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.