Climate-smart solutions for African farmers using AI
A new app developed under the EU-funded SAFE4ALL(opens in new window) project aims to help empower and build a sustainable future for rural farming communities in Africa. Called Uliza-WI, the app has been designed to predict long-term weather patterns, provide climate-smart farming advice and develop solutions tailored to farmers’ locations. In a news item(opens in new window) posted on the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation website, hydroclimatologist Spyros Paparrizos, an assistant professor at SAFE4ALL project coordinator Wageningen University, the Netherlands, states that “agriculture sustains the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people worldwide, yet rural farming communities, particularly in Africa, face increasing challenges due to climate change, extreme weather, and evolving market demands. Safe4All … strives to empower local communities and build a sustainable future while addressing challenges of migration from secondary cities to major urban centers in Africa and beyond.” Despite the increasingly greater challenges experienced by Africa’s farming communities, current support mechanisms often operate in isolation and mainly target large enterprises. Developed by Dutch project partner Weather Impact, the Uliza-WI app is one of the tools employed by SAFE4ALL to offer rural communities in Ghana, Kenya and Zimbabwe localised and scalable solutions that address climate risks, food security and migration pressures.
Just ask Uliza-WI
Through the Uliza-WI app, which is available in multiple African languages, farmers can request weather information and farming advice at any time. As reported in another news item(opens in new window) posted on the SAFE4ALL website, agricultural solutions are based on a comprehensive range of forecasts, from medium-range weather forecasts to seasonal forecasts. Early warnings are given for extreme rainfall, in addition to updates on the onset of the rainy season. This provides farmers with an accurate picture of what to expect in the coming days, weeks and months, helping them to make decisions that reduce crop losses. The app’s services are both crop-specific and location-specific, making them accessible to diverse farming communities. Advice provided, such as when to plant, weed or fertilise, is dependent on weather and tailored to the farm’s location. Also, the chatbot allows for two-way communication, enabling farmers to send field information directly to Weather Impact(opens in new window), a Dutch company that provides user-friendly services to the agricultural and business sectors. This makes it possible to continuously improve services provided by Uliza-WI. The chatbot runs on the widely used Telegram messaging platform. It supports photos, videos and voice messages, and enables push notifications for critical updates. It is also accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is more cost-effective than SMS-based services.
Local input
In order for the services offered to be practical and user friendly, the SAFE4ALL (Safeguarding African Foodsheds and Ecosystems for all Actors across Local, regional and international Levels to manage migration) team has involved local users in the app’s design from the start. According to the SAFE4ALL news item, feedback received from farmer test groups in Ghana and Zimbabwe has already helped refine the chatbot to meet their needs. For more information, please see: SAFE4ALL project website(opens in new window)
