DAKAR, Senegal: In fields across West Africa, farmers are increasingly turning to TikTok and other social media platforms to market their crops, share advice, and reshape how agriculture is viewed in a region long marked by poverty and food insecurity.

Senegalese farmer Pape Fall downloaded TikTok to watch football clips and comedy videos. Over the past two years, he has used it to promote his harvest, and now sells most of his produce through the app.

One looping video on his profile shows a mound of cucumbers set to slow-paced Senegalese rap. The caption reads: "1.5 tonnes, available tomorrow, god willing," followed by his phone number.

Fall is among millions of West African farmers believed to use social media to conduct business and exchange knowledge, according to experts. They acknowledge that hunger and poverty remain widespread, worsened by cuts in foreign aid from the United States and other donors, but say improved access to information and markets is helping some farmers increase yields and income.

The average annual farm income in Senegal is about US$1,000, according to a 2017 study by the International Food Policy Research Institute. More successful farming entrepreneurs can earn between $3,000 and $4,500.

"Social media is democratizing access to information for farmers," said Abbie Phatty-Jobe, a digital agriculture specialist with Caribou, a U.K.-based research firm studying regional farmers' use of TikTok.

Caribou has supported a network of 24 agri-influencers across 11 African countries whose content reaches a combined audience of 5 million people. These influencers translate scientific research into practical advice for farmers.

Fall said he once saw a Moroccan farmer on TikTok explain a common mistake with cucumbers: cutting the lower stems. Leaving them intact can improve yields, the video said.

"I've followed that advice ever since. It works," Fall said. He now regularly watches farming videos from North Africa to Asia.

Changing Perceptions and Risks

Social media use varies by region, language, and business type. In West Africa, TikTok's video format and local-language content make it popular, Phatty-Jobe said. In East Africa, where literacy rates are higher, farmers tend to favor Facebook's written posts.

Nogaye Sene, 29, is among the region's agri-influencers. She manages farmland for clients with limited agricultural knowledge and for members of the Senegalese diaspora looking to invest at home.

"The success of my business is thanks to social media," said Sene, who employs 40 staff and says Instagram and TikTok generate 70 percent of her clients.

Her videos cover topics ranging from cultivating chili plants to operating tractors and adopting modern technology. Experts say low levels of mechanization are a major reason farm productivity remains weak in the region.

"We're not used to seeing this type of modern production in Senegal, but social media is helping to change the perspective of agriculture, that it's profitable," Sene said.

She helped organize a December training session for 50 women on farming and social media, hoping to encourage more young women into agriculture, where men still dominate.

But Sene warned that many of her clients report being scammed by individuals posing as farming consultants online.

Phatty-Jobe said partnerships with research institutions and government extension services could help reduce misinformation and fraud.

Digital Divide Persists

Despite the growing online presence, access remains uneven. Nicolas Paget, a digital agriculture researcher at the French institute CIRAD, estimates that about 80 percent of farmers he meets lack smartphones capable of running apps like TikTok and Instagram. Internet data is also more costly in West Africa than in Europe, he said.

"There is a very high risk of excluding farmers if governments and development agencies focus on this type of technology," Paget said.

In 2023, the World Bank invested $57.4 million in a digital agriculture platform in the Ivory Coast to expand market access and input purchases. But Paget said many farmers preferred to adapt existing apps rather than adopt specialized platforms.

"Most people didn't really care about specific or tailor-made platforms," he said. "Farmers are using (existing apps) in very creative ways and adapting them to their needs."

For some, like Fall, posting cucumbers on TikTok is more than marketing; it is a way to bypass intermediaries who traditionally control prices and limit profits.

And in a region where farming has long been associated with hardship, the steady stream of videos from the fields is gradually reshaping its image.