Theofrida Maginga, a PhD candidate at the African Center of Excellence in Internet of Things (ACEIoT) at the University of Rwanda (UR) specializing in Embedded Computing Systems is in advanced stages of developing a ChatGPT-powered Swahili chatbot that will help smallholder farmers detect crop diseases quickly and easily.
To complete the process, please follow the instructions in the email we just sent you.It already has a website and a dedicated WhatsApp phone number to which farmers can send their queries either by text or audio, in Swahili or English, to get information regarding how they can prepare their farms, maize disease management, post-harvest procedures, and so on
After getting the funding, both researchers are now collecting as many questions and answers as possible that originate from farmers themselves which will be stored in a database and will be reproduced in terms of questions and answers as if farmers were communicating with extension officers. "We have the IoT part, but instead of forcing farmers to report to extension officers when they detect diseases, the technology will do that minimizing interaction with human beings", Maginga said.
In addition to having the hope to extend the platform so that it will cover more crops besides maize, Maginga emphasises the importance of applying ChatGPT and other AI-based solutions in local languages across various sectors"For a farmer to interact well with the technology, it has to be in their own local language. They find it more suitable and adaptive,' she noted.
When the final testing processes get done, the platform is expected to be launched in December, but meanwhile, the developers are inviting more experts in agriculture and artificial intelligence to have a look at their work and share insights related to what can be made better, so that when it reaches the small-holder farmers, it will be ready for use.
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