DevGlobal Launches AGX AI to Put Responsible AI in Farmers’ Hands

AGX AI launched this year to accelerate the responsible design, development, and delivery of AI tools and services for small-scale producers in Africa and Asia. Led by DevGlobal and supported by the Gates Foundation, the three-year effort builds a practical, aligned community so the people who grow the world’s food benefit directly from advances in AI.

Grounded in farmer realities, AGX AI brings together producers, agronomists, researchers, technologists, policymakers, and investors to answer concrete questions: What benchmarking is needed to advance trust, transparency, and tool adoption? How do we make AI work offline, in local languages, and in low-connectivity settings? How do we ensure data governance that farmers can trust? The AGX community centers collaboration to turn these questions into clear next steps.

Early programs include a paid AGX AI Fellowship for hands-on research and community engagement, alongside open challenges and working sessions that pressure-test ideas in the field.

In July, the first AGX Unconference convened in Nairobi to tackle AI and digital public infrastructure for agriculture through design labs, breakout discussions, and innovation jams. Sessions explored GenAI benchmarking, building right-sized corpora for local contexts, and practical routes from pilots to adoption. The event also featured the AGX Inspire Challenge, where ASEL Agri’s “Youth Trace Force” concept to help Kenyan coffee producers comply with the EU’s deforestation-free regulation was selected for support.

“The advancement and evolution of artificial intelligence needs to involve and serve the smallholder farmer and small scale producers. AGX AI is bringing key stakeholders and decision makers together to advance the people, process and data that will better inform and shape the AI tools, technologies and innovations on-continent and in-country globally. This is especially important within the geographies and populations we aim to serve in the global south across Africa and Asia,” said Matt Manning, Founder of DevGlobal.

Technologists, farmer organizations, researchers, and funders are invited to participate in AGX AI’s community, programs, and upcoming opportunities. Learn more at agx.community.

About the Partners

AGX AI
A collaborative initiative led by DevGlobal, Athena Infonomics, and Dev-Afrique to advance responsible AI for small-scale producers in Africa and Asia, focused on practical tools, shared learning, and farmer-guided priorities.

AGX

Brought to you by CGIAR, DevGlobal, IFPRI and ILRI, AGX is a global community focused on accelerating inclusive, tech-enabled transformation in agrifood systems. AGX brings together stakeholders across agriculture and technology to co-create solutions, share knowledge, and form lasting partnerships that address real-world challenges in agrifood systems across low- and middle-income countries.

The Gates Foundation – Agricultural Development
The foundation supports inclusive agricultural innovation in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia so smallholder farmers can increase productivity and resilience, improve incomes, and strengthen local food systems

DevGlobal

DevGlobal supports the world’s leading non-profits, companies, philanthropies, multilateral agencies, and government agencies on their innovation and sustainability initiatives. We believe aligned partnerships, innovation and human-centered design can unlock innovation to tackle the pressing challenges facing society, especially in health, agriculture, water and policy in the AI era.

Athena Infonomics

Athena Infonomics is driving innovation in policy and practice through sound research, creative data models, and fit-for-purpose digital strategies. We combine social science research methods and ICT tools to advance policies, processes, and programs that empower communities with data while supporting sustainable and equitable outcomes