Techno Brain, in partnership with Microsoft Corporation, has launched a Digital Agriculture Platform in Africa. This is aimed at helping farmers improve their crop yields as well as increase the income.
Some of the technology solutions being offered by Techno Brain will collect data; farm location using Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, expected rainfall and weather patterns, land type and soil nutrition. It will then process the information on intelligent cloud. This, in turn, will be used to create insights that help farmers in Africa make better farming decisions.
The initiative is projected to help vulnerable smallholder farmers that are affected by constant climate change. These farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture that accounts for more than 90% of farmed land in sub-Saharan Africa. As such, they tend to face risks that are otherwise beyond their control.
In the meantime, Microsoft is working with government and enterprises in India to help small holder farmers that are dependent on rain-fed agriculture. This partnership is now being extended in Africa, with pilot projects starting in Malawi and Tanzania. These are in partnership with National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM) and ETG Farmers Foundation, respectively.
The initiative will see farmers receive insights on mobile via short message service (SMS) and voice platforms. These insights include best crops to plant as well as the optimal sowing week. In bid to prevent losses, the farmers will also get pest growth alerts and adverse weather notices. Included in the package is market information and farming tips that are developed in collaboration with other knowledge partners and African Governments.
Techno Brain’s COO Anand Mohan said that the initiative will come to the aid of many African economies which rely primarily on agriculture to boost their economy. However, he also noted that most of the African smallholder farmers lack access to information and knowledge that would help them maximize agricultural production, hence the conception of the digital agriculture platform and if you interest join : Binary options in south Africa
