ICTforAg 2024: Washington, D.C. - Bringing Smallholder Farmers' Voice to the Conversation

ICTforAg 2024: Washington, D.C.
Session: Bringing Smallholder Farmers' Voice to the Conversation (Producers Direct)
Speaker: Katie Messick, COO, Producers Direct
Leveraging the power of AI and Big Data to truly move the needle on meeting the SDGs
Since 2010, Producers Direct has been working in partnership with our network of over 1m smallholders to design digital tools that truly overcome the multiple challenges that smallholders face, particularly climate change, gender inequity and poverty. This started with Wefarm - an SMS based peer to peer farmer network. More recently we have focussed on creating a digital tool called Croppie which connects farmers with AI driven yield predictions, tailored advice and access to financial services.
We see huge potential opportunities in leveraging technology that is being developed at pace, especially AI and Big Data to truly move the needle on reaching the SDGs. Yet, there are significant challenges too - risks associated with AI augmenting societal biases, lack of access to data from people with limited digital 'footprints', difficulties of reaching people with low digital skills and low literacy, and lack of availability of tools in local languages to name a few. Our session focuses on these opportunities and challenges, allowing participants to share different perspectives, experiences and solutions and best practices.