GENEVA, Switzerland – Addis Alem Co-op continues to demonstrate ICT innovation for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems. During the 2016 World Summit of the Information Society (WSIS), CropGuard was featured in the Plug and Play showcase of the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA).
Read More “Plug and Play with CropGuard”
The Blended Agroforestry Renewable Energy Project (BAREP) is in implementation phase and developments are underway. The site visit was conducted by the UNDP GEF SGP Barbados to follow-up the report. The National Coordinator and Programme Assistant toured the site and facilities and made recommendations for consideration.
The land degradation problems in the Scotland District result from geological and anthropogenic factors. The soil types in the Scotland District consist of soils derived from sandstones and Scotland clays. Heavy rainfall on the relatively high slopes increases the intensity of the surface runoff contributing to soil erosion. Therefore, removal and reduction of the natural vegetative cover for agriculture renders the topsoil more susceptible.
With this in mind, care has been taken to prevent the stripping of the entire vegetative cover during the land rehabilitation process. Shade houses have been built to ensure that selected varieties of planting materials can be propagated and supplied on a continuous basis.
Additionally, unsustainable land use practices such as excessive irrigation, the inappropriate use of fertilisers and pesticides generally contribute to land degradation. In some areas South of the farmland there are formations of erosional gullies and dried up water courses. The farmland use plan incorporates these major considerations along with other economic and human-work factors.
Another significant problem in the Scotland District is the lack of access to the potable water supply, agricultural irrigation and electricity grid. These constraints result in water scarcity and an over-reliance on fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. The project involves a water harvesting component which will supply irrigation system using solar electricity for pumping.
The main recommendation from the National Coordinator focused on the options for water storage. The BAREP Management Committee moves into the last quarter of 2015 with an aim on the targets of the plan, budget, schedule and objectives.
The National Agricultural Conference is an annual technical conference that is hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture. It aims to bring together leading scientists, researchers and leaders in the agricultural sector to exchange and share their experiences and research results about all aspects of agricultural science and related specialisations.
The theme for the 2015 Conference was “Agriculture, Meeting Challenges for Increased Productivity and Sustainability.” The research presented by Troy Weekes from Addis Alem Co-operative Society Ltd. focused on the CropGuard technology platform and mobile app to help farmers reduce crop loss. The presentation proposed an integrated technology solution comprising a Mobile App, Web Dashboards and an Open Data API.
The Mobile App seeks to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage by providing farmers with farmer-to-farmer and farmer-to-expert networking, in addition to pest diagnosis, treatment and control information. The Web Dashboards facilitate oversight, pest mapping and forecasting by extension services and research stakeholders. The Open Data API connects third-party apps to data and traffic resources to derive more information and add more digital value to the resources.
The development and testing of the CropGuard is up on the agenda throughout 2015 and into 2016. For more information on CropGuard’s development visit here.