Building the Agriinfluencer Network

Its members—whom Caribou and the network identify as “agriinfluencers” - are farmers, processors, traders, and advocates who combine hands-on agricultural experience with strong digital skills. Collectively, they reach over five million farmers across Africa, creating and sharing trusted, relevant, and actionable content that helps others adopt new practices, connect to markets, be part of a community, and see agriculture as a viable and rewarding career.

AiN members work collaboratively, exchanging ideas, creating joint content, and supporting each other’s growth. Together, they contribute to the practice of social agriculture, which Caribou defines as the use of mainstream social media platforms to share agricultural knowledge, access markets, and build communities.

The AiN grew out of Caribou’s earlier research on social agriculture, which revealed the untapped potential of young content creators to unlock economic opportunities in agriculture. Early research collaborators expressed a desire to connect with peers across the continent and understand the impact they have online. Through the Mastercard Foundation – Caribou Research Partnership, the AiN was established to strengthen this community of practice and generate evidence on its impact. The AiN’s learning agenda centered on three areas: how agriinfluencers create and share agricultural content, how they learn from one another through the network, and what early signals reveal about their visibility and engagement online.

The research was conducted using a participatory action research (PAR) approach, positioning AiN members as co-researchers who shaped the research questions, collected and analyzed data, and reflected on findings together. Peer-led interviews, collaborative workshops, and ongoing discussions, ensured that insights were grounded in the lived realities of youth shaping Africa’s food systems.

The AiN’s PAR process shows that agriinfluencers are emerging as critical connectors in Africa’s social agriculture ecosystem. They bridge formal research and innovation with grassroots realities—reshaping how knowledge, technology, and opportunities reach farmers. Their influence spans three interconnected pillars:

• Trusted information exchange: Translating complex agronomic concepts into practical tips, creating interactive spaces for dialogue, and making new tools and practices more accessible.
• Expanding market access: Showcasing real examples of marketing, branding, and customer engagement, and helping youth and women — who are often excluded from formal systems—access new digital marketplaces and opportunities.
• Strengthening networks and social capital: Building digital communities grounded in trust, shared values, and shared learning; reducing isolation and fostering belonging among youth in agriculture.

The AiN experience also revealed what it takes to sustain a youth-led network: peer learning that builds trust over time; engagement models that balance structure with flexibility; and in-person connection that anchors community bonds. These insights now guide the network’s future direction — from scaling peer mentorship and digital skills training to formalizing structures for long-term sustainability and credibility.

Core initiatives of the network include:

• The “Introduction to Social Agriculture” online course, now available in English and French and integrated into platforms like UNICEF’s youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA) digital learning platform.
• An eight-week mentorship program that links experienced agriinfluencers with farmers and other value chain actors to support them in building their digital presence.
• Regular, ongoing peer learning sessions, both virtual and in person, fostering cross-country collaboration and knowledge exchange.

As the AiN transitions from a successful pilot to a pan-African platform, sustaining and scaling its impact will require clear priorities, stronger structures, and deeper alignment with ecosystem actors. The next phase of growth centers on six priorities:

Measuring impact and credibility: undertake dedicated studies to understand how agriinfluencers shape access to information, income, productivity, and opportunity, and to assess the credibility and perceived trustworthiness of their agricultural content.

Building for sustainability: Establish the AiN as an independent entity with clear governance, operational structures, and financial systems, enabling access to both grant and commercial funding while preserving its youth-led ethos.

Fostering strategic partnerships for scale: Deepen collaboration with governments, development partners, research institutions, and private sector actors to align efforts on youth engagement, digital agriculture, and rural transformation.

Strengthening the digital agriculture ecosystem: Equip agriinfluencers as trusted guides who help farmers navigate digital tools and technologies, translating innovation into practical adoption through relatable, community-grounded content.

Making learning visible: Amplify member insights through coordinated storytelling, audiovisual features, live sessions, and thematic campaigns, ensuring learning is consistently surfaced and shared across the ecosystem.

Shaping policy from the ground up: Strengthen youth-led advocacy by creating structured pathways for engagement with ministries, regional bodies, and extension systems so that policy reflects real-world youth and farmer experiences.

Agriinfluencers already demonstrate the power of peer-led communication to spread knowledge, inspire innovation, and expand opportunity. To unlock their full potential, ecosystem actors must work intentionally to strengthen, connect, and invest in this emerging layer of the agricultural extension ecosystem.

• For development partners:
  Support social agriculture capacity-building by partnering with agriinfluencers on tailored digital-skills and outreach programs; create structured opportunities for collaboration with policymakers, researchers, and innovators; and strengthen learning systems that track behavior change and impact.
• For research institutions and think tanks:
  Translate agricultural research into accessible, social-media-friendly formats through collaboration with agriinfluencers; develop certification pathways grounded in validated research; and expand evidence on influence, adoption, gender inclusion, and content credibility.
• For governments and policymakers:
  Recognize agriinluencers and social media as part of the national extension ecosystem; build frameworks for their certification and integration into public advisory systems; expand equitable digital access through connectivity, affordability, and device-financing reforms; and institutionalize youth voice in policy processes.
• For commercial actors:
  Partner with agriinfluencers on marketing, product testing, demonstrations, testimonials, and community onboarding; ensure fair and professional compensation across all engagements; and champion diversity by working with influencers who reflect varied genders, languages, abilities, and regions.