Trecco, a leading agricultural technology company, has launched the One Farmer One Phone initiative aimed at empowering farmers across Africa with mobile technology. This innovative program seeks to provide farmers with access to smartphones, enabling them to leverage digital tools and resources for improved agricultural practices.
Empowering the Backbone of Agriculture
Trecco's commitment to advancing financial and technological inclusion is driven by action rather than rhetoric, as evidenced by the strategic rollout of its flagship One Farmer, One Phone (OFOP) initiative. This program is designed to transform smallholder farmers into digitally connected and economically bankable business owners, directly addressing food security challenges by empowering the demographic responsible for over 60% of food production. In many regions, over 70% of these farmers are women who have historically faced financial and technological exclusion, a gap that Trecco is now closing through a scalable ecosystem of digital tools and data-driven agricultural solutions.
The Trecco Cooperative Management System
At the core of this mission is the Trecco Cooperative Management System, which serves as an integrated digital ecosystem designed to turn subsistence farming into a professional, transparent enterprise. By digitizing every bag of fertilizer and every kilogram of harvest, the system creates the transparency necessary for seamless market access while transforming consistent bookkeeping and inventory records into verified credit ratings. This allows farmers to build a financial identity based on actual performance, enabling them to manage savings and unlock access to funding like soft loans and peer-to-peer lending through an integrated banking wallet. Furthermore, the initiative utilizes AI-powered agricultural chat tools to bridge the divide between farmers and extension workers, providing the timely and localized support needed to enhance productivity and profitability.
Pilot Phase Success
The viability of this model was demonstrated during a pilot phase completed in December 2025, which utilized a Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) mobile distribution scheme to onboard participants. The results reflect a profound commitment to gender equity and agricultural diversity, as 70% of the initial beneficiaries were women, directly addressing long-standing inclusion gaps.
Pilot Phase Highlights
- Gender representation: 70% of the initiative's beneficiaries are women, directly addressing the gap in financial inclusion for female farmers.
- Crop diversification: 50% of participants are engaged in rice production and local processing.
- 30% are involved in the production of staple grains like millet and guinea corn.
- 20% focus on hibiscus flower and vegetable production.
The Road Ahead: Scaling for Global Impact
Our approach positions agriculture as a viable, modern, and profitable sector, particularly for youth, while delivering measurable social impact and sustainable returns for partners and investors.
Looking toward the first quarter of 2026, Trecco is preparing for a significant scale-up. We have identified a broad farmer population for the next phase and aim to reach 85% of those identified individuals with mobile devices and digital tools. With these tools in hand, we project a 28% increase in productivity during the upcoming wet farming season, driven by improved access to real-time extension services and formal financial systems.
