Digital Exclusion and ICT4Ag Adoption Among Smallholder Farmers in Puntland, Somalia: Structural Gatekeepers, Awareness–Usage Disparities, and Institutional Pathways for Inclusive Digital Agriculture

<ns5:p> Background Digital agriculture can boost Sub-Saharan African smallholder farmers’ production, market integration, and climate resilience. In unstable and conflict-affected situations, structural inequities, weak institutional capability, and low digital literacy make technology adoption uneven. In Puntland, Somalia, little is known about the factors that affect ICT4Ag adoption. This study examined the multiple barriers to digital agriculture adoption by smallholder farmers in Bosaso, Garowe, and Carmo districts. Methods Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional study was undertaken on 110 Somali smallholder farmers from three Puntland State districts. Primary data were acquired using KoboToolbox structured digital questionnaires. Demographics, education, device ownership, internet connection, ICT4Ag awareness and use, and perceived adoption barriers were measured. WE used STATA 17, R 4.3.2, and Python 3.11 for descriptive statistics, Pearson’s Chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression. Digital inequality was examined using Somalia National Bureau of Statistics secondary contextual indicators. Results Puntland’s digital agriculture ecosystem has a large awareness-usage imbalance. Mobile money awareness reached 82.7%, but ICT4Ag application use was only 5.1%. Smartphones were found to significantly impact educational success (χ <ns5:sup>2</ns5:sup> = 31.84, p < 0.001), demonstrating a hardware-education gatekeeper effect. Those with diploma-level or higher education were more likely to employ specialized ICT4Ag tools (AOR = 5.42, 95% CI: 2.14–11.25, p < 0.001). Smartphone affordability (mean = 4.62), internet and mobile data costs (mean = 4.21), technical skills (mean = 3.94), and few Somali-language digital interfaces limited adoption. In addition, 57.0% of respondents believed agricultural extension systems failed to facilitate digital transition. Conclusions Puntland’s smallholder farmers’ digital exclusion is driven by socioeconomic, educational, infrastructural, and institutional barriers, not connectivity alone. The research proposes a Three-Pillar Framework for equitable ICT4Ag adoption that prioritizes affordable digital access, localized Somali-language digital literacy, and extension service institutional integration. These findings support evidence-based policymaking and digital agricultural transformation in fragile rural areas. </ns5:p>