Title: Development of an interactive Mobile Application in 24 languages for least literate farmers. 2020-2022. Project: Sustainability and Value Added in Agricultural Supply Chains.
Project administrative staff: Mr. Kai Hughes, Ms. Lorena Ruiz & Ms. Caroline Taco
Project technical coordinator: Keshav Kranthi, Chief Scientist, ICAC
Project consultant: Dr. Sandhya Kranthi
Project funding: German Agency for International Cooperation or (GIZ). GIZ project Agreement number: 8127078; Eur. 450,906. Cotton Inc., USA supported the project with US$30,000.
Beneficiaries: African cotton sector that speaks in 14 different languages in Africa.
The development of a voice-based app for least-literate farmers reached a successful conclusion. The ICAC Cotton Expert app comprises 10 distinct modules, each of which is dedicated to the various aspects of cotton production.
This innovative application serves as an audio-visual platform, focusing on sustainable best practices. Most of these modules are enriched with Artificial Intelligence and machine learning functionalities. These AI-driven modules facilitate responses to verbal inquiries, aid in insect and disease diagnosis, and offer guidance on pesticide container image recognition for farmers.
Impressively, the image diagnosis component encompasses a database of over 50,000 images related to cotton-related issues. Furthermore, the app supports interaction in 26 different languages and is freely available for download on both IOS and Android platforms exclusively for ICAC members.
Please Note: While all three ICAC Innovations — the ICAC Cotton Expert app, the Virtual Reality Training Program, and the Four Step to Sustainable High Yields training methodology — were developed through their own specific projects, they are also used extensively in other ICAC projects.
