Henry Gichobi, a rice farmer in central Kenya, doesn’t rely on guesswork to grow his crops anymore. Instead, he consults a WhatsApp chatbot.
The chatbot – powered by Virtual Agronomist, an artificial intelligence tool developed by the global nonprofit Innovative Solutions for Decision Agriculture – uses satellite data to assess soil fertility and recommend the optimal type and amount of fertilizer for each farmer’s land.
“Using satellite information, the app analyzes data to help farmers decide the right type and amount of fertilizer needed to maximize crop yields,” said Patrick Wanyaka, a field technician with the organization.
The results? Since adopting the AI tool three years ago, Gichobi’s rice yield has nearly doubled, jumping from 63 to 113 bags per hectare.
How It Works
The process is simple but powerful: farmers upload photos and coordinates of their farms through the app, and in return, they receive satellite images and tailored advice on how to get the most from their soil.
More than 30,000 farmers across Africa are now using Virtual Agronomist to grow everything from maize and tea to coffee and rice. The app’s AI doesn’t just suggest fertilizer – it analyzes satellite data to match crops to local growing conditions for the best possible outcomes.
“At first, it was difficult to convince farmers that more fertilizer doesn’t mean higher yields,” Wanyaka said. “But once they saw their neighbors getting better results, they quickly got on board.”
AI’s Growing Role in African Agriculture
Experts believe stories like Gichobi’s signal a much larger trend. With AI-driven tools becoming more accessible, African agriculture could be on the brink of transformation.
“Africa may be behind in AI development and adoption, but local innovations like Virtual Agronomist show how machine learning, deep learning, and IoT can empower farmers,” said Lawrence Nderu, chair of the computing department at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.
According to Nderu, the potential goes far beyond increasing yields. AI could boost food security, improve access to markets, and help governments pinpoint high-impact areas for agricultural investment.
Challenges and Opportunities
That future, however, hinges on some key factors: investment in AI training, improved infrastructure, and better data integration across systems.
“Researchers and institutions are leading the way in creating solutions across the agricultural supply chain,” Nderu said. “What we need now is government support to scale these innovations.”
One such solution is the university’s Smart Mushroom Farming Project, launched through its innovation hub, J-Hub. By placing smart sensors in mushroom farms, the project allows real-time monitoring of humidity and other key conditions. Farmers can receive alerts on their phones, enabling them to act before small problems become big ones.
Leapfrogging Into the AI Age
Nderu believes Africa doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel. Instead, it can leapfrog AI development by adapting existing technologies and tweaking algorithms for local needs.
He pointed to China’s DeepSeek model, which proved that powerful AI tools don’t always need expensive, high-end computing resources. “DeepSeek’s efficiency showed it’s possible to build AI models without a sky-high budget,” he said.
For farmers like Gichobi, the benefits are already tangible. And as more African innovators tap into the power of AI, the continent may soon find itself not just feeding its people – but feeding the future.
