Capacity building Ghana

In Northern Ghana, we have visited several communities to introduce, test and refine the Uliza-WI chatbot. Introducing digital tools is challenging without dedicated guidance and follow-up. We helped them access it on their phones, listened to their feedback, and observed how they perceived and interacted with the tool. The goal was to move beyond prototypes and involve future users directly in shaping a tool that is truly usable, relevant, and effective. We worked side-by-side with extension officers and over 50 smallholder farmer for co-creation of the chatbot.

We want to ensure that the information we disseminate is understandable for our primary audience: smallholder farmers. As we quickly learned that although we had initially designed a tool for farmers, it was only now, redesigning it with them that the real work truly began. In co-design sessions, farmers helped reshape Uliza-WI’s weather forecast visualizations: icons instead of numbers, colors instead of text, and temperature comparisons like “how today feels” instead of raw degrees.

In developing digital tools for smallholder farmers that really works, we believe co-creation is essential.

Read more about these sessions in Lorenzo’s article.