ARTIFICIAL intelligence technology is being deployed to ensure that off-grid farmers in remotest parts of the country are assisted to automate farming methods using alternative renewable energy like solar and wind.

Justine Shirima, executive director for the Tanganyika Farmers Association (TFA) with a membership of more than 5000 growers across the country, said here late last week that the association is working to link those that are still not connected to the national grid with alternative sources of power and energy to speed up automated agriculture.

TFA has entered into an agreement with a Zola (T) off grid power equipment subsidiary to supply solar equipment to its members across the country who are not linked to the main national power grid. 

Farmers need electric power to drive irrigation pumps, water drills and other types of agricultural machinery, while in remote villages where power is yet to reach TFA is deploying alternative sources of energy, he said.

He signed the agreement with Johnson Kiwango, the subsidiary’s CEO, where he remarked that FA caters for more than 2 million other customers of agricultural products across the nation apart from attending to their 5000 plus members.

Upwards of 70 percent of the country’s population now estimated to have crossed 65m people is dependent on agriculture as main occupation, often living in remote rural areas, in which case TFA is engaging Zola, a firm supplying artificial intelligence solutions, to deploy AI in the initial off grid power supply surveys for tailor-made solutions to cater for individual farm requirements, he stated.

The Zola Off-Grid Electric CEO pointed out that the global agricultural sector is undergoing major technological transformation and Tanzania is no exception.

 “As experts in artificial intelligence, remote servicing and monitoring, we are going to make sure that farmers in Tanzania, including those in the remotest parts of the country are empowered to upgrade their agricultural activities to modern standards even without being connected to the national grid,” he said.

Meanwhile, a manual on the future of agriculture in Africa and elsewhere during the AI age compiled by plant pathologist Prof. Joseph Ndunguru is in the limelight. His book, ‘Global Agricultural Transformation: A Journey into the Future of Food, Sustainability and Technology!’ is expected to be distributed worldwide in the next few months, TFA sources indicated.