How space technology could reshape Tanzania’s agriculture

Finland is using satellite imagery, artificial intelligence and mobile technology to monitor farmers’ fields, verify crops and agricultural activities and process subsidy payments, a model Tanzanian policymakers and innovators are studying as the country expands its own use of space technology to modernise agriculture. The Finnish system allows authorities to monitor millions of agricultural parcels remotely, identify discrepancies between farmers’ declarations and what is growing in the fields, and ask farmers to provide geotagged photographs before payments are approved. For Tanzania, where agriculture remains the backbone of the economy and supports millions of livelihoods, the technology offers a potential way to improve crop monitoring, weather and climate information, agricultural planning and the delivery of services to farmers. The lessons are being gathered by a Tanzanian delegation visiting Finland under the European Union-funded Digital4Tanzania (D4T) Twinning project, which is exposing policymakers and other stakeholders to digital systems that could inform Tanzania’s own digital transformation agenda. Tanzania is investing in satellite technology while seeking to modernise its agriculture and the Finnish experience offers lessons on how space technology can move beyond connectivity and weather information to become a practical tool for farmers, policymakers and innovators. The Finnish expert who presented the satellite-based agricultural monitoring system to the Tanzanian delegation, Mr Ake Moller, explained that Finland combines Sentinel satellite imagery, radar data, weather information, land-parcel records and artificial intelligence to monitor agricultural activity. The system can identify crops and farming activities and compare them with what farmers have declared. “We use the Sentinel satellites. We use the S2 satellites, that's the optical one with 10-metre resolution, and then we also use the radar data,” Mr Muller said. Finland’s AI system analyses the data continuously. It can identify whether a parcel contains the crop declared by a farmer, detect mowing and tillage and assess vegetation cover. Where the information confirms the farmer’s declaration, the application receives a green light and can proceed towards payment. “Where there is uncertainty, the farmer receives an electronic request for clarification and can respond using a mobile application with a geotagged photograph,” he said. The system has already processed hundreds of thousands of images, reducing the need for officials to manually inspect every submission. In 2025, Tanzania’s Agriculture grew by 4 percent and contributed 24.6 percent of GDP, according to Agriculture Minister Daniel Chongolo’s 2026/27 budget speech. Food-crop production reached 23.78 million tonnes in the 2024/25 season, while food self-sufficiency reached 130 percent. The sector also accounted for 64.6 percent of Tanzania’s employment in 2025, according to World Bank data. Yet its scale makes timely and accurate information difficult to collect through conventional methods. The expert noted that satellite information can support crop mapping, early warning, yield estimation, drought and flood monitoring, insurance, agricultural credit, extension services and national food-security planning. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says geospatial technologies can make agricultural monitoring more cost-effective while supporting crop mapping, yield estimation and forecasting. Tanzania is already moving in this direction. In May 2025, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and China launched the $2.268 million SAT-CARE project to use satellite-based digital solutions for climate-resilient agriculture. The project is expected to directly benefit 5,000 smallholder farmers and indirectly reach up to one million farmers. It will support the Ministry of Agriculture in developing a satellite-based agricultural information system, including a digital agriculture platform and mobile advisory services. The country's National Food Security Bulletin is already using satellite-derived vegetation data. In March 2025, for example, satellite-based NDVI measurements showed significant differences in vegetation conditions between Tanzania’s agro-ecological zones, providing information for food-security assessment. Tanzania is also strengthening the regulatory foundation for satellite technology. TCRA issued guidelines for satellite filings in 2024 and satellite landing rights in 2025, while the government has been developing a national space programme and working towards its own satellite capability. The challenge now is to connect these investments to practical services. Resident Twinning Adviser for the EU-funded Digital4Tanzania programme, Mr Jani Ruuskanen, said the purpose of exposing Tanzanian officials and stakeholders to Finnish systems is not simply to copy Finland, “but to understand how technology, institutions and innovation can work together.” In a recent description of D4T activities in Tanzania, Ruuskanen stressed that the goal was “not to transfer a Finnish model wholesale, but to build practical capacity that fits the Tanzanian context”. That principle is particularly relevant to agriculture. The EU's Digital4Tanzania e-Governance Support Programme, running from 2022 to 2026 with a €35 million budget, is designed to strengthen digital government services, connectivity and Tanzania's innovation ecosystem.