Tiny automated machines could soon take care of the entire growing process (Source: The Guardian) The Guardian reports that in the rural Hampshire, a robot called Rachel is pootling around an overgrown field. Rachel has four USB ports, a disc-like GPS receiver and the nuts and bolts of a system called Lidar, through which she can move and orient herself using laser beams. As she moves she is taking close-up photograph of the plants and soils around her which is sent to a central database. The data she collects will be used into a forensic map of the field and the wider farm beyond. Rachel was...
The GSMA today announced a new Innovative Fund for Rural Connectivity seeking to expand digital inclusion in Ghana and Uganda. The Fund will provide grants up to £300,000 and is open to eligible companies who can deploy solutions in Uganda or Ghana and is implemented in partnership with MTN Uganda and Vodafone Ghana respectively. Projects eligible for funding should employ innovative ways to deploy mobile broadband networks in rural areas with partnerships with a mobile operator and projects should be commercially viable and scalable in similar environments. The Innovation Fund for Rural...
Land cover changes can impact many areas of life. These changes can affect deforestation, ecological communities, wildfire extent, and urban growth. This advanced series will focus on using satellite imagery to map changes in land cover. Attendees will learn change detection methods, including...
Location specific and timely advice to improve productivity and climate resilience among smallholder farmers Farmers in developing countries have a challenge of accessing localized weather data. Recently the e-Agriculture Team at FAO and aWhere published a Promising Practice that explains how aWhere can provide weather-based data and tips for smallholder farmers. aWhere delivers agricultural intelligence to farmers, crop consultants and researchers all over the world. How does aWhere achieve this? “The company aims at making agronomic and weather data available to farmers through...
This training is to build capacity among FAO-ITU member countries in the use of these emerging technologies and to equip them with the needed technical knowledge to fully utilize these technologies for agriculture (including forestry and livestock), early warning systems and disaster risk...
WeRobotics has just announced the WeRobotics Online Training Academy to provide professional training on the use of drones by developmental agencies.The academy is co-managed with TechChange who have offered dynamic online training platform and in 2017 they trained over 7,000 people from 155 countries. On the other hand, WeRobotics has provided trainings to many professionals in the following organizations the World Food Program (WFP), UN Development Program (UNDP), UNICEF , Emergency Telecommunications Cluster (ETC), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), local universities and many national &...
Quick read The world still need more food to feed the growing population Internet of Things (loT) is being used in agriculture Some advantages of Internet of Things (loT) Learn more about Internet of Things (loT) The Agricultural revolution of 1930s to 1960s focused on increasing agricultural production and mechanization; technology was at the center of its success. However, in reality 50 years later, there are still many people who are hungry, today 815 million people are chronically undernourished. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) predicted that the global...
The latest edition of SPORE magazine focuses on COP23 , however it has an article focusing on precision agriculture entitled, ‘Precision agriculture: A smart farming approach to agriculture’. The ability to use smart technologies could make today’s farmers manage their farming practices remotely. For this to happen these technology need access to data usually collected by satellites and drones. The ability of implementing sensors in the field, on animals and in the soil which transmit real time data allows for cost-effective and accurate means to predict and protect the growth of agricultural...
Africa’s economy is based largely agriculture and most of them being smallholder farmers. One of the challenges these family farmers face is access to weather information and forecasting services. Lack of access to relevant weather information is due to lack of access of weather source information, dilapidated weather stations that fail to accurately provide reliable weather data, amongst many other reasons. Kukua is an initiative whose vision is to close Africa’s weather information gap by providing new weather station technology and improved weather forecast accuracy. Kukua seeks to...
Drones can have multiple uses in agriculture, from mapping to spraying. Here is a short list of how can drones help in agriculture. Precision agriculture uses information technology to ensure that the crops and soil receive exactly what they need for optimum health and productivity. Drones are an essential tool in precision agriculture, as they allow farmers to constantly monitor crop and livestock conditions by air. Mapping : With new drone models, the user only needs to draw around the area he needs to cover as drones come equipped with flight planning software allowing it to follow an...
Land cover changes can impact many areas of life. These changes can affect deforestation, ecological communities, wildfire extent, and urban growth. This advanced series will focus on using satellite imagery to map changes in land cover. Attendees will learn change detection methods, including...
