Moyo and Dell advance SA’s agriculture sector with AI

Tech giant Dell believes there is a tremendous opportunity for artificial intelligence (AI) to help solve some of the planet’s biggest challenges.

This follows a partnership between Moyo, a digital business consultancy based in South Africa, and Dell to introduce an autonomous drone that uses AI to detect potato leaf disease.

The new solution was developed using AI Factory with NVIDIA and Precision AI-ready workstations, and it can support South Africa’s agriculture sector with advanced crop health monitoring.

Why it matters

Dell said using AI to enhance agricultural surveillance allows for timely interventions, reducing losses and improving yield quality. 

Philip Heydenrych, Director at Moyo, said the drone employs a Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) system, combining high-resolution image capture with AI-based leaf pattern analysis.

“The neural network is trained to identify early disease signs, such as fungal infections, greatly enhancing the precision and depth of disease detection.”

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Chris Buchanan from Dell said by leveraging the potential of artificial intelligence and cutting-edge technologies it can collaborate with our customers to foster innovation and can quickly turn applications into real world solutions.

Tech forum

Meanwhile, the Dell Technologies Forum 2024 will takes place on 7 November exploring AI-driven innovation.

Visitors will discover how AI-integrated solutions deliver deeper insights and boost productivity including meeting Clara, Dell’s digital human.

AI ‘game changer for SA’

Earlier this week, Communications Minister Solly Malatsi said artificial intelligence could be a game changer for South Africa.

The opportunities inherent in the use of artificial intelligence in Africa can be viewed from several perspectives, including the role it will play in bringing cutting-edge healthcare to more people, especially those who previously did not have access to these.

AI’s role also extends to advancing food security; and addressing environmental and climate-related challenges affecting agricultural productivity and livelihoods and the potential to help power economic growth.

Malatsi said artificial intelligence is unavoidable and South Africa should not be lagging.

“It’s unavoidable in terms of AI just in terms of the global impact it’s making and also the fact that this is where the presence of technology is and I think we need to embrace it.”

Malati said the key issue was the ethical use of artificial intelligence.

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