180 billion annually.
The disparity is equally visible in Kenya. Agriculture, forestry and fishing accounted for 22.5% of Kenya’s KSh16.2 trillion GDP in 2024 approximately KSh3.6 trillion in economic output. These figures challenge the long-standing description of smallholder farmers as “unbankable.” Farmers generate substantial economic value, support employment, supply industries and contribute to domestic and export earnings. Yet many cannot access the capital needed to purchase quality inputs, manage climate risks or expand production.
The problem is not that farmers lack economic value. Our financial systems lack the visibility required to recognise it. Every agricultural season creates an economic record. Farmers purchase inputs, cultivate land, receive technical support, harvest produce, supply cooperatives or buyers, receive payments and settle obligations. Cooperatives record deliveries. Buyers record volumes and quality. Payment providers record transactions. Agronomists document farm activity, while weather and satellite systems capture production conditions.
Combined, this information can demonstrate productivity, reliability and commercial behaviour. Artificial intelligence can analyse these records to build a more accurate picture of a farmer’s capacity and risk. Instead of asking only whether a farmer has conventional collateral, lenders can evaluate production consistency, expected cash flow, market relationships, previous payments and environmental risks. AI-powered agricultural advisory and alternative credit scoring should not be treated as separate innovations.
Timely guidance on planting, soil health, pests, livestock care and weather can help farmers protect productivity. When those interventions and outcomes are recorded, they also strengthen the farmer’s financial profile. Better advice can improve production. Improved production creates stronger records. Stronger records increase financial visibility, giving lenders and insurers a more credible basis for extending services.
This model is already being tested in Kenya and Zambia with use of satellite information, machine learning and other data to assess farmers who may lack conventional credit histories. Its offering combines financing with farming inputs, insurance and agronomic support.
There is similar use of mobile technology and machine learning to develop alternative credit scores based on information such as farm location, crops cultivated, acreage and productive assets. These examples demonstrate how agricultural data can replace general assumptions about smallholder risk with more individualised assessments.
Better data will achieve little if lenders continue offering financial products that ignore agricultural cycles. A farmer earning after harvest should not be expected to repay credit like a salaried employee receiving monthly income. Financing must reflect planting periods, harvest schedules, production costs, buyer arrangements and the risks affecting particular crops and locations.
The objective should not be to use AI simply to issue more short-term loans faster. It should be to design responsible financial products around how agriculture actually works. AI must also not become another instrument of exclusion. Farmers should understand what information is collected, how it is used and who can access it. They must be able to correct inaccurate records and challenge significant automated decisions.
A farmer’s verified history of production, deliveries and repayments should become an economic asset that improves access to lenders, insurers and buyers. This is the infrastructure gap FarmFuzion is working to address: connecting agricultural activity, advisory and financial services so farmers are not repeatedly required to prove the value their work already demonstrates.
Africa’s farmers do not need to be made bankable. They are already productive economic actors. What they need are financial systems intelligent enough to see them.
About Farmfuzion
FarmFuzion is a digital infrastructure platform for agricultural systems that embeds bank-grade financial services, agronomy and logistics directly into the agricultural value chain across East Africa.
