At the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists Congress 2025, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in October, Abigail Wairimu, a software engineer at iSDA, told delegates during a breakaway session that iSDA is focused on improving food production in Kenya.
She pointed out that the company’s platform, powered by artificial intelligence (AI), delivers customised, plot-level guidance to farmers via WhatsApp.
At the centre of the platform is the Virtual Agronomist. Since its launch in March 2024, the service has delivered personalised, AI-supported agronomic advice to more than 250 000 farmers across seven countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Ghana, and Rwanda – Wairimu explained.
She said the idea is simple: “We make expert agronomic advice accessible via a phone farmers already own and in the language they actually speak, reaching millions of farmers, transforming national extension systems, and unlocking a future of sustainable farming for all.”
The platform is currently available in three languages, namely English, French, and Swahili, while the roadmap prioritises other key languages such as Hausa, Amharic, Zulu, Kinyarwanda, and others.
iSDA background
iSDA was founded by three research institutes: Rothamsted Research, the World Agroforestry Centre, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. It is also supported by the Gates Foundation.
According to the company’s website, its mission is to boost the incomes of millions of small-scale farmers throughout Africa: “By offering tailored guidance, we can enhance yields, elevate quality, and increase profitability, paving the way for prosperity for every farmer.”
In early 2024, iSDA in Kenya launched Virtual Agronomist. “We are proving a new model for agricultural extension that is 10 times more scalable, a great deal cheaper, and actually used by the farmers it was built for. It is a digital platform suitable for African food systems, and it works,” Wairimu added.
iSDA focuses on the following:
- Moving from a one-size-fits-all extension service to farm-level precision;
- Replacing one-off field visits with real-time, season-long guidance; and
- Transforming advisory services from an expensive, reactive system to one that is open, adaptive, affordable, and operates in real time.
The Virtual Agronomist app is supported by detailed soil and crop models in Africa, combining:
- The iSDAsoil high-resolution soil and agronomy maps;
- Nutrient recommendation engines tailored to specific plots;
- AI-driven diagnosis of pests, planting windows, and practices; and
- Real-world validation via trials and farmer data.
Wairimu explained that a farmer starts the advisory process by dropping a pin at each corner of a field. Virtual Agronomist then generates a satellite image of the field and confirms with the farmer that it matches the field. iSDA uses its own field-level soil map for Africa, estimating more than 20 soil properties at 30m resolution across the continent.
With the field identified, the app asks the farmer a series of questions, including about crop history, to refine fertiliser recommendations. The farmer can answer ‘I don’t know’ to any question. The app provides fertiliser rates based on the field’s potential productivity and can also assist with variety selection, planting times, and pest scouting.
Not all farmers use WhatsApp, so iSDA also works with farmer organisations such as local co-ops to provide incentives to farmers to use the system on behalf of those who are not connected.
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