UNIMA Showcases AI-Powered Agrometeorological Advisory at CPA Africa Conference

What if farmers could ask one simple question before planting “Is it safe to plant?”, and receive advice informed by climate data, crop information and their location?

At the 55th Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Africa Region Conference, the University of Malawi (UNIMA) showcased how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping make this possible.

Held at the Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) on 11 August 2026, the conference featured UNIMA’s contribution to an E-Government AI showcase highlighting Malawi’s progress in applying AI to climate-resilient agriculture.

Dr Dackson Masiyano, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics and Electronics at UNIMA, delivered a presentation that demonstrated the AI Agromet advisory system, developed under the Agricultural Resilience Through Climate Services (ARCS) initiative to turn climate, weather and agricultural information into practical decision-support for farmers and agricultural extension workers.

The system combines climate data with information about a farmer’s location, crop and seasonal conditions to assess whether rainfall signals the onset of the rainy season, whether a dry spell may follow and what the conditions could mean for a particular crop.

Users can then receive an advisory and ask follow-up questions, helping them make more informed decisions in the face of climate uncertainty.

UNIMA’s contribution focuses on developing and evaluating a Malawi-specific climate-data foundation for AI model development and future climate services.

The work is guided by the principle that AI cannot compensate for poor climate data. As such, the initiative prioritises reliable, traceable and well-structured climate information that preserves important characteristics such as timing, intensity, duration and location.

Additionally, the system is not intended to replace experts. The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (DCCMS) remains the authoritative source of climate information, while agricultural institutions provide sector expertise and technical partners support modelling and system development. AI is therefore being used to strengthen existing expertise and improve decision-making while maintaining human and institutional accountability.

The AI Agromet initiative is being developed through collaboration among UNIMA, DCCMS, the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Water Development (MoAIWD), and the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), under the wider ARCS initiative involving the Development Fund of Norway, NORCAP, CMI and NORCE, with support from the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD) and is coordinated by Phillip Tegha, Country Director for Development Fund.

For UNIMA, the initiative demonstrates how research, climate science and responsible AI can be brought together to address practical challenges and strengthen public-service innovation in Malawi.