ULIZA-WI: Agro-weather chatbot

Weather Impact's latest dissemination tool for the next generation of climate-smart agriculture solutions

ULIZA-WI is a digital climate advisory chatbot developed by Weather Impact, accessible via Telegram. It provides farmers with real-time, localized weather information and actionable agricultural advice through a simple, interactive interface. Designed for accessibility and responsiveness, ULIZA-WI allows farmers to request information at any time—“Uliza” meaning “ask” in Swahili—receiving tailored guidance on key farming decisions such as planting, irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting.

This technology is pre-validated.

8•8

Scaling readiness: idea maturity 8/9; level of use 8/9

Positive impacts: 12

Vulnerable group	Positive impacts
Women farmers	Improved access to real-time climate and weather information Better decision-making on planting, irrigation, and harvesting Increased autonomy in farm management Reduced dependence on intermediaries for information
Remote and rural smallholder farmers	Access to localized weather and agronomic advice Reduced information gap due to weak extension services Improved planning of farm activities despite geographic isolation Increased resilience to climate variability
Low-literacy farmers	Access to simplified and actionable farming advice Easier understanding of key farming decisions Reduced reliance on complex written materials Improved farm management when content is simplified

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Unintended impacts: 6
Mitigations: 9

Barriers: 8
Mitigations: 9

Climate adaptability: Highly adaptable

Agro-Weather information is useful in any climate, and the weather data behind the chatbot is available in all African countries.

Farmer climate change readiness: Significant improvement

Using the ULIZA-WI chatbot, Farmers can be more prepared for climate extremes such as extreme rainfall and droughts.

Biodiversity: No impact on biodiversity

The chatbot does stimulate farmers directly to promote biodiversity, but does contain content on conservation agriculture, which could help to improve biodiversity around the fields.

Carbon footprint: A bit less carbon released

The ULIZA-WI chatbot can help optimise the use of inputs such as fertiliser and pesticides, slightly decreasing the carbon footprint of farmers

Environmental health: Moderately improves environmental health

The ULIZA-WI chatbot can help optimise the use of inputs such as fertiliser and pesticides, slightly decreasing the carbon footprint of farmers

Water use: A bit less water used

Using the ULIZA-WI chatbot, farmers can be more informed on when it will rain, and can therefore optimise their use of irrigation.

Soil quality: Not yet estimated

The chatbot does not stimulate farmers directly to improve soil quality, but does contain content on conservation agriculture, which could help to improve soil quality of the agricultural fields.

Problem

Weak extension reach: Limited coverage and effectiveness of agricultural advisory services in rural and remote areas
Information access gap: Farmers lack timely, localized weather and agronomic information for decision-making
Low productivity: Reduced agricultural output due to insufficient climate-informed farming practices
Climate vulnerability: High exposure of rural communities to droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall patterns
Limited scalability: Difficulty in expanding extension services to reach large and dispersed farming populations

Solution

Digital extension services: Scalable delivery of agricultural advisory through mobile phones
Climate-informed planning: Timely weather guidance supporting farmer decision-making
Food security improvement: More stable and productive agricultural systems
Climate resilience: Reduced vulnerability to droughts, floods, and erratic rainfall
Rural inclusion: Access to information in local languages and remote areas
Service modernization: Strengthened and digitized public agricultural support systems

Key points to design your project

ULIZA-WI is implemented as a digital tool to improve climate resilience and agricultural decision-making among smallholder farmers, especially vulnerable populations.

The preparation phase focuses on assessing local climate risks, understanding farmers’ digital literacy levels, identifying vulnerable groups (women, youth, remote farmers), and adapting content to local languages, crops, and agro-ecological contexts to ensure relevance and accessibility.

The pilot phase involves testing the chatbot with selected farmer groups, providing hands-on training to ensure proper use, and collecting feedback from users to refine the system, improve usability, and adapt advisory content to real field conditions.

The implementation phase focuses on scaling the solution through partnerships with local organizations, cooperatives, and extension systems, supported by awareness campaigns to increase adoption. Continuous monitoring is carried out to track usage, user satisfaction, and behavioral changes in farming practices.

Overall, the project approach ensures that the technology is not only deployed but effectively adopted and adapted to local needs.

IP

No formal IP rights

Scaling Readiness describes how complete a technology’s development is and its ability to be scaled. It produces a score that measures a technology’s readiness along two axes: the level of maturity of the idea itself, and the level to which the technology has been used so far.

Each axis goes from 0 to 9 where 9 is the “ready-to-scale” status. For each technology profile in the e-catalogs we have documented the scaling readiness status from evidence given by the technology providers. The e-catalogs only showcase technologies for which the scaling readiness score is at least 8 for maturity of the idea and 7 for the level of use.

The graph below represents visually the scaling readiness status for this technology, you can see the label of each level by hovering your mouse cursor on the number.

Scaling readiness score of this technology

Maturity of the idea 8 out of 9

Uncontrolled environment: tested

Level of use 8 out of 9

Used by some intended users, in the real world

Maturity of the idea										Level of use
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Positive impact 12

Vulnerable group	Positive impacts
Women farmers	Improved access to real-time climate and weather information Better decision-making on planting, irrigation, and harvesting Increased autonomy in farm management Reduced dependence on intermediaries for information
Remote and rural smallholder farmers	Access to localized weather and agronomic advice Reduced information gap due to weak extension services Improved planning of farm activities despite geographic isolation Increased resilience to climate variability
Low-literacy farmers	Access to simplified and actionable farming advice Easier understanding of key farming decisions Reduced reliance on complex written materials Improved farm management when content is simplified

Unintended impact 6

Vulnerable group	Unintended impacts	Mitigation measures
Women farmers	Limited access due to male-controlled phone ownership Reduced independent use of the platform	Promote shared phone access models Women-focused training and digital inclusion programs Community awareness on gender-inclusive access
Remote and rural smallholder farmers	Unequal service quality due to weak connectivity Intermittent access to information	Low-data and offline-friendly design Partnerships with telecom operators to improve coverage SMS fallback options where needed
Low-literacy farmers	Misinterpretation of text-based advisories Incorrect application of recommendations	Use of voice messages and audio advisories Local language integration Visual and icon-based communication

Barriers 8

Vulnerable group	Barriers	Mitigation measures
Women farmers	Limited smartphone ownership Low digital literacy Cultural constraints on technology use	Gender-sensitive digital training Support for shared devices Community-based awareness and inclusion strategies
Remote and rural smallholder farmers	Poor network connectivity Limited electricity access Low smartphone penetration	Lightweight/low-bandwidth solutions SMS/USSD alternatives Solar charging solutions and rural partnerships
Low-literacy farmers	Difficulty reading text-based content Limited familiarity with digital tools	Voice-based chatbot features Use of local languages Simplified, audio-visual communication formats

Countries with a green colour: Tested & adopted
Countries with a bright green colour: Adopted
Countries with a yellow colour: Tested
Countries with a blue colour: Testing ongoing

Countries where the technology is being tested or has been tested and adopted
Country	Testing ongoing	Tested	Adopted
Ghana	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Kenya	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
South Africa	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted
Zimbabwe	–No ongoing testing	Tested	Adopted

This technology can be used in the colored agro-ecological zones. Any zones shown in white are not suitable for this technology.

Agro-ecological zones where this technology can be used
AEZ	Subtropic - warm	Subtropic - cool	Tropic - warm	Tropic - cool
Arid
Semiarid
Subhumid
Humid

Source: HarvestChoice/IFPRI 2009

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals that are applicable to this technology.

Goal 1: no poverty

Use of the ULIZA-WI chatbot can help farmers time their activities better, which has proven to increase yield in certain cases by up to 20%, and can decrease input costs by eliminating outwash of inputs after heavy precipitation.

Goal 2: zero hunger

Use of the ULIZA-WI chatbot can help farmers time their activities better, which has proven to increase yield in certain cases by up to 20%. Farmers can also better anticipate extreme precipitation, which farmers have used to harvest before a flood, helping to secure food in times of environmental disasters.

Goal 5: gender equality

The Uliza-WI chatbot is available for all, and levels the playing field by making climate information available for both men and women.

Goal 10: reduced inequalities

The Uliza-WI chatbot is available for all, and levels the playing field by making climate information available for both men and women.

Part 1: Initial Setup and Registration

Access the Chatbot: Scan the provided QR code or search for ‘Uliza-WI Chatbot’ (or @WICHATBOTPRODUCTION_BOT) in the Telegram search bar.
Start the Conversation: Once the chat window opens, press the ‘START’ button at the bottom of the screen.
Language Selection: Choose your preferred language (for example, English or Italiano) from the options provided.
Accept Terms: Accept the Terms & Conditions to complete your registration.

Part 2: Getting Your First Weather Forecast

Select Weather Info: From the main button menu, tap on "Weather Information".
Share Your Location: Follow the on-screen instructions to share your location. This usually involves clicking the attachment (paperclip) icon, selecting ‘Location’, and then choosing your specific spot on the map.
Name the Location: Type in a name to save this specific location (e.g., "Maize Field 1") so you can easily reference it later.
Receive Forecast: Send the name you just typed, and the chatbot will provide a 7-day Weather Forecast including rain amount, rain chance, temperature, and wind speed.

Additional Tips

Navigation: You can type or press /start at any time to return to the main menu or initialize a new conversation.
Other Services: Besides weather, the menu offers access to Conservation Agriculture tips, Farming Advice, and News for Farmers.
Partners: This technology is supported by organizations like Weather Impact, The World Bank, and Agritex.