New smart solutions were recently
unveiled to solve emerging challenges in agriculture at the Agri-Food
Trade and Investment (AFTI) Summit held the Radisson Blu hotel in Nairobi.
Most
of the new ideas involved the use of mobile devices to access information that
is vital to the farming business.
“Working with the government of
Kenya, we have been able to develop a SMS platform where farmers can receive
timely information on the fall armyworm. Farmers send and receive messages on
their phones which will assist them to make vital decisions on the pest,”
observed Emmanuel Bakirdjian, Director for Precision Agriculture
Development during his presentation.
According to Mr. Bakirdjian, the SMS messages cover various
topics including monitoring, identification, non-chemical and chemical control
measures and best practices.
Farmers
send and receive free messages through Safaricom and Airtel networks, Kenya’s
largest mobile telephony firms.
The messages are available both in English and Kiswahili.
The special messages have been developed by the Ministry of
Agriculture, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KARLO),
Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International, Kenya Plant and Health
Inspectorate Service, and Pest Control and Poisons Board.
Precision
Agriculture Development (PAD) has registered 363,000 users have registered on
the platform since its launch last year.
It also
provides actionable, customized, and high-quality farming advice for maize,
beans, and potatoes to help farmers increase their productivity.
According
to Mr. Bakirdjian, PAD is an Iinternational NGO operating in Kenya,
Ethiopia, Rwanda, Uganda, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan.
On its part Liquid Telecom Kenya has
worked closely with the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation
(KARLO) to launch an e-service platform and three mobile apps for chicken,
pasture seeds and dryland crop farmers.
Through these platforms farmers can
receive real-time updates from meteorological agency and research labs.
“Delivering
new technologies through the internet based infrastructure is changing the way
farmers produce crops and livestock. There is need to adapt to new methods of
accessing up-to-date data on crop varieties and farming methods. We believe our
involvements in this area will ensure food security and improves diets of
millions of Kenyans,” noted Adil Youssefi, CEO of Liquid Telecom Kenya during
his presentation.
According
to Mr. Youssefi, his firm recognizes the role of technology in research, generation
and creation of new knowledge, which is vital in national development.
“KARLO’s
new e-services will be driving our common vision and goal of restructuring
agricultural and livestock research into a dynamic, innovative, responsive and
well-coordinated system,” he observed.
Already,
Liquid Telecom Kenya has installed a Wide Area Network and VSAT internet
connection offering up to 100 bps across 42 KARLO research stations.
For
instance farmers can now access information on feed availability, diseases as
well as other chicken information on the Indigenous Chicken app. Kenya is
estimated to have at least 32 million indigenous chicken which produce most of
the poultry meat consumed in the country.
On
the other hand, the ‘Range Pasture Seed Production App’ avails information on
soil and water management technologies as well as seed varieties tolerant to
drought, pests and diseases.
Water
availability and sources for agriculture also proved an important area for
developers of smart farming solutions.
“Our
solutions are able to collect information on underground water sources
available to farmers. They can also advice farmers on soils and synchronise
data in relation to water and climate information”, observed Andrew Denu,
Products Manager with Sun Culture, a firm that develops irrigation solutions.
The
company’s ‘Rainmaker 2’ is a solar powered irrigation solution which
uses artificial intelligence to collect information on water sources for
farmers. The solution can also provide water both for domestic and irrigation
purposes.
The
firm has also developed ‘Agoptimised farmer Sensor’ app which is
available on smartphones.
“The
app helps farmers to build weather models, helps in crop yield monitoring,
pests and diseases data as well as map out water sources data”, noted Mr. Denu
during the presentations.
The
app provides real time data on possible drought conditions and is valuable for
government and development organizations especially those with activities in
arid and semi arid regions.
Another
smart solution presentation was done by WeFarm, a global network that offers
free SMS to farmers seeking answers to their farming activities.
“Our
app analyses the SMS received from farmers and provides viable answers across
the value chain. It connects farmers across borders and allow them to discuss
common problems affecting their farming activates,” said Mr. Mwiti Mwika from
We Farm, a body that globally connects 1.6 million farmers via the short text
messages (SMS).
According
to Mr. Mwika, WeFarm maps out possible diseases and pests in the field giving
vital information on possible crisis areas. Through the network, farmers can
reach suitable markets for their products –boosting their returns.
Financed
through venture capital, WeFarm registers at least 80,000 farmers into the
system monthly according to Mr. Mwika.
With
the success of M-Pesa, Kenya’s premier money transfer application, fintech
organisations have moved to fill the gaps in farmer financing.
Using
the ease of M-Pesa app in simple phones, microfinance organizations have been
able to loan farmers cash to purchase farm inputs among other needs.
Repayment
of the loans by farmers takes place with mobile transfer service M-Pesa.
“We
dispense at least Ksh 20,000 to farmers to purchase farm inputs such as
fertilizer through their mobile phones. This has helped to reach the rural
populations that are far from commercial banks”, observed Stanley Munyao, chief
executive officer with Musoni, a Kenyan microfinance.
Through
their mobile apps, farmers can apply and get loans within 24 hours- improving
financial inclusion as well as reducing the gaps in agricultural financing. (ends)
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