From Access to Impact: Gender-Responsive AI and Digital Literacy in Agricultural Advisory Services
Digital and AI-enabled agricultural advisory tools hold significant potential to close the gender gap in productivity by extending the scale, accessibility, and reach of extension services. Yet evidence from a decade of digital extension shows that impacts often fall short. Adoption of these tools remains lower among women farmers, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, due to digital illiteracy, unequal access to devices, restrictive gender norms, and low trust in engaging with new technologies.
This panel examines ‘human-centred’ approaches to AI adoption, positioning digital literacy as a foundational but overlooked barrier to equitable uptake of digital advisory services. The panel discusses whether digital literacy requires structured training and deliberate investment to achieve meaningful impact. Drawing on practical experiences from women’s digital literacy training delivered by CABI in 2025, panelists will highlight approaches that embed basic digital and AI literacy into existing extension systems. These include group-based learning, intermediary-led discussions, and low-barrier entry points such as interactive radio programming.
The discussion explores how AI-enabled advisory services can be responsibly integrated into established advisory ecosystems, emphasizing trusted intermediaries, collective AI literacy, and gender-inclusive design. Panelists from CABI, Farm Radio International (FRI), and IFPRI will share insights on inclusive delivery models, responsible and safe AI literacy, and strategies for scaling equitably to enhance participation, agency, and impact among women and marginalized farmers.
The session is particularly relevant for digital tool developers, extension practitioners, and policymakers seeking to strengthen digital capacity and uptake by women farmers, and advance more equitable, accountable, and effective digital agriculture systems.
Speakers
Nathaniel Ofori is the Digital Innovation Manager at Farm Radio International, based in Accra, Ghana. With a background in Applied Statistics, Computer Engineering, and Telecommunications, he specialises in developing innovative digital solutions that enhance the impact of radio and communication technologies for rural communities across Africa. His work focuses on integrating AI, interactive voice technologies, and digital platforms to strengthen community engagement, amplify local voices, and improve access to critical information for smallholder farmers and underserved populations. Nathaniel is passionate about leveraging technology to drive inclusive development, data-driven decision-making, and sustainable social impact.
Malvika Chaudhary is Global Team Leader – Digital Product Usage with CABI. Malvika is a leading expert in Digital Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and biological control with over 25 years of experience dedicated to sustainable crop protection. Currently serving as the Global Team Leader for Digital Product Usage for CABI’s PlantwisePlus programme, Malvika leads the strategic deployment of digital decision-support tools for pest surveillance and farmer advisory services across multiple countries, including strategies for adoption of tools by marginalized groups such as rural women. Her extensive expertise includes classical biological control, semiochemicals, and microbial pesticide research, complemented by a strong focus on regulatory compliance and quality control. She has also collaborated with prominent organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization and has made significant contributions to education and training in the field.
Eliot Jones-Garcia is a Senior Research Analyst with the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit based in Washington, DC. His research focuses on human-AI interaction, user-centered design, and the ethical and responsible development of AI. At IFPRI, he explores the conceptual and methodological advancements of AI, the skills and governance structures needed to responsibly integrate AI into agricultural research, and the socio-technical barriers that shape its effectiveness in extension and advisory services.
Eliot is finalizing a PhD on the digitalization of agricultural advisory services at Wageningen University & Research. He holds a master’s in Rural Development and Innovation from Wageningen University and a bachelor’s in International Agriculture from the University of Greenwich.
From Access to Impact: Gender-Responsive AI and Digital Literacy in Agricultural Advisory Services
Session Type
Panel
Description
Theme: Data Theme: Charting the Future of Data in Development and Humanitarian Response. Explore the rapidly shifting data landscape – from AI’s potential and pitfalls to challenges associated with responsible data sharing, interoperability, and the power dynamics in data collection and use.Primary Tag: Digital Literacy
Back to Session Gallery