FRESNO, Calif. — Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) released a new needs assessment detailing the technology challenges and opportunities facing small farms across California’s San Joaquin Valley. The report highlights how technology—both digital tools and right-sized equipment—can strengthen small farm resilience, but only when paired with the training, financing, and infrastructure needed for successful adoption.
Small farms remain a cornerstone of the Valley’s agricultural economy, shaping local food security, regional culture, and California’s broader agricultural innovation. As these farms navigate mounting climate, market, and policy pressures, many are exploring tools that improve efficiency, reduce costs, conserve water, and support long-term viability.
“Technology alone isn’t the solution,” says Rebekka Siemens, lead author and small grain farmer out of Wasco, CA. “The surrounding ecosystem—training, financing, infrastructure, supply chains, research support, and trust—is just as important as the tools themselves.” Without these supports, even promising innovations often go unused or abandoned.
About the Assessment
Drawing on farmer surveys, interviews, focus groups, and consultations with technical assistance providers and experts, the report examines:
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The specific technology needs of small-scale farmers in the San Joaquin Valley
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Barriers that slow technology adoption, including high costs, limited training, language and cultural gaps, and inadequate digital or physical infrastructure
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Gaps in the development of tools suited to the scale and diversity of small farms
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Opportunities to strengthen support systems and ensure equitable access to innovation
Key Findings
The assessment identifies several urgent needs and opportunities, including:
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High demand for affordable, locally adapted technologies that match the realities of small farms.
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Major barriers such as training gaps, limited technical assistance, language barriers, and high upfront equipment costs.
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Promising pilot programs that remain under-scaled and require coordination, long-term investment, and farmer-led design and testing.
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Resilience shaped by ecosystems, not just tools—knowledge, infrastructure, financing, and trust determine whether technologies succeed.
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High-impact tools, such as low-cost smart irrigation systems and solar-powered cold storage, which reduce costs, improve efficiency, and expand market opportunities.
Priority Solutions
To close the technology gap and support small farm viability, the report recommends:
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Expanding equipment-sharing and mobile technology hubs to reduce costs and increase equitable access.
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Investing in bilingual, hands-on training and farmer-to-farmer learning to build confidence and capacity with new tools.
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Establishing a farmer-led innovation consortium to guide the development, testing, and scaling of appropriate technologies.
By centering farmer-identified needs and leveraging their proven ingenuity, the report emphasizes that small farms are not simply recipients of new technology—they are co-creators of California’s agricultural future.
Download the full report: www.caff.org/tech-assessment
About CAFF
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) works to build sustainable food and farming systems rooted in justice, resilience, and community. For over 47 years, CAFF has supported family farmers through policy advocacy, on-the-ground technical assistance, and innovative programs that strengthen local food systems.
— Community Alliance with Family Farmers