From a question in the field to advice on WhatsApp: SheGrows AI brings agricultural knowledge closer to women farmers in Egypt

For a farmer, a question cannot always wait. A pest affecting a crop, a question about irrigation, or uncertainty about fertilizer can require an answer at the right moment. Yet agricultural extension officers often serve hundreds of farmers across several villages, making it difficult to provide timely, individualized advice to every farmer when it is needed.

From a game-changing idea to the field

The journey of SheGrows AI began in May 2025, when FAO’s Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa launched an innovation initiative to identify practical solutions that could accelerate progress towards regional priorities. The call sought catalytic initiatives with the potential to deliver results on the ground, foster collaboration and attract further investment.

Recognizing the potential of responsible artificial intelligence to expand opportunities and address barriers faced by women in agrifood systems, the Regional Office’s gender team proposed SheGrows AI. The initiative aims to strengthen agricultural extension while addressing some of the barriers rural women face in accessing timely and trusted agricultural advice The innovation brought together two priorities: harnessing innovation to improve the reach of agricultural services and ensuring that rural women are not left behind as these services become increasingly digital. As the initiative moved from idea to implementation, it also gained particular relevance in the context of the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, highlighting how innovation can respond to the specific needs and realities of women in agriculture.

To ensure that the women farmers informed the process, the initiative employed a participatory process, where women farmers and other stakeholders informed the development of the initiative.  In July 2025, FAO Egypt and FAO regional office engaged with women farmers and extension officers in Minya Governorate to understand their needs, the challenges they encountered in accessing and delivering agricultural advice, and how a digital solution could complement existing extension services. Their experiences helped shape SheGrows AI and its development around a familiar platform — WhatsApp — using Egyptian Arabic, voice, text and images.

From a game-changing idea to the field

Through WhatsApp, women farmers can ask questions and get immediate response in Egyptian Arabic using voice, text or photos. Whether asking about a pest, disease, irrigation, fertilizer or crop production, farmers can receive guidance based on trusted FAO knowledge.

SheGrows AI is not designed to replace agricultural experts; but extend their reach.

When a question requires additional judgement, it can be reviewed and validated by an agricultural expert through a Human-in-the-Loop process.

“Technology provides reach. Human expertise provides trust.”

Putting the model to the test in Egypt

By end of August 2026, the pilot initiative had reached at least 150 women farmers in four villages in Minya governorate, focusing on maize and wheat.

During its first phase, from July till end of September more than150 women actively participated, generating nearly 20,000 interactions. Approximately 97.5 percent of expert-reviewed responses were successfully validated through the Human-in-the-Loop process.

Behind these figures are farmers using the service to address real challenges in their farms.

Women farmers shaping the solution

For Shery Hevesy, a farmer from Sharona isIand village, SheGrows helped her “In the past, I simply copied what my neighbors’ farmers were doing without really knowing if it was the right approach. Since I started using chatbot SheGrows, I can get reliable advice from a trusted source whenever I need it. I apply the recommendations and can clearly see the results in my fields. For me, this chatbot has become like having an agricultural engineer by my side, both at home and in the field."

From Minya to a wider opportunity

The Egypt pilot is helping FAO understand how responsible AI can complement agricultural extension and make trusted knowledge more accessible to farmers.

Building on lessons from the Egypt pilot, FAO aims to explore opportunities to adapt the SheGrows model to additional governorates, crops, and farming contexts in Egypt, as well as its potential application in other countries across the Near East and North Africa region.

“Bringing trusted agricultural knowledge directly to women farmers through tools like SheGrows AI helps bridge critical extension gaps and puts timely, reliable advice at their fingertips when needed,” said Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa. “Women play a central role in agriculture, and ensuring they have access to timely, reliable knowledge is key to building more productive, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems.”

As FAO marks the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, the experience of SheGrows AI also highlights the importance of ensuring that women farmers are not only reached by agricultural innovations, but that their needs and experiences help shape how the innovation is designed and delivered.

SheGrows AI demonstrates that the future of agricultural extension does not have to be about choosing between people and technology. It can be about bringing them together to help farmers access the knowledge they need when they need it.