A Johannesburg-based young entrepreneur has created a WhatsApp AI service called Agri Assist for farmers in a bid to address limited access to agricultural expertise.
According to RegenZ, an independent and agile agriculture services business, SA faces significant challenges in promoting the adoption of digital technologies among small-scale farmers.
With Agri Assist, farmers get instant ‘expert’ advice by simply opening the Agri Assist WhatsApp chat, typing a message or sending a voice note in any language, and receiving a detailed response. With the image analysis feature, farmers can send photos of their produce or livestock and the system will then analyse the image and provide a detailed response tailored to their needs.
Agri Assist has multilingual support, available in over 96 languages, including English, Afrikaans, isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sesotho, Setswana and Tshivenda.
Developed by 21-year-old Shiven Pillay, Agri Assist aims to bridge the knowledge gap and provide farmers with the necessary tools to increase productivity and profitability.
The creation of Agri Assist was in response to pressing challenges facing SA's agricultural sector, such as a lack of agricultural extension officers responsible for connecting farmers with useful information from experts and the government, noted Pillay.
“The lack of sufficient extension officers to support farmers has long been a significant obstacle to growth and productivity, a concern recently underscored by minister John Steenhuisen in the Department of Agriculture and Land Reform's budget vote speech on 16 July 2024,” said Pillay.
Motivated by the minister's call to action and a deep understanding of agriculture's pivotal role in SA's economy and job creation, he started thinking outside the box: “I began to ask myself: How can we approach this differently? I believe the answer lies in using technology, particularly artificial intelligence and social media platforms, to create smarter, more impactful solutions.”
Supporting thousands of farmers simultaneously with AI-powered tech
Pillay said he has put an efficient system in place to ensure that Agri Assist can scale and support thousands of farmers simultaneously without compromising performance.
“The AI-powered technology behind Agri Assist leverages advanced cloud infrastructure and machine learning models, allowing the platform to process large volumes of data quickly and accurately. This enables it to deliver real-time insights, image analysis and personalised recommendations to users, even during peak usage times.”
He envisions the solution playing a transformative role in boosting agricultural knowledge by providing farmers with access to accurate, data-driven insights and expert advice. Pillay said Agri Assist will help farmers make more informed decisions, optimise their farming practices and improve crop yields. “Through tailored guidance on irrigation, pest control, crop management and more, farmers will be empowered to increase efficiency and reduce waste, directly impacting their bottom line.”
Expanding services and reach
Pillay’s dream is to take this innovation beyond the African continent to the global stage. He emphasised that with WhatsApp as the platform, Agri Assist can reach farmers worldwide, reducing barriers to entry and making it easy to use. He is relying on government and private sector support to roll-out Agri Assist to more farmers, increasing its impact and creating a sustainable agricultural future.
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