AKILIMO is a digital advisory service for smallholder cassava growers in Nigeria and Tanzania. It provides customized advice on fertilizer use, best planting practices and weed control, intercropping and planting and harvest schedules. AKILIMO leverages advances in agronomy at scale and big data analytics, using digital soil maps and satellite-based recommendations to provided advice tailored to farmers’ individual fields that maximize returns on investment. AKILIMO is available through printable guides and worksheets, as a smartphone app, and on simple phones through VIAMO’s 321 service and Arifu’s chatbot. Over 30 ground partners from the public and private sector promote the use of AKILIMO through grassroot events.
Platform: android
Contact: Pieter Pypers
P.Pypers@cgiar.org
App Benefits
AKILIMO has over 180,000 registered users and an uptake rate of over 75%. Average benefits have been estimated at US$ 120 per household per year, based on observed yield responses and price records. Increased profits are most often obtained through investments resulting in increased root yields, but also through smarter decision making, reduced investment costs and monitoring market trends and harvesting at opportune times to obtain higher prices for the root produce.