Hi all,

Greetings from Kenya 

The MDGS goals of eradicating poverty and hunger  through increasing agricultural production  to meet the needs of the rapidly growing population by either increasing crop yields in areas where there is farming can be achieved by changing the crops to suit the changing climate or changing the use of the land to more suitable activities in order to solve the problem of food shortages. The largest benefits will occur in lands which are underutilized but which have the potential for crop production or which currently have low crop yields. FAO estimates show that between 1995/7 and 2030 about 75 percent of the projected growth in crop production in Sub-Saharan Africa will come from intensification in the form of yield increases (62 percent) and higher cropping intensities (13 percent), with the remaining 25 percent coming from arable land expansion. According to a study on Agricultural extension services in Kenya,Remote areas and poor
producers especially those growing low-value crops with little marketable surplus are poorly served.(Tegemeo Working paper 26/2006). This means that  Arid lands(80% of Kenya) are not well covered in terms of access to information that could help optimize these areas for agricultural production or livestock rearing.ICT is the solution to getting information to the farmers in these areas. LandPKS(Land Potential Knowledge System) is a project funded by USDA-ARS which has developed an android based tool powered by a geospatial knowledge engine to enable farmers and rangeland managers to dynamically predict land potential. It is being piloted in Nothern Kenya and Namibia. LandPKS is still in the pilot phase but the android tool has proved easy to use even for the illiterate due to use of simple illustrations. 

communication

Communicate to farmers on available tools and their use. Get technology to the ground. 

Use of inbuilt demos on use of features and simple illustrations- cross cutting to all education levels

Ensure proper interpretation of tools and questions to ensure proper information is sent through tools to ensure correct predictiosn- GIGO(Garbage in Garbage out)

 community media 

Use existing community groups to test the tools and teach other farmers on their use and benefits.

 ICT tools

Downloadable tools which can be used with smart phones and sms based services can provide farmers with upto date information on climate, provide a platform to share knowledge (global connectivity) with other farmers to enable sharing of working practices(Local knowledge) and connect farmers to markets with best prices(reducing oppression by middlemen)