African Farmers are Switching to Stablecoins: Henry Duckworth

In a bid to connect to the global market, scale past the repulsive transaction fees, and facilitate hassle-free cross-border payments, African farmers are joining their other continents counterparts to adopt stablecoins.

According to Henry Duckworth, founder and CEO of AgriDex, the African agricultural sector is facing a lot of challenges ranging from unfriendly traditional banks’ transaction fees to slow and inefficient cross-border payments, and more.

The underdeveloped African financial system undermines the growth of Africa’s food and agriculture market, which is predicted to be valued at $1 trillion by 2030.

Duckworth stated that there’s a need to end the inefficiencies in African trade, which bring about high transaction costs, delay cross-border payments, and attract high interest rates for loans.

Although the giant companies could defeat the financial hurdles, the small ones could be on the receiving end of the growth obstacles.

However, blockchain through stablecoins and other cryptocurrencies is providing a way out of the farmers’ nightmares.

African Farmers Pay 3% – 6% Transaction Fees

Furthermore, international transactions play a key part in the African agricultural industry as it is the means to procure equipment, seeds, and other vital agricultural resources.

In fact, export of African agricultural produce to other continents exceeds exports among African countries, as exports within Africa represent only 17% of total African exports.

Unfortunately, traditional banking systems provide expensive transactions; they charge farmers between 3% and 6% in fees. In fact, transactions that demand an intermediary currency, mostly the US dollar, lead to more exchange rate losses and usually fall within the 3%-10% range.

AgriDex was built to cut costs where it matters most.

In South Africa, where many earn $500–$1,000/month, paying $10–$20 in fees is a real burden. Legacy systems make payments expensive.

AgriDex makes them cheaper and accessible for all. pic.twitter.com/xl8Ag6g5I9

— AgriDex (@AgriDexPlatform) March 20, 2025

In addition to the high fees, the farmers may also need to wait for up to 120 days for the arrival payment settlement.

Fortunately, with stablecoins and other top cryptocurrencies, all the challenges are eliminated, and the farmers Increase their gains by operating efficiently.

Additionally, the CEO mentioned that:

“The agricultural trade is crippled by immense, systemic fraud and supply chain inefficiencies, with global food fraud costing $40 billion annually and global trade in fake goods another staggering $500 billion.”

However, blockchain through stablecoins can promote efficiency in the industry by curbing the movement of counterfeit goods across supply chains.

More African Agribusinesses are Commiting to Blockchain

In March 2025, AgriDex, a real-world assets marketplace on Solana, executed the first-ever farmland trade valued at $165,000 on the Solana blockchain.

The transaction happened instantly and at no cost. It involved the sale of farmland located in Zambia, and the proceeds from the sale were transferred immediately from the seller to Sustainable Agricultural Development in Mauritius via AgriDex’s digital settlement infrastructure.

In contrast, the transaction might take days and attract a high transaction fee if it involves a traditional bank.

Similarly, Zimbabwe-based conglomerate Parrogate has also committed to blockchain payments to improve cross-border trade efficiency.

There are numerous African businesses deploying stablecoins and other digital assets for borderless payments.