Developing country smallholder farms like those in Nigeria can achieve better productivity and sustainability through agricultural digital transformation via e-commerce solutions. Nigeria’s farming population includes about 80% smallholder farmers who struggle with market access limitations and supply chain inadequacies alongside insufficient knowledge of optimal farming methods. The numerous obstacles that smallholder farmers encounter obstruct their development and economic security. E-commerce platforms serve as a promising solution by providing farmers with direct market access while lowering transaction costs and delivering essential financial services. The research investigates how adopting e-commerce influences operational efficiency and market access while enhancing sustainability for Nigerian smallholder farms and adds to digital agriculture discussions. The study used quantitative research methods and distributed a structured questionnaire to collect data from 50 smallholder farmers spread throughout different regions of Nigeria. The research gathered data about farmer demographics as well as their engagement with e-commerce platforms and assessed how these factors influenced productivity levels market access and income generation. The research used statistical methods such as regression analysis and ANOVA along with Chi-Square tests to analyze data to quantify how e-commerce adoption affects its outcomes. The research followed positivist principles by focusing on objective measurements and empirical analysis to obtain credible results that can be replicated. The research demonstrates smallholder farmers gain both increased productivity and income through e-commerce adoption which results in productivity growth with a coefficient of 2.0018 and income expansion with the same coefficient at a significance level p-value <0.001. The results also indicate that demographic factors, such as age, gender, and education level, play a crucial role in influencing e-commerce adoption, with significant associations identified through Chi-Square tests (e.g., gender: Chi-Square value = 45.35, p-value <0.001). Internet connectivity issues (affecting 71.4% of respondents) and lack of digital literacy (reported by 42.9% of respondents) emerged as primary obstacles to broader e-commerce implementation. According to the study e-commerce benefits smallholder farmers significantly but targeted interventions must be implemented to overcome existing barriers and improve digital platforms’ impact on agricultural transformation. Insights that emerged from the study guide policymakers and agricultural stakeholders together with technology providers to develop digital innovation strategies which support smallholder farms’ sustainable growth.