Agriculture
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I'm Planty, your fun and friendly plant care assistant! Ask me how to best take care of your plants.
Virtual Agronomist is an innovative artificial intelligence (AI) tool that has been launched in Kenya to help farmers improve their crop yields and profits through better agronomic management. Here are some key features and benefits of this AI-powered agricultural assistant:
Virtual Agronomist uses AI to communicate directly with farmers through WhatsApp, one of the most popular messaging apps in Africa. Farmers can simply message a phone number on WhatsApp to interact with the AI chatbot, asking questions and receiving tailored advice as if they were talking to a human agronomist.
The AI tool offers several important features to support farmers:
Field mapping and sizing
Soil property analysis using iSDAsoil data
Tailored nutrient plans for specific plots
Seasonal prompts and reminders for critical agronomic stages
Pest and disease diagnosis
Harvest monitoring
The service has seen impressive uptake since its launch. In February 2024, Virtual Agronomist was introduced in Kenya and Uganda for rice and maize crops. Within just four weeks, it had amassed 10,000 users across both countries