In the rapidly shifting landscapes of Malawi and India, small-scale farmers are discovering an unlikely ally in their battle against climate change: artificial intelligence. From the foothills of Mount Mulanje in southern Malawi to the sprawling farmlands across 13 Indian states, AI-powered tools are transforming traditional agriculture, offering new hope in the face of erratic weather, crop failures, and economic uncertainty.
For Alex Maere, a 59-year-old farmer from Sazola village in Malawi, the devastation wrought by Cyclone Freddy in 2023 was a life-altering event. According to the Associated Press, Maere's once-thriving corn farm was reduced to a barren stretch of sand and rocks. His harvest plummeted from a healthy 850 kilograms to a mere 8, barely enough to feed his family. "This is not a joke," Maere recalled, his voice heavy with the memory of loss and uncertainty.
But out of this disaster came a turning point. Maere, like thousands of other small-scale farmers in Malawi, turned to a generative AI chatbot called Ulangizi, developed by the non-profit Opportunity International. Supported by the Malawian government, the chatbot was designed to provide tailored farming advice in both Chichewa and English, accessible through WhatsApp. Farmers could type or speak their questions, and the app would reply with audio or text responses. For those who couldn't read, write, or afford a smartphone, farmer support agents like Patrick Napanja would bring devices to weekly village meetings, acting as the crucial "human in the loop."
The advice Maere received was simple but transformative: diversify his crops by planting potatoes alongside his staple corn and cassava, a strategy tailored to the changed soil conditions left by the cyclone. He followed the instructions precisely, cultivating half a soccer field's worth of potatoes. The result? Over $800 in sales, a dramatic turnaround that allowed him to pay his children's school fees without worry. "I managed to pay for their school fees without worries," he beamed, reflecting on his newfound stability.
Malawi’s embrace of AI in agriculture is not happening in isolation. More than 80% of the country’s 21 million people rely on agriculture for their livelihoods, but frequent cyclones and an El Niño-induced drought have left the nation grappling with a severe food crisis. The World Bank notes that Malawi has one of the highest poverty rates globally, and the struggles of small-scale farmers are at the heart of the problem. As climate change brings more unpredictable weather, the need for innovative solutions becomes ever more urgent.
AI’s potential in sub-Saharan Africa is immense. The U.N.'s International Fund for Agricultural Development estimates that 33-50 million smallholder farms in the region produce up to 70-80% of the food supply. Yet, productivity lags behind global averages, despite the continent’s vast arable land. AI tools are helping bridge this gap by identifying crop diseases, forecasting droughts, designing fertilizers, and even locating affordable tractors. Private investment in agriculture-related technology in sub-Saharan Africa soared from $10 million in 2014 to $600 million in 2022, according to the World Bank.
However, the road to widespread adoption is riddled with challenges. Africa’s linguistic diversity, low literacy rates, and patchy digital infrastructure mean that many farmers cannot access or fully utilize these tools. "One of the biggest challenges to sustainable AI use in African agriculture is accessibility," said Daniel Mvalo, a Malawian technology specialist. "Many tools fail to account for language diversity, low literacy and poor digital infrastructure." Even when technology is available, trust remains fragile. Mvalo warns that a single instance of inaccurate AI advice—such as misidentifying a crop disease—could devastate a farmer’s livelihood and erode confidence in the technology. "Trust in AI is fragile. If it fails even once, many farmers may never try it again."
To build trust and relevance, Malawi’s agriculture ministry ensures that the Ulangizi app aligns closely with official farming advice. Webster Jassi, the ministry’s agriculture extension methodologies officer, acknowledges the difficulty of scaling up the technology but sees promise in combining AI with traditional community collaboration. "Farmers who have access to the app are helping fellow farmers," Jassi explained, noting that this peer-to-peer support is already improving productivity in many villages.
Half a continent away, India is also harnessing the power of AI to help its farmers navigate an increasingly unpredictable climate. In the 2025 monsoon season, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer Welfare (MoAFW) used AI-based models to deliver monsoon forecasts via SMS to 3.8 crore (38 million) farmers across 13 states. According to the Ministry, this marked the first time such targeted dissemination of AI weather forecasts had been achieved on a global scale, positioning India as a world leader in the field.
The forecasts, delivered up to four weeks ahead of the rains, gave farmers a critical edge in planning their Kharif crop decisions—the backbone of agricultural livelihoods in much of India. This year, the monsoon arrived early but then stalled for 20 days in its northward progression, a pause that the AI models accurately predicted. As reported by the Ministry, this advance warning allowed farmers to adjust their planting schedules, reducing risk and improving their chances of a successful harvest.
On September 8, 2025, a programme review meeting at Krishi Bhavan brought together Additional Secretary Pramod Kumar Meherda, Joint Secretary Sanjay Kumar Agarwal, and Nobel Laureate Michael Kremer to discuss the initiative’s progress and future expansion. Meherda highlighted the transformative potential of the project: "This programme harnesses the revolution in AI-based weather forecasting to predict the arrival of continuous rains, empowering farmers to plan agricultural activities with greater confidence and manage risks. We look forward to continuing to improve this effort in future years." Agarwal underscored the importance of such tools as climate change increases weather variability, stating, "As climate change increases weather variability, forecasts are a useful tool to help farmers adapt to the situation."
India’s experience illustrates how AI can equip farmers with timely, actionable information, even as the climate grows more erratic. By leveraging mobile technology and advanced algorithms, the government has managed to reach millions of farmers, many of whom depend on rainfall for their primary source of income. The ability to anticipate and adapt to weather disruptions can make the difference between a bountiful harvest and a season of hardship.
Both Malawi and India demonstrate that while AI is not a panacea, it offers tangible benefits for small-scale farmers facing the twin challenges of poverty and climate change. The technology’s success depends not just on innovation, but on accessibility, trust, and the ability to integrate with local knowledge and community networks. As the climate crisis intensifies, the stories of farmers like Alex Maere and the millions reached by India’s SMS forecasts offer a glimpse of a future where technology and tradition work hand in hand to secure livelihoods and feed growing populations.
