We are thrilled to share that iSDA’s Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service has helped African farmers on over 100,000 plots - a fantastic milestone achieved in just one year since the launch of the AI expert advisory in February 2024! This achievement is more than a number - it is real impact. Thousands of farmers are now equipped with AI-powered, data-driven insights which helps them to instantaneously know their soil status (NPK values) and get a nutrient plan to adopt sustainable farming practices, improve their yields and increase their income.
This journey has been fuelled by innovation, collaboration, and a shared vision for the future of farming. In this article, we will explore Virtual Agronomist’s cutting-edge features, share inspiring farmer stories, and reveal what’s next for 2025.
Inside Virtual Agronomist
A successful harvest depends on timely, accurate, and actionable insights, and that is exactly what our Virtual Agronomist service provides. Using our extensive knowledge base, iSDAsoil soil analysis, and advisory engine, Virtual Agronomist communicates directly with farmers via WhatsApp, delivering customised nutrient plans and agronomic advice for their fields. In February 2024, we launched our AI advisory service in Kenya and Uganda, focusing on rice and maize. Our goal was to provide farmers with easy access to essential agronomic information, helping them to overcome challenges and achieve higher yields and profits.
Since our launch in February 2024, our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service expanded to help farmers on over 100,000 plots across seven African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ghana and Rwanda. Throughout the year we have refined Virtual Agronomist to meet the specific needs and growing conditions of each region, enabling us to tackle local challenges effectively and provide farmers with knowledge customised to their unique circumstances.
A year ago, Virtual Agronomist provided advisory services for just maize and rice. Today, it has significantly expanded its crop coverage, now supporting an impressive range of seventeen crops, which include barley, cassava, coffee (Arabica and Robusta), common bean, cotton, cowpea, green gram, groundnut, maize, millet, Irish potato, rice (upland, lowland, ratoon), sesame, sorghum, soybean, sugarcane, and sunflower.
Paul Chunga, iSDA field agronomist demonstrating the difference in growth between two plots: one where Virtual Agronomist was implemented and the other where a farmer used his own practice
Virtual Agronomist supports farmers throughout the farming season, providing vital reminders for key agronomic tasks, such as creating tailored nutrient plans, checking crop emergence, scouting for pests, diseases and weeds, and guiding them through harvesting. Farmers can also use our AI advisory service to assist fellow farmers in their area by registering their plots with the service. These lead farmers play a crucial role in extending our reach, helping to extend key agronomic knowledge to those who need it most.
In the past year, we have introduced a range of innovative agronomic features to better support farmers throughout the growing season, including:
- Revised Nutrient Management Planning: Customised advice for optimal soil fertility and crop nutrition.
- Emergence Checks: Helping farmers assess seed germination.
- Thinning, Weeding, and Topdressing Reminders: Timely alerts for key field management tasks.
- Plant Health Scouts: Identifying potential threats to crop health.
- Image-Based Pest & Disease Diagnostics: Identifying crop pests and diseases instantly from photos.
- Harvest Monitoring: Providing insights to optimise yield outcomes.
- Alerts System: Proactive notifications to remind farmers to take action at critical points in the season.
- Variety Selection Tool: Helping farmers to select the best seed varieties for their soil and conditions.
These advancements in our Virtual Agronomist service over the past year have led to impressive results for smallholder farmers across Africa, with data highlighting significant yield increases and greater farm profitability. Average yield increases relative to farmers practice in randomised control trials are: 1.7-fold for maize in Uganda, 1.9-fold for sorghum in Uganda, 1.7-fold for sunflower in Tanzania and 1.5-fold for lowland rice in Tanzania.
Stories From Our Farmers
The success of our Virtual Agronomist service goes beyond numbers, it is about the farmers whose lives have been transformed. Across Africa, smallholder farmers are leveraging our AI-powered agronomic advice to boost yields, increase profits, adopt more sustainable practices, and create better futures for themselves and their families.
From those who have seen their yields rise and profits increase, to others who have improved soil health and optimised crop quality, these stories highlight the real-world impact of digital agronomy. Through their experiences, we see how data-driven decision-making is shaping the future of agriculture. Look at our articles below to meet some of our farmers, explore their journeys, and witness the power of technology in action!
- Stories from the Field: A Female Focus
- Promising Future Yield Responses with Virtual Agronomist in Zambia
- Three Times more Yield for Tanzanian Farmers with Virtual Agronomist
2025 and Beyond
As we move further into 2025 and beyond, our team at iSDA remain committed to further expand the impact of Virtual Agronomist, reaching even more communities across new regions. By making Virtual Agronomist available to more farmers in underserved areas, we aim to unlock greater agricultural potential and provide important agronomic knowledge to those who need it most. We plan to enhance our services by extending the image-based pest and disease diagnosis feature to cover all crops and expanding our crop portfolio based on farmer demand. Additionally, we aim to introduce weather-dependent planting and top-dressing advisories, helping farmers make even more precise, climate-informed decisions.
As the world faces growing climate challenges, we are focused on aligning Virtual Agronomist’s upcoming features with global food security and climate resilience goals. Our technology will continue to support sustainable farming practices that not only improve yields and profitability for farmers but also protect Africa’s natural resources and enhance environmental resilience for future generations.
To amplify our impact, we are committed to strengthening partnerships with governments, NGOs, and agribusinesses. By working together with key stakeholders, we aim to create a unified approach to tackling food security and sustainability challenge, ensuring that our services have the broadest reach and deepest impact.
At iSDA, are so grateful and proud of how far we have come in only one year. We are excited and hopeful for the future, and we remain focused on providing farmers with the tools, knowledge, and support they need to build resilient, profitable, and sustainable farms for years to come.
