.png)
At the AGX Unconference 2025 in Nairobi, a space rooted in collaboration rather than keynotes: farmers, technologists, and policymakers came together to reimagine how AI can truly serve smallholder realities.
Athena Infonomics led two key sessions:
Here’s what emerged clearly from both conversations:
Trust, inclusivity, accuracy, context, and transparency are the real non-negotiables. The ecosystem is asking for benchmarking frameworks that move beyond tech ownership, placing accountability in the hands of a broader set of actors.
AI tools marketed as “advisors” must be tested against clear, region-specific questions: Compared to what? Trained on which crops? Tested in which dialects?
AI is only as inclusive as the data it’s built on. Participants called for trusted, contextual datasets, not just as infrastructure, but as a matter of equity.
From interoperability to community governance, the message was clear: we need federated corpora rooted in real agricultural realities. Discussions also explored incentives for local data stewardship, such as co-authorship and reciprocal access.
We’re grateful to have been part of this rich, collaborative learning experience, and encouraged to see a strong reaffirmation of the principles we believe in: contextualized, fit-for-purpose, ethical tech solutions.
Thank you to the organizers: CGIAR Digital Transformation, DevGlobal, IFPRI, ILRI, GIZ, DIASCA, i4Ag, and Kuza, for creating a platform that truly centered collaboration, context, and co-creation in the conversation on AI for agriculture.
