Malawi University of Science and Technology (Must) has partnered Farmers Union of Malawi (FUM) in a project that targets digitalisation in food security.
The initiative, dubbed Digitally Enabled Resilience and Nutrition Policy Innovations (DerpIn) project, aims to provide digital tools to decision-makers that would determine crucial issues such as crop estimates and nutrition status using artificial intelligence (AI).
government’s agenda. | George Lumwira
Speaking at a learning event that two institutions held on Wednesday in Lilongwe, Must associate professor of computer science Bennett Kankuzi said the project will transform Malawi’s agriculture sector.
He said: “This project wants to bring digital tools to decision-makers in agriculture for effective policy decisions that arrive from the use of efficient digital tools when forecasting crop estimates assessment and nutrition status
“With digital tools, decision makers can use AI intervention to determine crop production estimates without physically going into the fields making annual assessments.”
Kankuzi stressed that with the digital revolution associated with the modern world, it is critical for planners in the Ministry of Agriculture to embrace technology and use of AI which could significantly improve agricultural production.
In his remarks, FUM head of agribusiness Derrick Kapolo hailed Must for involving the farmers at the initial stages of the project, stressing that most interventions in agriculture sector fail because farmers are sidelined during their inception stages.
On his part, Ministry of Agriculture director of agriculture extension services Pearson Soko said farmers are facing various challenges, including unpredictable weather which the project is also tuckling.
He said the initiative is in line with government’s agenda to embrace the use of technology in agriculture to increase productivity.
The DerpIn project is being implemented in five African countries of Benin, Ghana, Malawi, Uganda and Senegal, aiming at transforming the agriculture sector by improving food security, enhancing resilience to climate change, and promoting sustainable agricultural development.
