About IFAD
At the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) we invest in rural people, empowering them to increase their food security, improve the nutrition of their families and increase their incomes. We help them build resilience, expand their businesses and take charge of their own development.Activities by IFAD
Solar-powered pest and weather monitoring system
Asia and the Pacific Viet NamThe Climate Smart Agriculture Value Chain Development project in Ben Tre and Tra Vinh (CSAT) an IFAD funded project in Viet Nam is pioneering the use of a solar-powered pest and weather monitoring system that integrates UV light traps in rice landscapes and pheromone traps in fruit orchards. Each station is equipped with a camera that periodically captures images, after which the trapping arena is automatically washed and reset to continue collecting insects. Using AI, the system identifies captured insects down to species and ecological guilds—herbivores, predators, and decomposers—providing high-resolution data for analysis. Of the 26 sentinel stations currently operating across Southern Viet Nam, 25 are supported by IFAD, with each requiring an initial investment of approximately US $12,500 and an annual service contract of US $800 for maintenance. The resulting pest and natural-enemy hotspot maps, migration trajectories, and population forecasts are delivered as an application-as-a-service to the Department of Plant Protection, which uses the insights to craft recommendations for farmers via the Rynan Mekong app.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsInfrastructure/Systems DevelopmentFarmer.Chat
Africa Nigeria
AI-Powered Farmer Advisory and Knowledge Delivery through Farmer.Chat under LIFE-ND
This activity leverages the AI-powered platform Farmer.Chat to provide real-time, localized, and context-specific agricultural advisory services to smallholder farmers under the LIFE-ND project in Nigeria. The solution utilizes artificial intelligence to bridge knowledge gaps by delivering tailored advisory on climate-smart agriculture, crop management, pest control, and agribusiness practices.
Through integration with digital extension systems, Farmer.Chat enables farmers to interact with an AI assistant via mobile applications and messaging channels, receiving instant responses. The system enhances traditional extension services by scaling access to expert knowledge, particularly in underserved and remote communities.
The initiative also supports climate resilience by embedding digital climate advisory services, enabling farmers to make data-driven decisions based on weather forecasts and predictive insights. The expected impact includes increased productivity, reduced vulnerability to climate risks, improved farmer incomes, and strengthened digital inclusion across rural agricultural ecosystems.
Global Initiative on AI for Food Systems
Global GermanyIndiaThe Global Initiative on AI for Food Systems, is a collaborative global effort led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) together with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and other partners to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies across the entire food value chain. It aims to boost agricultural productivity, strengthen food security, and build resilient, sustainable food systems by embedding AI into areas such as precision agriculture, supply chain optimization, and real-time decision support while addressing climate and resource challenges. A central objective is to establish common frameworks, shared digital infrastructure and standards that ensure interoperability, security, and adaptability of AI applications, enabling governments, innovators and smallholder farmers, who produce a significant portion of global food but often lack connectivity and support—to benefit from AI innovation at scale. The initiative supports knowledge exchange, synergistic partnerships, and proof-of-concept deployments to demonstrate scalable, responsible, and inclusive AI solutions that contribute to global food system resilience.
Activity Type AI Tools/SolutionsTrainings/WorkshopsTechnical AssistanceResearch/Reports/AssessmentsPolicy/Regulatory GuidanceAwareness/AdvocacyNetworks/Mentorship/ExchangeBlossom AI Portal
Global Not Applicable
Blossom is IFAD’s internal AI portal with general-purpose modules for simple daily tasks. With Blossom, IFAD staff have access to a wide range of common AI technologies through a single portal. Blossom modules, powered by AI and related technologies, are designed to make advanced tools easy to use in day-to-day work with simple, intuitive, and user-friendly interfaces. Current modules include:
● Text Generation: Generate text, refine ideas, and structure content with text-to-text models
● Text Reasoning: Unlock reasoning, deeper thinking, and complex problem-solving with reasoning-specific models
● Summarization: Summarize a Word or PDF document, then download it as a Word file for further editing
● Text Translation: Translate short and simple text between many languages
● Document Translation: Translate text within a document whilst preserving the document's layout
● Icon Generation: Generate an icon in various styles and colours for casual and creative use
● Word Cloud: Upload a Word or PDF document and generate a word cloud from the most frequently used words, then download it as an image
● Transcription: Transcribe an audio file, then download it as a Word file for further review
● Table Extraction: Extract tables from a PDF document, then download them as an Excel file
● OCR Conversion: Convert scanned documents or images into text-searchable and machine-readable PDF versions
● Narration: Convert text to speech with natural-sounding AI-generated voices
● Document Comparison: Compare the contents of two different documents and obtain a summary of the main differences and similarities
● Talking Points: Generate clear, concise, and customised Talking Points from a collection of documents
● Frequently Asked Questions: Generate FAQs from a collection of documents