In Kenya, in the region of Turkana County, a severe drought is threatening people's livelihoods and livestock. Agricultural production is close to none as the rainy season going from March to June remained a vain hope. The nearest borehole is sometimes walking days away and not all of the population is fit enough to make it, so many were forced to relocate. However, Turkana County happens to have a large source of ground water. The problem is that if a well breaks, the reparation time is too long. Repairs used to come after a notification through mobile phone, but the majority of villagers...
The World Bank Group, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched a new global programme to advance research in digital finance and accelerate digital financial inclusion in developing countries: the Financial Inclusion Global Initiative. The program is composed of two different but complementary work streams: operational and knowledge. The operational work stream supports governments in improving access to financial services and digital financial inclusion...
Esoko, the platform that sends market prices and agricultural tips to farmers will soon retire its brand. After having begun with professional tips sent to farmers through SMS, the Esoko team started to explore innovations on mobile finance for smallholder farmers. In November 2016, Esoko developed a mobile commerce platform that allows farmers to save and borrow toward the purchase of inputs and to sell their crops. Two very different products were now developed, and the team started to face the first challenges. "Our limited management resources were being stretched thin and neither...
Check out the latest case study on Dgroups: Using Dgroups to scale up online networking and communication in the Rural Water Supply Network. This item is based on an in-depth interview of Sean Furey (Skat/RWSN) by Saskia Harmsen. It includes a 4-page PDF and a video and full transcript of the interview . This case study describes why RWSN has chosen to use Dgroups as their main tool for communicating with partners and clients all over the world. It explains how they’ve been using Dgroups and what results it helped the network achieve. Finally, it presents the key lessons learned by RWSN on...
Wikifarmer is the greatest user generated online farming library. Its mission is to help all farmers across the globe to find valuable information regarding their existing or potential crops and livestock. Through the information it provides, Wikifarmer aims to give practical solutions to farmers. Contributions can be provided from professional or amateur farmers, beekepers, gardeners and professors sharing their knowledge and best practices. Users can submit a new article, edit an existing article, add pictures or videos, request a new article, ask a question about a related issue, or just...
GIS and Remote Sensing for sustainable forest monitoring and management Course Date 09th – 13th October 2017 Location Kigali, Rwanda Description Forestry involves the management of a broad range of natural resources within a forested area. We all agree Forestry is complex, dynamic, and...
e-Agriculture learning activity on the use of drones Date 16 to 27 October 2017 Description Are you interested to learn more about how drones are used in agriculture? Enroll now for the upcoming e-Agriculture learning activity on the use of drones. Each day from 16 to 27 October 2017 you will...
Are you interested to learn more about how drones are used in agriculture? Enroll now for the upcoming e-Agriculture learning activity on the use of drones . Each day from 16 to 27 October 2017 you will receive an email with new content to explore the topic and learn more about different types of drones, how they are used, the challenges of their use and the successes. You will receive links to documents, blogs, videos, exercises, presentations and live webinars during which different aspects of the use of drones will be highlighted and several experts will share their experiences. Ready to...
Mapping crop land is essential for farmers, as rely heavily on it for planning and management. UAS offer a great possibility for farmers as they can map large parts of land with low costs and easy transportation. Geographic Information System (GIS) maps can used both online and offline providing important information for farmers to plan irrigation design, check plant health and even monitor livestock. According to this CTA article, despite the indeniable benefits from using UAS in agriculture, South Africa has one of the most restrictive regulations in the world for commercial use, including...
mrittikā is a soil nutrient analysis and recommendation software. It works thanks the collaboration of agricultural entrepreneurs and farmers: the entrepreneurs offer soil testing services to the farmers, then analyse the results and finally recommend the best possible fertilizers to the farmers. Farmers in developing countries do not have enough knowledge on the quality and quantity fertilizers for their land. This lack of knowledge also applies to the nutrient levels in their soil. Because of this, farmers end up applying inadequate proportions of fertilizers which eventually leads to poor...
GIS and Remote Sensing for sustainable forest monitoring and management Course Date 09th – 13th October 2017 Location Kigali, Rwanda Description Forestry involves the management of a broad range of natural resources within a forested area. We all agree Forestry is complex, dynamic, and...