One Drop of Water and 10 Seconds of Time Could Transform Coffee Farmers’ Lives

Coffee farmers around the world have been struggling with extreme weather and fluctuating prices. But an invention powered by artificial intelligence (AI) aims to transform their earnings and enrich their soil – and it’s as small as a business card.

U.S. non-profit Enveritas signed an agreement with the International Business Machines Corp (IBM) this month to pilot the AgroPad invention. Enveritas – who works with 100,000 farms, mills and estates in Latin America and Africa – aims to provide the devices to coffee-growing farmers for free, and IBM plans to make them affordable for everyone.

The AI device acts as an alternative to the normally expensive and time-consuming chemical analysis of soil that farmers need to improve crop yields. According to IBM, the AgroPad requires only 10 seconds and a drop of water or soil sample to remotely perform an analysis, with a target production cost of less than 25 cents.