Government to support and deploy Ghana-made AI-powered farming robots - John Dumelo

Nii Ayitey Brown 05:30 - 07 April 2026

John Dumelo backs the AI-powered farming platform 3Farmate, pledging government support to scale the innovation and boost agricultural efficiency in Ghana.

Deputy Minister for Food and Agriculture, John Dumelo, has signalled government support for a locally developed AI-powered farming tool designed to transform agricultural production and improve efficiency.

The innovation, known as 3Farmate, is an AI-driven platform built to automate farming processes for green crops, cereals and vegetables, offering a modern alternative to traditional farming methods still widely used across the country.

Speaking after interacting with the young developers behind the technology, Dumelo stressed the urgent need for Ghana to embrace mechanisation and digital tools to boost productivity.

“It's the efficiency that we need, and with efficiency, we cannot keep on doing our normal hoe and cutlass. And if you go to advanced countries, it's technology, it's machines, AI and so on and so forth,” he said.

Dumelo described the innovation as timely, noting that countries with advanced agricultural systems rely heavily on technology to achieve higher yields.

“And so, for a group of young Ghanaians to create something like this, I mean, it's extraordinary. It's something that is good. It's something that we need to encourage them,” he added.

He further assured that government will play an active role in supporting the innovation, particularly in scaling it for wider use.

“It's something that, the government will definitely be behind them to hopefully mass-produce,” he said.

The AI tool is designed to integrate artificial intelligence into farming by automating key processes such as planting, monitoring crop health, and managing irrigation.

By reducing manual labour and improving precision, the system aims to help farmers increase yields while lowering operational costs. Such technologies are increasingly gaining attention globally, as countries turn to precision agriculture to tackle food security challenges and climate variability.

Ghana’s agricultural sector continues to rely heavily on manual labour, with the hoe and cutlass still dominant tools for smallholder farmers. This has often been cited as a major reason for lower productivity compared to more mechanised economies.

Dumelo acknowledged this gap, pointing out that advanced countries produce significantly higher yields largely due to their adoption of technology.

“If you go to certain advanced countries, they produce more tonnes than what we do in Ghana. And it's all because of technology,” he noted.

The Deputy Minister indicated that further engagements will be held to explore how the government can help refine and scale the innovation.

“I think after this, we would have several engagements for us to see how we can help them to probably mass-produce, how we can help them to, you know, improve upon it and produce other products for us to be able to give it to the farmers,” he said.

He also expressed optimism about the future of local innovation in agriculture. The endorsement comes at a time when Ghana is pushing to modernise its agricultural sector through mechanisation and digital transformation.

Government initiatives have increasingly focused on improving productivity, attracting youth into agriculture, and reducing dependence on imports.

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