The Tanzania AI Community is excited to spotlight another remarkable individual making strides in the application of hashtagArtificialIntelligence in Tanzania!
Here’s Dr. Theofrida Maginga, a Lecturer at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), who focuses on IoT and AI applications in precision agriculture to enhance crop health, disease resilience, and soil monitoring for sustainable food systems in Tanzania. With a Ph.D. in IoT from the University of Rwanda and a Master’s in Information Communication Science and Engineering from the Nelson Mandela – African Institute of Science& Technology (NM-AIST), she has created a Swahili-based AI tool, Mkulima GPT, to aid smallholder farmers in diagnosing maize diseases and managing farms.
Her research integrates AI with climate data to boost crop productivity, supported by projects funded by organizations like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. As a consultant, she has led initiatives in horticultural extension and early-warning sensors for maize diseases. Dr. Maginga’s contributions have earned her numerous accolades, including the “Upcoming Woman in STEM” award from Tanzania’s Next Einstein Forum (NEF) in 2019, along with grants from Google Africa and Black in AI.
