AI for Agriculture
Putting Precision Agriculture in the Hands of Every Farmer
AI-powered tools are starting to change what's possible for Africa's rural farmers, from smarter planting decisions to early disease detection.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contracted Baobab Impact to develop an AI strategy for African agriculture, with the aim of putting intelligent, data-driven tools directly into the hands of rural farming communities. Africa's smallholders operate in some of the world's most challenging agricultural environments, but they continue to make high-stakes decisions without good information on what to plant, when to plant it, how to manage disease outbreaks, or how to use inputs efficiently. Baobab Impact mapped where AI could meaningfully help across the smallholder value chain, from planting and harvesting advice to early disease detection and precision fertilizer recommendations, and worked through what it would take to deploy those tools at scale: the technical enablers, the policy environment, the partnerships, and the equity considerations that determine whether farmers actually adopt them.
The strategy gives funders, governments, and technology partners a clearer roadmap for moving precision agriculture from a tool for well-resourced farms to one within reach of every smallholder, so the productivity and income gains it enables actually land with the farmers who need them most.
Our Work
Working for agricultural system transformation
in Africa.
NAVIGATE
Who we are
Services
Initiatives
© 2026 Baobab Impact
Nairobi, Kenya
AI for Agriculture
Putting Precision Agriculture in the Hands of Every Farmer
AI-powered tools are starting to change what's possible for Africa's rural farmers, from smarter planting decisions to early disease detection.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contracted Baobab Impact to develop an AI strategy for African agriculture, with the aim of putting intelligent, data-driven tools directly into the hands of rural farming communities. Africa's smallholders operate in some of the world's most challenging agricultural environments, but they continue to make high-stakes decisions without good information on what to plant, when to plant it, how to manage disease outbreaks, or how to use inputs efficiently. Baobab Impact mapped where AI could meaningfully help across the smallholder value chain, from planting and harvesting advice to early disease detection and precision fertilizer recommendations, and worked through what it would take to deploy those tools at scale: the technical enablers, the policy environment, the partnerships, and the equity considerations that determine whether farmers actually adopt them.
The strategy gives funders, governments, and technology partners a clearer roadmap for moving precision agriculture from a tool for well-resourced farms to one within reach of every smallholder, so the productivity and income gains it enables actually land with the farmers who need them most.
Our Work
Working for agricultural system transformation
in Africa.
NAVIGATE
Who we are
Services
Initiatives
© 2026 Baobab Impact
Nairobi, Kenya
AI for Agriculture
Putting Precision Agriculture in the Hands of Every Farmer
AI-powered tools are starting to change what's possible for Africa's rural farmers, from smarter planting decisions to early disease detection.
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contracted Baobab Impact to develop an AI strategy for African agriculture, with the aim of putting intelligent, data-driven tools directly into the hands of rural farming communities. Africa's smallholders operate in some of the world's most challenging agricultural environments, but they continue to make high-stakes decisions without good information on what to plant, when to plant it, how to manage disease outbreaks, or how to use inputs efficiently. Baobab Impact mapped where AI could meaningfully help across the smallholder value chain, from planting and harvesting advice to early disease detection and precision fertilizer recommendations, and worked through what it would take to deploy those tools at scale: the technical enablers, the policy environment, the partnerships, and the equity considerations that determine whether farmers actually adopt them.
The strategy gives funders, governments, and technology partners a clearer roadmap for moving precision agriculture from a tool for well-resourced farms to one within reach of every smallholder, so the productivity and income gains it enables actually land with the farmers who need them most.
Our Work
Working for agricultural system transformation
in Africa.
NAVIGATE
Who we are
Services
Initiatives
© 2026 Baobab Impact
Nairobi, Kenya