‘Grow potatoes’: AI helps farmers weather climate change

Alex Maere survived the destruction of Cyclone Freddy when it tore through southern Malawi in 2023. His farm did not.

The 59-year-old saw decades of work disappear with the precious soil that the floods stripped from his small-scale farm in the foothills of Mount Mulanje.

He was used to producing a healthy 850kg (1,870 pounds) of corn each season to support his three daughters and two sons. He salvaged just 8kg (17 pounds) from the wreckage of Freddy.

“This is not a joke,” he said, remembering how his farm in the village of Sazola became a wasteland of sand and rocks.

Freddy jolted Maere into action. He decided he needed to change his age-old tactics if he was to survive.

He is now one of thousands of small-scale farmers in the southern African country using a generative AI chatbot designed by the non-profit Opportunity International for farming advice.

AI suggests potatoes