No. 91 of 108
September 12, 2025
In Malawi, the government, non-government organizations, and fellow farmers bring AI to small farmers to help identify diseases, pests, suggest new crops and cultivation methods for changing environmental conditions. 80% of Malawi’s folx depend on agriculture for their livelihood in a country that has frequent food shortages and periodic famines. Using AI (or any technology tool) in sub-Saharan Africa has immense challenges including multiple languages, low literacy, internet connectivity, low percentage of personal devices, and the impacts of bad advice and AI hallucinations on the lives of impoverished peoples. Farm tech agents and fellow farmers are the “people in the loop” bringing, tailoring, and interpreting AI to thousands of farmers. For Malawi, “the potential is in combining AI with traditional collaboration among communities. Farmers who have access to the app are helping fellow farmers.”
Once upon a very long moment, for all of our ancestors, collaboration was a prized traditional way of the peoples. Collaboration was our technology. So much more difficult in the culture and rhythm of modernity. And yet… modern technology without traditional collaboration is a blunt, values neutral, tool. Imagine the catalytic possibility of ensuring that there are always people we build relationships with, always in the loop. Malawi evolves along the pathway of “people in the loop” to overcome steep challenges. Thus, avoiding the blind spots of proceeding without each other. In other news, we are heading into dangerous territory. Can you tell? Even more so the critical practice of traditional collaboration.