American agritech company 6th Grain has secured a N$39.5 million (US$2.4 million) contract with Namibia’s Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform to deploy artificial intelligence and satellite technology to modernise crop monitoring and agricultural planning.
The project will introduce artificial intelligence (AI), satellite imagery and geospatial analytics to improve crop mapping, land suitability assessments, pasture monitoring and agricultural planning for Namibia’s key staple crops, including maize, mahangu, millet, sorghum and wheat.
The U.S. Embassy in Namibia said the agreement demonstrates the role of American technology and expertise in supporting Namibia’s agricultural development while strengthening commercial ties between the two countries.
“American companies compete, and American innovation wins. This partnership demonstrates how world-class U.S. technology, trusted expertise and lasting knowledge transfer can help advance Namibia’s agricultural development,” the Embassy said.
Beyond deploying the technology, 6th Grain will transfer its software, artificial intelligence models and technical expertise to the ministry through hands-on training to enable government officials to operate, maintain and expand the system independently.
The knowledge transfer programme is intended to ensure long-term sustainability and local ownership of the technology.
The Embassy said it remains committed to supporting American companies that introduce innovative solutions to Namibia while creating new commercial opportunities for U.S. businesses.
6th Grain specialises in digital agriculture and remote sensing technologies that use satellite data and artificial intelligence to improve agricultural productivity and food security.
Its platform combines farmer-generated data, satellite imagery and field observations to provide insights that support crop protection, agricultural financing, yield forecasting and seed development.
The company’s technology uses advanced machine learning and deep learning models to analyse imagery from Sentinel, Landsat, MODIS and VIIRS satellite systems, enabling continuous crop classification, yield prediction and anomaly detection without manual recalibration.
The contract forms part of Namibia’s broader efforts to modernise agricultural planning and improve food production through the adoption of digital technologies.
