Greater yields and better profits
Hundreds of Farmer Support Agents (FSAs) have been trained as intermediaries between the tech and the 100,000 households they support. This ensures that farmers without mobile phones will be able to access valuable information. Due to how knowledgeable FSAs are, they’re able to respond with insightful answers that help farmers apply Ulangizi recommendations to any questions they have.
Most smallholder farmers produce a fraction of their potential yields and this limits their financial mobility, but when they approach farming like a business, their lives often transform for the better. Ulangizi AI is helping them plant more, increase their herds, hire laborers, and improve the economy for their communities. With the chatbot, farmers are learning better ways to care for the right crops and produce more bountiful harvests. “Being able to save their livelihood is dependent on how quickly farmers know the challenges and how to solve them,” says Ama Akuamoah, Director of Market Engagement, Opportunity International.
The chatbot provides farmers with details about how much seed they need per acre along with forecasts, giving them an advantage over severe and unpredictable weather patterns. And when their crops are thriving, market data helps them know when to harvest and sell for the greatest profit. Opportunity’s FSAs are also teaching farmers how to steward the land in more sustainable and regenerative ways. With this knowledge, farmers will have more free time to learn new skills or start another business, and they can use the extra money to take care of their families and their homes.
Opportunity International anticipates that investments in AI will cut the cost of training new FSAs by more than two-thirds, making it possible to grow its FSA program even more. Ulangizi AI will help educate new FSAs much faster and empower them with information that helps millions of smallholder farmers. Ulangizi AI is just the beginning of how Opportunity is leveraging technology. They’re dedicated to developing a suite of AI-powered solutions that support agriculture, education, and upward mobility in Malawi, Kenya, Ghana, and beyond.
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