Bridging Continents: How Farmerline and BICEPS Are Preserving Ancient Wisdom Through Modern Technology

A groundbreaking collaboration between Ghana and Latvia demonstrates the power of combining traditional agricultural knowledge with cutting-edge AI to build climate-resilient food systems.

When farmers in Ghana’s Northern Region receive voice messages about indigenous crops in their native Dagbani or Konkomba languages, they are experiencing something unprecedented – the marriage of ancestral agricultural wisdom with 21st-century artificial intelligence. This is the story of how a partnership between Farmerline, Baltic International Centre for Economic Policy Studies (BICEPS), the Latvian Permaculture Association (LPA), and CSIR-SARI is revolutionizing how we approach climate resilience in African agriculture.

An Unlikely Partnership Born from Shared Values

The collaboration began with a simple yet profound recognition: both Ghana and Latvia possess rich traditions of seed-saving and indigenous crop cultivation. While separated by thousands of miles and vastly different climates, both regions understand that traditional agricultural knowledge holds keys to climate adaptation that modern farming has sometimes overlooked.

The “Indigenous Crops for the Resilience of African Food Systems” project, funded by the Latvian Development Cooperation Policy (LATDEV), brought together Farmerline’s technological expertise with BICEPS’ policy research capabilities, SARI, and the Latvian Permaculture Association’s seed-saving traditions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Where Ancient Wisdom Meets Artificial Intelligence

At the heart of this collaboration lies Farmerline’s Mergdata platform, enhanced by the groundbreaking Darli AI system. This AI agronomist does not just speak to farmers; it communicates with them in 27 languages, with plans to expand to the local languages.

The beauty of Darli AI is that it amplifies existing knowledge, making indigenous agricultural wisdom accessible across language barriers while preserving the cultural context that makes this knowledge so valuable.

Through this system, 10 comprehensive audio lectures were translated and disseminated in six local Ghanaian languages: Dagbani, Konkomba, Buli, Sissale, Chokosi, and English. The reach was extraordinary – over 10,000 farmers across Ghana’s Northern, Upper East, and Upper West regions received these messages, with an impressive 73.93% listening rate indicating genuine farmer engagement.

Beyond the Numbers: Real Impact in Real Communities

The statistics tell one story, but the human impact tells another. During the BICEPS team’s visit to Ghana, they witnessed firsthand how this partnership was transforming traditional farming practices.

The itinerary reveals the depth of this engagement: meetings with the Ministry of Food and Agriculture; sessions with Dr. Solomon Gyan Ansah, Head of the Seed and Adaptive Research Unit; a session with Prof. Paul P. Bosu, Director General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR); and extensive field visits to the University of Ghana’s agricultural programs and research farms. These visits included an in-depth tour of the Livestock and Poultry Research Centre (LIPREC), guided by Dr. Adjorlolo, Lead of the Centre, as well as visits to the University’s study farms.

The delegation also engaged with key representatives from the West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement at the University of Ghana — Dr. Agyeman Danquah (Deputy Director, Research, Innovation and Development), Dr. Daniel Dzidzienyo (Deputy Director, Administration, Teaching and Learning), and Dr. John Eleblu (Coordinator, Research for Francophone Africa). Additional university engagements included a meeting with Prof. Josephine Dzahene-Quashie, Dean of the Department of Modern Languages.

The 14 community-based workshops conducted across districts, including Gushegu, Savelugu, Saboba, and Yendi engaged 658 farmers directly. Notably, 428 of these participants were women, highlighting the project’s success in reaching often-marginalized agricultural voices.

Indigenous Crops: The Hidden Champions of Climate Resilience

The project’s focus on indigenous crops reflects a growing understanding that climate adaptation might require looking backward as much as forward. Crops like fonio, pigeon pea, sesame, and various local grains possess characteristics that centuries of natural selection have optimized for local conditions.

As one farmer quoted in the project feedback noted: “Indigenous crops are lifesavers during drought periods, so we’ll keep farming them for our survival.” But the story doesn’t end with climate resilience. The project has uncovered what may be its most significant long-term impact: the health and medicinal benefits of indigenous crops.

The Health Revolution: Module 2 and Beyond

“We’re discovering that indigenous crops aren’t just about surviving climate change, they’re about thriving in spite of it,” explains Maija Kāle, Research Fellow at BICEPS. “Many of these crops contain nutritional profiles and medicinal properties that modern agriculture has overlooked.”

This revelation has shaped the project’s second phase, which hopes to delve deeper into the health benefits of indigenous crops.
Maija also noted, “Farmers have amazing knowledge that we are only beginning to understand. They’ve been using these crops medicinally for generations. Now we have the opportunity to document this knowledge scientifically while ensuring it remains accessible to the communities that developed it.”

Technology as a Bridge, Not a Replacement

What makes this project unique is its approach to technology, not as a replacement for traditional knowledge, but as a bridge that connects communities, preserves wisdom, and amplifies impact. The Mergdata system’s success in reaching farmers across language barriers demonstrates technology’s potential to strengthen rather than erode traditional agricultural practices.

Lessons from Latvia: Seed-Saving as Cultural Heritage

The Latvian contribution to this project extends beyond technical expertise. Latvia’s own traditions of community seed-saving and heritage crop preservation provided a model for how traditional agricultural knowledge can survive and thrive in modern contexts.

Latvia has adapted this model for Ghana, using digital platforms to create virtual communities around indigenous crop knowledge.

This cultural exchange has been genuinely mutual. Latvian partners have gained insights into tropical agriculture and African indigenous crops, while Ghanaian farmers have learned about northern European approaches to seed preservation and community agricultural networks.

Strengthening International Collaboration

The project demonstrates how agricultural innovation can strengthen international relationships. The connections forged between Ghanaian farmers, Latvian researchers, and Baltic policy experts create networks that extend far beyond the project’s formal scope.

“These collaborations bring countries closer together,” notes Marija Krumina, Research Fellow at BICEPS. “When farmers in Ghana are applying seed-saving techniques developed in Latvia, and when Latvian researchers are learning about tropical indigenous crops, we’re building bridges that strengthen both agricultural systems and international understanding.”

Looking Forward: The Ripple Effects

As the project moves into its second phase, the implications extend beyond agriculture. The successful integration of AI translation technology with traditional knowledge preservation offers a model for cultural conservation efforts worldwide. The health research component promises to unlock new understanding of indigenous crops’ medicinal properties.

Perhaps most importantly, the project has demonstrated that farmers are not passive recipients of agricultural innovation; they are partners in a collaborative process that respects their knowledge while enhancing their capabilities.

“We hope to keep in touch with the people we met,” reflects Maija. “This isn’t a project that ends with a report. It’s the beginning of an ongoing collaboration that we believe will yield benefits for years to come.”

The Broader Implications

This collaboration between Farmerline and BICEPS represents something larger than agricultural technology transfer. It’s a demonstration of how international partnerships can honor traditional knowledge while leveraging modern innovation to address global challenges.

As climate change continues to threaten agricultural systems worldwide, the combination of indigenous wisdom, community engagement, and artificial intelligence offers a path forward that is both technologically sophisticated and culturally grounded.

The project’s success suggests that the future of agricultural innovation lies not in choosing between traditional and modern approaches, but in finding ways to combine them that amplify the strengths of both. In the voice messages echoing across Ghana’s agricultural communities, in the seeds saved and shared across continents, and in the knowledge preserved through digital means, we see a model for how technology can serve not just efficiency, but wisdom.

Subscribe to our newsletter below to receive regular updates from us.