PROBES snapshot: Crowdsourcing agronomy data with AI-integrated Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

This one-page brief, developed by the Digital Transformation Accelerator (DTA) team at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, is based on a probe led by Satish Nagaraji, ICT for Development Specialist, at CIMMYT. The probe explores whether AI-integrated interactive voice response (IVR) systems can be used to collect accurate, timely agronomy data from farmers who lack smartphones, literacy, or reliable internet access. By combining speech recognition, natural language processing, and IVR technology, the approach enables farmers to respond to surveys by phone in their own languages and dialects. Implemented as an early-stage, safe-to-fail experiment, the probe focuses on learning how voice-based data collection performs under real field conditions and how it can improve inclusivity, data quality, and traceability. The brief synthesizes early insights to inform future development and scaling of inclusive digital data collection tools for agricultural research and decision-making.