Getting Real About AI for the Bottom-of-the-Pyramid

Improving the Economic Outcomes of Smallholder Farmers in Africa

Agriculture, a linchpin of Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy, confronts formidable challenges, including stagnating productivity and low yields exacerbated by climate change. Agriculture employs an estimated 65-70 percent of Africa’s labor force and accounts for approximately 30-40 percent of its GDP.¹ Yet, the continent remains a net importer of food, leading to food price inflationary pressure.² With yields in Africa trailing other regions like Asia and the Americas, and 60 percent of the available arable land in the world,³  there is ample opportunity for significant improvements. Tools and technologies like better seed varieties, greenhouses, and fertilizers hold promise. This study delves into one of these tools, Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has the potential to help smallholder farmers improve productivity at a low cost. We examine the economic implications of this AI tool for smallholder farmers and rural communities in Sub- Saharan Africa. 

Read the full article here: https://digitalplanet.tufts.edu/getting-real-about-ai-for-the-bottom-of-the-pyramid/