As 2024 comes to an end, our team at iSDA are proud to look back on a year marked by progress, innovation, and meaningful impact. This year has been a significant step forward in our mission to transform smallholder farming across Africa through our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service, empowering farmers with tailored, data-driven solutions.
From expanding our reach to enhancing the accuracy of our AI-driven advice, we have seen firsthand how Virtual Agronomist can support sustainable farming practices, improve yields, and unlock potential for communities that rely on agriculture.
Join us as we reflect on the achievements, milestones, and impactful moments of 2024, a year that brought us closer to creating a brighter, more sustainable future for African agriculture.
A Year of Growth and Innovation: iSDA’s Virtual Agronomist
In just 10 months, since February 2024, our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service expanded to serve over 30,000 farmers in 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. This adaptation has enabled us to tackle local challenges effectively and provide farmers with knowledge customised to their unique circumstances.
As of December 2024, Virtual Agronomist provides advisory services for an impressive range of fifteen crops which include maize, sunflower, rice, Irish potato, coffee, sorghum, millet, barley, wheat, soybean, common bean, cowpea, cotton, groundnut, and green gram. This broad coverage ensures that farmers cultivating diverse crops receive actionable, crop-specific insights for improved productivity and sustainability.
This year, we also unveiled an array of innovative agronomic features designed to support farmers throughout their growing seasons. These include:
- Revised Nutrient Management Planning: Customised guidance for soil fertility and optimal crop nutrition
- Emergence Checks: Helping farmers assess seed germination
- Thinning, Weeding, and Topdressing Reminders: Timely alerts for crucial field management activities
- Plant Health Scouts: Identify 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 messages sent to farmers at critical points in the growing season, prompting them to take timely actions
- Variety Selection Tool: Helping farmers choose the most suitable seed varieties for their specific soils and conditions
Thanks to these exciting advancements in our Virtual Agronomist service, smallholder farmers across Africa have reported outstanding results, with data showing notable yield increases and enhanced farm profitability.
- Sunflower in Tanzania: Farmers experienced an impressive 3.6-fold increase in yields by following Virtual Agronomist recommendations.
- Rice in Tanzania: Yield improvements of 1.7 times were achieved.
- Maize in Uganda: Yields rose by 66%, with 48% of farmers using Virtual Agronomist achieving high yields of over 4 tonnes per hectare, compared to only 10% of those relying on traditional farmer practices.
- Increase in Farmer Profits: Full implementation of our Virtual Agronomist recommendations led to farmer profits rising between 2.7 to 4.7 times compared to traditional farmer practices.
Ugandan Maize farmer Mrs. Nambozo Fat with our Southern Africa field agronomist Paul Chunga
“Before Virtual Agronomist I did not know anything about the need or use of fertiliser. When Lead Farmer Mr. Shangi George came to me with Virtual Agronomist, I was educated on fertiliser and found out what my soil was lacking and what it needed. My maize is at a young stage, but I am already seeing a huge difference compared to last season. I am very impressed – my maize is doing much better than my neighbours’!” - Mrs. Nambozo Fat, Maize Farmer, Bulambuli, Eastern Uganda
Kenyan farmer Mr. Vincent Barasa in his maize field demonstrating his results after applying the Virtual Agronomist recommendations
“In my own practice, I used to apply three bags of diammonium phosphate and one bag of calcium ammonium nitrate. After testing my soil, Virtual Agronomist advised that I use one bag of triple superphosphate and two bags of NPK 17:17:17 instead. My maize field is now doing much better than my neighbours’ field!” - Mr. Vincent Barasa, Maize Farmer, Soko Mjinga, Kenya
These results highlight the transformative impact of tailored, data-driven advice in unlocking the potential of African agriculture. By delivering precise recommendations grounded in high-resolution soil data, scientific knowledge and advanced AI technology, Virtual Agronomist empowers farmers to optimise inputs, improve cost efficiency, minimise waste, and achieve sustainable productivity.
Events and Key Moments
2024 has been a year of significant events and collaborations for iSDA, Virtual Agronomist and iSDAsoil, further solidifying our presence in the agricultural innovation space. Below are just some of the key moments that defined our journey this year.
Driving Conversations at Major Conferences
- Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in May: Bruce Kisitu, our Director of Operations in Africa, represented iSDA at this pivotal summit, discussing the role of innovative solutions like Virtual Agronomist in enhancing soil health and sustainable farming practices.
- Africa Food Systems Forum in Rwanda in August: Bruce Kisitu, Jamie Collinson, our CEO, Monica Cross, our Director of Administrations, Paul Chunga, our Field Agronomist for Southern Africa, Data Scientist Abi Wairimu, and Matt Miller, our Head of Engineering, engaged with key players across the African agricultural sector, exhibited Virtual Agronomist to attendees and shared the results we have achieved so far to help farmers across Africa.
Bruce Kisitu at the Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Summit in May
Members of our fantastic team at the Africa Food Systems Forum in Rwanda in August
- Uganda National Agricultural Extension Week in October: Monalisa Mutesi, our Country Leader for Uganda, presented our Virtual Agronomist service to attendees, highlighting its transformative impact on agricultural extension services across Africa.
- 11th Annual Africa Network of Agricultural Policy Research Institutes (ANAPRI) Stakeholders Conference in November: Bruce Kisitu and Field Agronomist Kodjo Gbedevi showcased how our Virtual Agronomist service integrates into Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI)’s “Farmer Know Your Soil” campaign, enabling farmers to improve soil health, boost crop yields, and maximise profits.
Monalisa Mutesi at the Uganda National Agricultural Extension Week 2024
Kodjo Gbedevi at the 11th ANAPRI Stakeholders Conference in November
- 3rd African Conference on Precision Agriculture in December: Paul Chunga shared how Virtual Agronomist is transforming smallholder farming for crops like sunflower, maize, sorghum, and rice across Africa.
- Consortium for Precision Crop Nutrition (CPCN) “iSDA’s Virtual Agronomist: Expert Advice for Every Farmer” Seminar in December: Paul Chunga, Abi Wairimu and data scientist Rejoice Musiiwa, participated in a panel to highlight the advanced technology behind our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service and its real-world impact on farming practices, productivity, and profitability.
Showcasing our Impact
In collaboration with the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI), a documentary was produced that highlighted the benefits of Virtual Agronomist’s AI technology. The film features conversations with key stakeholders and compelling testimonials from farmers who have embraced this innovation. Their stories vividly demonstrate how data-driven soil analysis is transforming farming practices, increasing yields, and delivering tangible impact on the ground.
iSDA Africa and Virtual Agronomist also received significant recognition through high-profile media coverage this year. The Guardian published an article showcasing how Virtual Agronomist is making a tangible difference for smallholder farmers, providing vital support throughout the farming season, and advancing progress with scalable solutions.
Additionally, Voice of America featured our AI advisory service, highlighting its transformative impact on rice farmers in Mwea, Kenya. The segment included powerful testimonials from farmers who shared how Virtual Agronomist has helped them boost yields, reduce costs, and make more informed, data-driven decisions.
Strengthening Partnerships
This year saw the forging of exciting partnerships with organisations including Niger Foods, Ecolife, and Omma, expanding the reach and impact of our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service. These collaborations are helping us deliver more targeted and effective solutions to farmers across the continent.
Connecting with Farmers on the Ground in Kenya
A memorable visit to rice farmers in Kenya gave our team the invaluable opportunity to see the real-world impact of Virtual Agronomist on farming practices and livelihoods. During the trip, we engaged directly with farmers who shared their experiences of how the tool has revolutionised their approach to agriculture. From optimising planting schedules and improving fertiliser application to enhancing rice crop health, farmers detailed how Virtual Agronomist has contributed to increased yields and reduced costs, enabling them to achieve better profitability and sustainability.
These conversations provided us with critical insights into the challenges and opportunities farmers face in their day-to-day operations. The feedback we received reinforced the importance of tailoring our service to address their evolving needs. Witnessing Virtual Agronomist’s transformative impact firsthand not only validated our mission but also motivated us to continue refining and expanding our advisory service to ensure it delivers even greater value to farmers.
Our team listening to rice farmer experiences in Kenya
Matt Miller and field technician Patrick Wanyaka at rice fields in Kenya
These events and milestones have not only deepened our engagement with the agricultural community but also demonstrated the potential of innovative technology to transform African agriculture. Each step we have taken this year has brought us closer to our mission of empowering farmers and building a sustainable future for agriculture.
Looking Ahead: Our Goals for 2025
As we move into 2025, we are setting ambitious goals to further expand the reach and impact of Virtual Agronomist. Our aim is to serve 100,000 farmers, bringing data-driven agricultural solutions to even more communities. 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. With plans to expand to more countries, we are excited to scale our efforts and continue empowering smallholder farmers across Africa.
2024 Reflections from Our CEO
“For iSDA it’s been a quite incredible year. We began the year with a belief that the latest developments in AI could represent a true game changing opportunity for low cost digital agronomic extension for African farmers. We also had many questions given the approach was so new. Can it work at real scale or is it a novelty? Will the yield improvements we’d demonstrated in field trials translate to similar improvements in real world use? Is the technology affordable enough to work for African smallholders?
From our public launch in March 2024 we quickly gathered interest from farmers and by mid-year had over 10,000 plots registered, mapped and provided individually tailored nutrient plans. This was far faster adoption than expected and gave us hope we were onto something. Some in the team had wondered if farmers would adopt WhatsApp for this kind of use - rather than family and neighbourhood gossip - and this milestone gave us confidence.
As our first cohort of farmers using the system, around 3000 maize farmers in Bulambuli, Uganda, reached harvest, we were anxious to see their results. Sampling showed an average yield increase of 66% compared with nearest neighbours using the typical practice for the area, consistent with the roughly 50% increase in yield across field crops we had demonstrated in previous trials.
On the technology side our digital team optimised our systems throughout the year, which along with cost improvements such as cheaper large language models developed by OpenAI and others dropped our technology running costs significantly. These costs will fluctuate as new features such as voice and video become possible, while computers and AI models get cheaper and cheaper, but we have demonstrated that our system can be 10x cheaper than traditional agronomic extension.
We end the year having gone from a standing start to helping farmers on over 30,000 plots increase their yields and livelihoods, and as we go into the new year I look forward to scaling to 100,000 farmers or more in 2025. We now have a proven system, ready to use for major field crops and able to be rapidly calibrated for new regions and crops. My biggest hope is that having demonstrated the potential we can now put our technology into the hands of partners who are already serving farmers to scale their impact and reach. Our whole team is excited for this journey!”
-Jamie Collinson, iSDA CEO
2024 has been a year of milestones and meaningful impact for iSDA and our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service. From working with over 30,000 farmers, to launching innovative features and forming strategic partnerships, every achievement this year has strengthened our commitment to transforming agriculture in Africa.
The testimonies from farmers, coupled with measurable improvements in yields and profitability, have underscored the value of data-driven, tailored solutions in addressing the challenges faced by smallholder farmers. This year’s events, collaborations, and on-the-ground interactions have provided not only validation of our work but also inspiration to continue refining and expanding Virtual Agronomist to meet the diverse needs of the farming communities in Africa.
To read about our 2024 key events and moments in detail, click here.
