In a world increasingly unsettled by climate extremes, Malawi’s small-scale farmers are finding hope in a most unexpected partner: artificial intelligence. As Cyclone Freddy, El Niño droughts, and soil degradation threaten livelihoods, farmers are leveraging a locally-adapted AI chatbot called Ulangizi, Swahili for “advisor” to rebuild, adapt, and gain resilience.
The Challenge: Climate Shocks & Traditional Vulnerability
- In 2023, Cyclone Freddy devastated large parts of southern Malawi, stripping topsoil, devastating yields, and leaving farms barren. AP reports that Alex Maere, a farmer in Mulanje district, saw his typical harvest of ~850 kg of corn drop to just ~8 kg.
- More recently, El Niño-induced droughts, flood events, and erratic weather have compounded risk for agricultural communities that depend on rain-fed farming.
- Over 80% of Malawi’s population (about 21 million people) rely on agriculture for their livelihood, often under conditions of low literacy, unstable connectivity, limited access to technology, and language diversity.
A New Tool: Ulangizi & AI for Adaptation
- What is Ulangizi?
Developed by Opportunity International, Ulangizi is a generative AI chatbot that provides agricultural advice via WhatsApp, in both Chichewa and English. Users can send text or voice questions, even pictures (e.g. of crop disease) to get responses. - How it works in practice
For farmers without devices or stable internet, “human-in-the-loop” agents like Patrick Napanja bring the AI tool to village groups, carry a phone/tablet, assist with queries, and help interpret responses. - A turning point
After losing most of his corn farm to Cyclone Freddy, Alex Maere followed Ulangizi’s advice to cultivate potatoes alongside corn and cassava on part of his land. The result: earnings of over US$800 from potato sales, enough to pay school fees without worry.
The Promise & Strategic Value
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Yield & livelihood improvement
With better guidance on what to plant, when to plant, how to respond to pests, and how to adapt to changed soil and rainfall, farmers using Ulangizi are showing improved performance, recovering from losses, and diversifying income sources. -
Empowerment through information
By putting advisory services in the hands of farmers (or via agents), Ulangizi is helping bridge gaps left by scarce agricultural extension services. It also supports multilingual, low-literacy accessible formats (audio, images, voice). -
Government backing and policy alignment
The Government of Malawi has endorsed Ulangizi, ensuring that its advice is aligned with the agriculture ministry’s official guidance. This lends credibility and helps with integration into broader resilience and food security planning.
Hurdles & Caveats
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Connectivity & infrastructure
Poor internet or mobile signal in rural areas delays responses; sometimes bulk of group meetings is spent waiting for the app to load. Many farmers still don’t own smartphones; others lack electricity. -
Trust & accuracy risk
AI “hallucinations” or mistakes (misidentification of disease, bad advice) carry serious risk for smallholders. With constrained resources, even one bad recommendation can cause losses. Trust is fragile. -
Scalability & cost
For Ulangizi to reach many more farmers, costs of devices, connectivity, human support (agents), and maintenance must be managed. Also, ongoing alignment with local conditions, languages, and cultural practices is essential.
Looking Ahead: Prospects & Trajectory
Malawi’s experiment with Ulangizi illustrates a model that is increasingly relevant across Africa:
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Resilience through local adaptation: AI tools grounded in local languages, cultures, and environmental realities.
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Hybrid human-tech models: Combining AI with community agents ensures reach to low-tech or low-literacy populations.
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Policy & investment pathways: For governments, donors, and private sector, supporting digital infrastructure, affordable connectivity, and extension services enhances food security and climate adaptation.
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Ethical AI & governance: Ensuring data privacy, transparent AI decision-making, and avoiding bias will be critical as tools scale.
In Malawi, AI isn’t a luxury, it’s becoming a lifeline. When smallholder farmers couple technological advisory tools like Ulangizi with human support and policy backing, what seems futuristic becomes urgently necessary. The future of agriculture in Africa could well be defined not just by what grows in the soil, but by how wisely farms can adapt to change.