AI-powered advice in local languages helps smallholder farmers choose seeds, manage crops, and respond to weather and disease risk.
For smallholder farmers, a few decisions each season can decide a year’s income: what to plant, when to plant, and how to treat a sick crop. Virtual Agronomist-style tools put timely, local guidance on a phone — including photos of diseased leaves and recommendations farmers can act on.
Advice that fits the farm
The most useful tools speak the farmer’s language, work with patchy connectivity, and reflect local soils, seeds, and markets. Early programs in Africa show strong uptake when recommendations are practical and trusted.
From advice to income
When farmers can reduce guesswork, yields and incomes often follow. The foundation supports partners who test these services with public programs so more smallholders can use them — not just those already online.
Related reading: How Indian farmers are improving yields with a free farming hotline.