Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria

The limited number of agricultural extension agents (EAs) in sub-Saharan Africa limits farmers’ access to extension services. Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants could potentially aid in providing answers to farmers’ questions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of an AI cha...

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Main Authors: Ibrahim, Ali, Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu, Saito, Kazuki
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139382
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author Ibrahim, Ali
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Saito, Kazuki
author_browse Ibrahim, Ali
Saito, Kazuki
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
author_facet Ibrahim, Ali
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Saito, Kazuki
author_sort Ibrahim, Ali
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description The limited number of agricultural extension agents (EAs) in sub-Saharan Africa limits farmers’ access to extension services. Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants could potentially aid in providing answers to farmers’ questions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of an AI chatbot assistant (ChatGPT) to provide quality responses to farmers’ questions. We compiled a list of 32 questions related to irrigated rice cultivation from farmers in Kano State, Nigeria. Six EAs from the state were randomly selected to answer these questions. Their answers, along with those of ChatGPT, were assessed by four evaluators in terms of quality and local relevancy. Overall, chatbot responses were rated significantly higher quality than EAs’ responses. Chatbot responses received the best score nearly six times as often as the EAs’ (40% vs. 7%). The evaluators preferred chatbot responses to EAs in 78% of cases. The topics for which the chatbot responses received poorer scores than those by EAs included planting time, seed rate, and fertilizer application rate and timing. In conclusion, while the chatbot could offer an alternative source for providing agricultural advisory services to farmers, incorporating site-specific input rate-and-timing agronomic practices into AI assistants is critical for their direct use by farmers.
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spelling CGSpace1393822025-11-13T10:38:45Z Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria Ibrahim, Ali Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu Saito, Kazuki extension programmes artificial intelligence agricultural extension farmers irrigated rice cultivation The limited number of agricultural extension agents (EAs) in sub-Saharan Africa limits farmers’ access to extension services. Artificial intelligence (AI) assistants could potentially aid in providing answers to farmers’ questions. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of an AI chatbot assistant (ChatGPT) to provide quality responses to farmers’ questions. We compiled a list of 32 questions related to irrigated rice cultivation from farmers in Kano State, Nigeria. Six EAs from the state were randomly selected to answer these questions. Their answers, along with those of ChatGPT, were assessed by four evaluators in terms of quality and local relevancy. Overall, chatbot responses were rated significantly higher quality than EAs’ responses. Chatbot responses received the best score nearly six times as often as the EAs’ (40% vs. 7%). The evaluators preferred chatbot responses to EAs in 78% of cases. The topics for which the chatbot responses received poorer scores than those by EAs included planting time, seed rate, and fertilizer application rate and timing. In conclusion, while the chatbot could offer an alternative source for providing agricultural advisory services to farmers, incorporating site-specific input rate-and-timing agronomic practices into AI assistants is critical for their direct use by farmers. 2024-02-10 2024-02-14T16:45:55Z 2024-02-14T16:45:55Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139382 en Open Access application/pdf Springer Ibrahim, Ali, Kalimuthu Senthilkumar, and Kazuki Saito. 2024. Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria. Scientific Reports 14(1): 3407. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-53916-1
spellingShingle extension programmes
artificial intelligence
agricultural extension
farmers
irrigated rice
cultivation
Ibrahim, Ali
Senthilkumar, Kalimuthu
Saito, Kazuki
Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title_full Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title_fullStr Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title_full_unstemmed Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title_short Evaluating responses by ChatGPT to farmers’ questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in Nigeria
title_sort evaluating responses by chatgpt to farmers questions on irrigated lowland rice cultivation in nigeria
topic extension programmes
artificial intelligence
agricultural extension
farmers
irrigated rice
cultivation
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/139382
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