How One Farmer Used Digital Tools to Strengthen Her Family’s Future
Today, Lesina uses her smartphone to access practical farming advice that she can apply directly to her three-acre farm in Malawi. She grows potatoes, maize, beans, and sweet potatoes and continues to invest in her children’s education. Even after nearly three decades of farming, Lesina is still using new tools and knowledge to improve how she maintains her crops and land and plans for her family’s future, a quality that has helped her grow her farm into what it is today.
In 2004, Lesina joined her local savings group, and she has consistently saved money, purchased shares, and participated in group lending activities since then. The savings group became an important source of financial support for her household and community. But like many smallholder farmers in rural Malawi, Lesina still faced challenges with low productivity, climate-related shocks, and limited access to reliable agricultural information and financial services. Although she has a secondary school education and a smartphone, finding practical farming guidance that she could trust and use on her farm was not always easy.
Through her savings group, Lesina received support from her Farmer Support Agent (FSA) and gained access to additional agricultural training, financial inclusion support, and digital farming tools through AgFinance. After attending a local agricultural training, she learned about FarmerAI: a digital farming application developed by Opportunity International that provides localized agricultural advice.
By using this app, Lesina gains access to expert, real-time guidance in her local language, allowing her to troubleshoot problems, protect her crops, and get vetted agricultural advice quickly.
Lesina used this information alongside her agricultural training to strengthen her farming practices. She improved how she managed her soil and approached crop production and began using techniques better suited to local farming conditions. Rather than simply accessing information, she put what she learned into practice on her farm. Her efforts have contributed to healthier crops, stronger yields, and greater confidence in her ability to support her family through farming.
For Lesina, digital tools are one part of a broader set of resources that she has used to strengthen her livelihood. Her savings group has helped her build financial resilience, while agricultural training and FarmerAI have equipped her to make more confident decisions on her farm.