Voice AI chatbot provides farming advice in Senegal

The agricultural sector in Senegal, the main source of food for many rural families and a cornerstone of the country’s food security, has been hit hard by the effects of climate change. Temperatures have risen by 1.5°C over the past 30 years, and climate models have predicted a 20% decrease in rainfall by 2070. These changes are exacerbating water stress and impacting farming yields, which could decrease by between 18% and 50% according to IPCC scenarios.

Often illiterate and marginalized, producers have limited access to reliable agrometeorological information that applies to their specific situation. Despite growing demand, Senegal employs just 500 public extension agents, i.e. one for every 15,000 farmers, with private organizations also struggling to make up this shortfall.

Niayes, the main market-gardening region, and Sine Saloum, an area with a long history of agricultural production, are particularly at risk. With increasing periods of drought, loss of biodiversity and a decline in soil fertility, these regions require practical solutions to help farming communities become more resilient against these mounting challenges.

This project aims to remove barriers to information for farmers in Senegal by integrating Artificial Intelligence into the NAFOORE platform. The objective is to communicate with farmers in their local language via a smart voice chatbot based on advanced language models. This innovative project is focused on several key areas:

• Personalized and context-specific farming advice: The voice chatbot provides recommendations tailored to the specific needs of farmers, based on microclimate data, soil types, crop varieties and agroecological practices. The advisory service is available in numerous local languages, and its responses are adapted to local weather conditions and sustainable farming practices.

• Leveraging of local data and expertise: The AI model will be trained using information from a variety of sources, including climate data from the Senegalese National Agency of Civil Aviation and Meteorology, the agroecological knowledge database of Access Agriculture and technical resources provided by the Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa program. Jokalante’s experts will supplement and check this information to ensure its reliability and relevance.

• Support for agroecology and climate change adaptation: By promoting sustainable agricultural practices, the project is helping farmers build their resilience against the growing effects of climate change.

• Use of a well-established communication channel: WhatsApp - With 3 to 5 million users in Senegal, WhatsApp is an accessible, well-known platform that lends itself to providing personalized agricultural advice.

With funding from FID, this project aims to transform the way farmers access information and promote best practices, while leveraging cutting-edge technology combined with local expertise.

Jokalante plans to use its smart voice chatbot to transform farming practices by promoting agroecology and the use of meteorological data. This will help farmers to reduce their use of chemical pesticides, increase their yields and build resilience, leading to higher incomes and improved living conditions.

The project's targeted aims are aligned with several sustainable development goals, such as poverty reduction, food security, economic sustainability, climate action and biodiversity protection.