AI weather forecasts boost farming UAE with a pioneering training programme led by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in collaboration with Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) and the University of Chicago.
AI weather forecasts boost farming UAE with a pioneering training programme led by Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI) in collaboration with Agricultural Innovation Mechanism for Scale (AIM for Scale) and the University of Chicago. Funded by the International Affairs Office at the UAE Presidential Court, this initiative equips national meteorological and agriculture officials from low- and middle-income countries with advanced AI-powered weather forecasting tools tailored to farmers’ needs.
The programme addresses the growing challenge of climate change, helping forecast extreme and unpredictable weather shifts faster, cheaper, and more accurately. The first cohort, including representatives from Bangladesh, Chile, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Nigeria, underwent training in the UAE, with plans to expand to 30 countries, benefiting millions of farmers globally.
Paul Winters, Executive Director of AIM for Scale, highlights how high-quality forecasts enable better crop yields, higher incomes, and stronger livelihoods by pairing AI innovation with practical agricultural decision-making. MBZUAI Associate Professor Souhaib Ben Taieb emphasized training in weather data, model verification, and downscaling as essential for farmers to plan under uncertainty.
The collaboration includes experts from the World Meteorological Organization, Google DeepMind, ECMWF, and other leading institutions. Amir Jina from the University of Chicago called this training a historic effort to democratize access to world-class forecasts, empowering countries to build national forecasting services that rival those of advanced nations.
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