Google.org Funds Plan to Connect 1 Million Farmers

Farmers are increasingly using digital tools to address practical challenges, from learning crop techniques and managing risks to finding workers and accessing services. In Vietnam, a local agricultural organizer shares smartphone videos filmed in fields to demonstrate planting, crop care and pest control in accessible, step-by-step lessons. A new Nebraska-based app, Harvest Help, connects farms with seasonal workers and service providers amid concerns that agricultural labor is becoming harder to find. Risk-monitoring tools can also give farmers earlier information about threats such as severe weather, fires, disease and equipment problems, helping them prepare while leaving decisions to their own expertise. Separately, Google.org is contributing $2.5 million to the World Bank Group’s AgriConnect effort, which aims to connect 1 million farmers to services by the end of 2027 through an AI-enabled network offering access to farmer IDs, credit, subsidies, markets and locally voiced guidance.