Malawi: farmers turn to AI to boost their yields

In rural Malawi, farmers are have been embracing new technology to help them boost their yields and adapt to climate change. It’s an AI chat bot, which has been designed by the NGO Opportunity International. Some 180,000 rural households are using the chat bot. Among them is Alex Maere.

“When we joined the AI group, we rented farming fields and cultivated various crops, including maize. We have been harvesting enough. Even though there have been challenges, we have registered success because we have been selling the maize. I also got some money and invested in the production of tomatoes, which gives me hope for success. We are thankful to AI for their reliable counsel because we have benefited. We have also gained a lot,” he says.

The creators of the chat bot say it was designed for use by anyone, regardless of whether they’re able to read or write. Richard Chongo, Country Director for Opportunity International Malawi, says, "the good thing with this chatbot, it provides response when you ask it by text. You can also ask it using voice, so it will retain a response using voice note. So this helps for people that are not able to read and write but it is able to receive a question through pictures."

Residents are still grappling with the aftermath of cyclone Freddy in 2023. Filesi Topola, a small hold farmer, says, “cyclone Freddy left us literally without food. We did not harvest anything because all our fields were washed away. We don’t have anything to hold on to.”

With farmers struggling with the impact of the cyclone as well as drought, the government has agreed to back the AI chat bot.