Early success in Uliza-WI Chatbot field tests
The Uliza-WI chatbot is already being tested in the field. The chatbot is further developed within the SAFE4ALL project, and provideds daily weather forecasts, agro-weather advisories tailored to specific crops and agricultural tips. This way smallholder farmers are supported to make better farming decisions. The name “Uliza” means “ask” in Swahili, the most spoken language in Africa.
In the past few weeks, farmer test groups in Zimbabwe and Ghana have used, tested and given valuable feedback on the chatbot.
In Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Farmers’ Union organized a session to guide farmers through the chatbot and gather input on its user-friendliness. Farmers are evaluating everything from the chatbot’s design, colors, and emojis to the ease of navigation and clarity of instructions. Their feedback is key to making improvements and ensuring it meets farmers’ needs.
We got positive reactions from the Zimbabwean farmers, where the rains have begun! They were really happy with the correctly forecasted rains, this way they were able to prepare their farming activities in time.
Also, a teacher in Ghana – who also is a farmer- praised the chatbot’s user friendliness, after succesfully guiding his students through the app.
A successfull start, as we want to ensure that our services are practical and easy to use for the farmers. Local users are involved in the chatbot design from the beginning. To ensure accessibility, the chatbot will be available in multiple African languages, with Shona (spoken in Zimbabwe) currently in development. It emphasizes the chatbot’s role in providing vital, easy-to-understand information.