Vol. 9, Issue 7, Part B (2025)

Digital technologies offer significant potential to enhance agricultural productivity, profitability, and resilience by providing farmers with timely information and decision-support tools. However, adoption among smallholder farmers remains constrained by multiple socio-economic and infrastructural barriers. This study examined the constraints affecting the use of digital tools among groundnut farmers in Banaskantha district, Gujarat. Using an ex-post facto research design, structured interviews were conducted with 150 randomly selected farmers across 15 purposively selected villages in three key talukas. Constraints were ranked using Garrett’s Ranking Technique. Limited access to reliable internet connectivity emerged as the most critical constraint (Garrett Mean Score: 59.94), followed by lack of digital literacy (49.14) and high costs of digital tools (42.00). Additional barriers included power supply instability, inadequate training opportunities, absence of localized content, language barriers, low trust in digital platforms, insufficient infrastructure, and limited awareness of digital benefits. Addressing these constraints through investments in rural digital infrastructure, targeted capacity-building programs, affordable technologies, and context-specific digital solutions is essential for bridging the digital divide. Strategic and collaborative interventions can enable effective adoption of digital tools, thereby enhancing productivity, market access, and livelihoods among groundnut farmers.