Renaissance Philanthropy Invites Expressions of Interest in AI for Smallholder Farmers
Seeking to understand how artificial intelligence is improving the lives of smallholder farmers today, and where the highest impact opportunities lie in the years ahead.
The Challenge Facing Smallholder Farmers
There are roughly 475 million smallholder farming households worldwide, working plots of under two hectares, and they produce an estimated 35% of the world's food. In low-income countries, these farmers make up a large share of the people living in extreme poverty. They also farm with little margin for error, since a single drought, flood, or pest outbreak can destroy a season's harvest, and with no safety net to fall back on, one failed harvest can take years to recover from.
Artificial intelligence is beginning to change this, with a growing set of organizations using it to put earlier and more localized information in farmers' hands, from weather forecasts and pest warnings to agronomic advice and market prices. We want to understand this work, both what is already making a difference and where the highest impact opportunities lie in the years ahead, and we are inviting organizations, projects, and ideas at the intersection of AI and smallholder farming to tell us about their work through a short expression of interest.
Open Call: AI for Smallholder Farmers
We are carrying out a landscape analysis, so we are most interested in work that is already active, and in promising approaches with a credible foundation to build on. It does not need to be fully built or at scale, but we are looking for work that is genuinely underway rather than a concept on paper. We are especially interested in work that:
makes genuine use of AI or machine learning
is cost effective, delivering a large improvement in farmers' lives for the resources invested
reaches farmers on the lowest incomes
could show progress within roughly one to two years
The form is estimated to take less than an hour, and there is no need to prepare anything new for it. We want to hear about what you are already doing. We may follow up with some respondents for a short conversation. The form will be open until June 26th.
Submit the form here and send any questions to info@renphil.org.
