Smallholding farms spread throughout the world, and they consider the cornerstone of agriculture production in Africa and Asia. Smallholder farms produce over 80 % of the food used in most of the developing countries. However, smallholder farmers face many problems, including the lack of appropriate mechanization (AM), labor shortage, increase wages, climate change, and poor access to modern inputs, credit, and markets. The paper focuses on analyzing and proposing the criteria to select and design AM for smallholder farmers through the linkage between farm size, machine scale, and productivity. The machine designers and manufacturers should take some environmental and social implications and machinery support services into consideration to deliver AM to smallholder. The adoption of AM with appropriate planting systems such as CA will ensure sustainability in the production of smallholder farmers. The adherence to these standards with overcoming smallholding challenges will lead to growth and sustainability for smallholder farmers.