News Release as published on FAO Website 25 June 2018, Rome - The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization and Pennsylvania State University joined forces to develop and launch an innovative, talking app - Nuru - to help African farmers recognize Fall Armyworm, a new and fast-spreading crop pest in sub-Saharan Africa, so that they can take immediate steps to destroy it and curb its spread. Fall Armyworm first appeared in Africa in 2016, in West Africa, and then rapidly spread across all countries in sub-Saharan Africa in 2017, infecting millions of hectares of maize, and threatening...
The Fall Armyworm Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) is a monitoring and education tool that feeds several platforms that are used to make decisions about Fall Armyworm (FAW). Data are inputted via an app for smartphones, which provide exact locations of the source of the information. Data can be collected on FAW prevalence in fields (infested crop plants) or from pheromone traps that attract adult moths. Data collection is done using FAO’s FAW Guidance Notes and is available in five languages. The app also provides basic background information on FAW and will soon incorporate an...
During the East African Farmers Digital Conference , Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KARLO) launched 14 agribusiness apps to help farmers in making farming choices and decisions. This development comes as agricultural industry in Africa is experiencing a growth in technology driven applications – from drones, apps, GIS and many others. These digitization efforts in agriculture allows farmers to access markets, improve their farming practices as well as to predict weather accurately. KARLO seeks to give farmers research based information they need, and the organization...
This meeting is held within the CTA's transforming Africa's agriculture project, which aims to establish business-oriented and youth-led UAS service providers in countries where enabling UAV regulations are in place.
A promising practice on the use of ICTs in weather-data for farmers Many small holder farmers in developing countries have faced huge challenges as a result of climate change induced weather effects. Most of these farmers rely on traditional methods to understand weather predictions. Localised weather data is essential for farm based decisions such as when to plant, yet farmers can access reliable and usable weather data. If such information is available, the quality is poor or it’s inaccessible to the communities that need it most. In order to support Kenyan farmers, the Kenyan Agricultural...
Research findings by the youth at Mastercard Foundation Rome – Africa is in the height of a crisis and an opportunity. Africa’s population stands at 1,2 billion people and over 60% are below the age of 25. Yet most African youths are not employed, and according to the World Bank by 2035, 350 million new jobs will be needed . Africa’s population is growing faster than jobs are created. There is a potential for agriculture to create employment, however, African youths in Sub-Saharan Africa do not realize agriculture as a profitable opportunity for livelihood. There is a growing notion that the...
Unleashing Africa's Next Generation of Digital Innovators The African Development Bank together with The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, and Facebook have launched the Coding for Employment Program during the African Innovation Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. The program will prepare the youth for tomorrow's jobs through a demand-driven Information and Communication Technology (ICT) curriculum and then match graduates directly with ICT employers. This comes inline with African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) strategy (2016-2025) . The bank targets that by 2025, the...
A case study in Guruve and Mt Darwin, Zimbabwe under the Ensuring Nutrition, Transforming and Empowering Rural Farmers and Promoting Resilience in Zimbabwe (ENTERPRIZE) program by Innocent Kafembe Guruve Zimbabwe, 2018 -The Zimbabwe Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP) is improving the...
The e-Agriculture Team in conjuction with AMPLIO would like to invite interested persons to the e-Agriculture webinar on Talking Books for Audio-Based Agriculture Extension . Details of the webinar The webinar is scheduled on the Date : 5th of June 2018 Time : 16:00 hrs (Rome Time) Registration : Click here Abstract Knowledge empowers farmers to grow enough food to feed and provide for their families, but millions who live in remote areas and lack literacy do not have access to this knowledge. The Talking Book is an audio device designed to share knowledge on-demand with people who are cut...
This meeting is held within the CTA's transforming Africa's agriculture project, which aims to establish business-oriented and youth-led UAS service providers in countries where enabling UAV regulations are in place.
A case study in Guruve and Mt Darwin, Zimbabwe under the Ensuring Nutrition, Transforming and Empowering Rural Farmers and Promoting Resilience in Zimbabwe (ENTERPRIZE) program by Innocent Kafembe Guruve Zimbabwe, 2018 -The Zimbabwe Livelihoods and Food Security Programme (LFSP) is improving the...0 comments