In its first year, our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service has provided tailored nutrient recommendations for over 200,000 farm plots across Africa. This confirms our mission to empower African farmers with easy-to-access tailored, data-driven insights to enhance productivity, profitability, sustainability, and decision-making. Using our extensive knowledge base, iSDAsoil soil analysis, and advisory engine, our service is designed to provide instant, personalised guidance throughout the farming season — helping farmers optimise crop health, manage resources efficiently, and navigate climate challenges with confidence.
As we celebrate our first anniversary, we take this opportunity to reflect on the journey so far - the milestones we have achieved, the impact we have created, and the lessons we have learned. From increasing yield efficiency to supporting sustainable farming practices, our Virtual Agronomist service has been a game-changer for farmers and agribusinesses across Africa.
Join us as we look back on the past year of innovation, impact, and growth, while also setting our sights on the future of AI-powered agriculture.
Key Milestones and Achievements
Launch and Growth
We launched our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service in March 2024, and farmer interest grew rapidly in the following months. By mid-year, over 10,000 plots in total were registered, mapped and receiving personalised nutrient plans for rice and maize in Uganda and Kenya, reaching 30,000 total plots registered by the end of 2024 – far exceeding our initial expectations. Growth has accelerated even further in 2025, with 40,000 new plot registrations in January, 60,000 in February, and 80,000 so far in March.
Now, just one year since our launch, Virtual Agronomist has expanded to provide advisory services to over 200,000 plots across seven African countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ghana and Rwanda.
Map demonstrating plot registrations in Kericho/Nandi in Kenya in 2025 so far, colour-coded by month registered: blue for January, orange for February and red for March
Map demonstrating plot registrations in Bulambuli, Uganda in 2025 so far, colour-coded by month registered: blue for January, orange for February and red for March
An image is worth a thousand words, and the visuals above illustrate the significant growth of Virtual Agronomist in 2025, focusing on the regions of Kericho and Nandi in Kenya, as well as Bulambuli in Uganda.
In Kericho County, Kenya, 78% of maize farmers have adopted our AI advisory service, demonstrating its widespread acceptance. A total of 52,578 farmers have registered their plots with Virtual Agronomist out of 150,625 farming households, including 67,739 subsistence farmers based on the 2019 Kenya Census. This strong adoption rate underscores the service’s impact on the county’s maize farming community.
Meanwhile, in Bulambuli, Uganda, 40% of registered plots belong to farmers who joined through referrals, showcasing the organic expansion of our service and the benefits it provides from farmer to farmer.
The rapid adoption demonstrated across countries highlights the increasing trust in our AI-powered advisory service and the shift towards digital solutions in modern farming. Farmers are embracing digital advisory not only for convenience, but also for its ability to add value to their farming practices. As more farmers integrate Virtual Agronomist into their daily operations, we continue refining and expanding our service to support sustainable and profitable agriculture at scale.
Enhancements and Expansions
Leaping From 2 to 16 Crops
Over the past year, we have refined Virtual Agronomist to align with the specific needs and growing conditions of each country we serve. This adaption has allowed us to address local challenges effectively and equip farmers with insights customised to their unique circumstances.
At its launch, Virtual Agronomist provided advisory services for just maize and rice. Today, our team has significantly expanded its crop coverage to support 16 crops, including barley, cassava, coffee (Arabica and Robusta), common bean, cotton, cowpea, green gram, groundnut, maize, millet, Irish potato, rice (upland, lowland, ratoon), sorghum, soybean, and sunflower. Looking ahead, we are preparing to add sugarcane, sesame, tomatoes, wheat, tea and additional vegetables, further broadening our support for farmers across diverse agricultural systems.
Feature Improvements
Beyond expanding crop coverage, we have also introduced a variety of innovative agronomic features based on harvest surveys and farmer feedback. These enhancements are designed to provide even great support throughout the growing season, including:
- Revised Nutrient Management Planning: Customised advice for optimal soil fertility and crop nutrition.
- Variety Selection Tool: Helping farmers to select the best seed varieties for their soil and conditions.
- 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, diseases and nutrient deficiencies instantly from pictures.
- Harvest Monitoring: Providing insights to optimise yield outcomes.
Impact on Farmers and the Agricultural Industry
Over the past year, advancements to our Virtual Agronomist service have delivered remarkable benefits for smallholder farmers across Africa, driving higher yields and increased farm profitability. Data from randomised control trials show significant yield improvements compared to traditional farming practices, with average increases of 1.7-fold for maize in Uganda, 1.9-fold for sorghum in Uganda, 1.7-fold for sunflower in Tanzania, 1.4-fold for maize in Cote d’Ivoire, 1.2-fold for high-yielding lowland rice in Kenya, and 1.5-fold for lowland rice in Tanzania. These results highlight the transformative impact of AI-powered agronomic support in boosting agricultural productivity.
The impact of our Virtual Agronomist service extends far beyond the numbers – it is about the farmers whose lives have been transformed. Across Africa, smallholder farmers are using Virtual Agronomist to increase their yields, improve profitability and secure better futures from themselves and their families. From those achieving record harvests to others enhancing soil health and crop quality, our farmer success stories showcase the real-world benefits for digital agronomy. Their experiences demonstrate how data-driven decision-making is reshaping agriculture.
One of our Ugandan maize farmers, Namakoye Josephin, standing in front of one of her maize heaps
Explore the articles below to meet some of our amazing farmers, follow their journeys, and see firsthand how technology is revolutionising farming in Africa!
- 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
In addition to improvements in productivity and profitability, Virtual Agronomist has helped to raise awareness of soil fertility and the importance of good agronomic practices among farmers, government agricultural workers, non-governmental organisations and all other value chain actors across the agricultural market.
Many farmers we worked with lacked awareness of their soil’s fertility, often relying on a one-size-fits-all approach to fertilisation. Virtual Agronomist has helped them understand that improper fertiliser use can degrade soil health, reduce crop productivity, and harm the wider environment. By leveraging iSDAsoil alongside farmer-provided data, our service provides different fertilisation formulations based on crop type and soil conditions, enabling farmers to optimise resource use, reduce waste, enhance crop health, and promote sustainable farming practices.
Looking Ahead
The Future of Virtual Agronomist
Our team at iSDA remain committed to expanding the reach and impact of Virtual Agronomist, bringing its benefits to more communities across new regions in Africa. Over the next year, we plan to enhance our Virtual Agronomist AI advisory service by:
- Expanding our image-based pest and disease diagnosis to cover all crops.
- Growing our crop portfolio based on farmer demand.
- Introducing weather-dependent planting and top-dressing advisories to help farmers make precise, climate-informed decisions.
- Continuing our randomised control harvest surveys to assess cumulative impacts.
- Analysing chatbot data on farmer practices and preferences.
- Giving the AI more contextual information so that it can give more relevant in-season advice
- Further developments in response to ongoing farmer feedback and harvest surveys.
The Future of AI in Agriculture
To maximise our reach, we are forging new partnerships with governments, NGO’s and agribusinesses, ensuring Virtual Agronomist delivers real impact at scale. AI technology is revolutionising agriculture, driving efficiency, sustainability, and resilience. With smarter crop management, and optimised resource use, AI adapts to local conditions and farmer needs. AI is also key to climate adaptation, equipping farmers with data-driven strategies to navigate shifting weather, soil and environmental challenges. By integrating AI with precision agriculture, we can help build resilience, drive food security, and shape a more sustainable future.
At iSDA, we see AI’s greatest power in communication and connecting farmers to real-time, tailored advice when they need it most. Virtual Agronomist uses WhatsApp to deliver instant agronomic insights, even in remote areas, helping farmers boost productivity and profits with guidance that would not otherwise be able to access.
A huge thank you to the farmers, partners, and our dedicated team for making this journey possible! As we look ahead, we urge more agricultural chain actors to embrace AI-influenced agronomy – unlocking the potential for higher yields, great sustainability, and resilience to climate challenges across crops and countries in Africa. The future of farming is data-driven, and together, we can build a more food-secure world.
To learn more about Virtual Agronomist, click here.
