{"id":16022,"date":"2026-06-20T12:48:22","date_gmt":"2026-06-20T12:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.iita.org\/news-item\/exploring-partnership-to-get-ai-app-for-disease-diagnostics-into-farmers-hands\/"},"modified":"2026-06-29T20:09:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T20:09:00","slug":"exploring-partnership-to-get-ai-app-for-disease-diagnostics-into-farmers-hands","status":"publish","type":"news-item","link":"https:\/\/iita.org\/fr\/news-item\/exploring-partnership-to-get-ai-app-for-disease-diagnostics-into-farmers-hands\/","title":{"rendered":"Exploring partnership to get AI app for disease diagnostics into farmers\u2019 hands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\u201cNuru,\u201d a Swahili word meaning \u201clight\u201d, is a smartphone app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to diagnose, in real time, crop pests and diseases. It was developed by Pennsylvania State University (PSU), USA, in partnership with the plant pathology team at IITA-Tanzania led by James Legg.\n
\n\n\"Picture<\/a>\n

Latifa Mrisho, A PhD student at IITA, giving a presentation on the app to potential partners in Tanzania.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\nThe app is able to accurately diagnose leaves damaged by the two cassava viral diseases\u2014Cassava Mosaic Diseases (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Diseases (CBSD) and by red and green mites.\n\nRecently, the IITA team gave a presentation on the app to potential partners in Tanzania and explored ways to partner and collaborate in scaling it out to the farming community to support efforts to control pests and diseases. They included representatives of mobile, information technology, and finance companies, other CGIAR centers, and IITA staff in Tanzania.\n\n[su_quote]\u201cIn addition to fast and accurate detection of crop pests and diseases, Nuru is also a learning tool able to give users more information and advice on pests and diseases and their management and control. It also connects them with the relevant crop disease and pest experts,\u201d said Latifa Mrisho, a PhD student at IITA.[\/su_quote]\n\n\u201cNuru is a free app that is easily accessible using smartphones with good cameras, 2GB RAM, android software version 5.1, and a stable Internet to upload photos,\u201d she added.\n\nAccording to Mrisho, at least 100 extension officers in Kenya and Tanzania have been trained to use the app to diagnose cassava pests and diseases. The team has been working to improve the app\u2019s accuracy under different environmental conditions and to include pests and diseases of other root and tuber plants including Irish and sweet potato, yam, and banana.\n\nNacha Mlaki from Andre & Ross, a Technology Management Company, appreciated IITA and PSU\u2019s efforts in developing innovative solutions to address challenges in the agriculture sector such as Nuru. He said the technology has great potential in the agriculture sector and advised the team to think of adding other functions such as integrating the app with a platform where farmers can submit queries about any issue relating to agriculture.\n\nThe tool is available in PlantVillage\u00a0https:\/\/plantvillage.psu.edu\/<\/a>\u00a0and at\u00a0https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/apps\/details?id=plantvillage.nuru<\/a>. More info about Nuru is available here\u00a0http:\/\/www.iita.org\/news-item\/african-farmers-get-new-help-against-cassava-diseases-nuru-their-artificially-intelligent-assistant\/<\/a>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cNuru,\u201d a Swahili word meaning \u201clight\u201d, is a smartphone app that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to diagnose, in real time, crop pests and diseases.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":16023,"template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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