Digitizing Field Boundaries in Zimbabwe
(Zimbabwe), Hybrid Event, 16/09/2024 - 29/09/2024
As part of the EOSTAT project, FAO conducted a field boundary digitizing activity in Zimbabwe from 16 to 29 September.
The main objective was to create a large dataset of farm boundaries for selected districts. This dataset will be used to develop the farm registry system and as training data for the ResUnet model.
The digitizing activity targeted 1 770 beneficiaries across 33 districts. Additionally, the activity aimed to leverage the Youth Mappers, a student club at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), composed of enthusiastic young geospatial students eager to map the world. A two-day training workshop was planned, where 15 students learned digitizing and editing techniques, including topology editing. This was followed by a 12-day digitizing campaign. An FAO GIS and Remote Sensing officer conducted the training and participated in the digitizing process to ensure standardization and provide guidance.
Field boundary digital maps are crucial for driving a range of innovations. They support agricultural statistics, enable precision agriculture (e-farming), and facilitate financial and insurance services for farmers.
FAO is committed to leveraging the potential of digital technologies to achieve the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind.
A journey with the Youth Mappers
How do you see geospatial technology contributing to the future of agriculture in Zimbabwe?
“GIS and remote sensing will transform agriculture in Zimbabwe by enabling precision farming, crop monitoring, and sustainable resource management. GIS will assist farmers in optimizing inputs like water and fertilizers, planning land use, and modeling risks such as droughts and floods. Meanwhile, remote sensing will provide real-time insights into crop health, soil conditions, and environmental stresses, allowing for early detection of issues like pest infestations. Together, these technologies will support efficient irrigation, yield prediction, and disaster mitigation while promoting climate-smart agriculture. By integrating spatial data, GIS and remote sensing will enhance productivity, reduce waste, and ensure sustainable farming practices, contributing to food security and climate resilience in Zimbabwe”.
Blessing Shumbayaonda, Second-year Student, BSc Honors Degree in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, NUST
Can you describe your experience working with the Youth Mappers team and FAO experts during this event?
“Being a part of this Mapathon alongside recognized giants such as FAO and Digital Earth Africa has been an honour and a privilege for us as students, more because we have been graced with such an opportunity to contribute to and have a meaningful impact in the digital industry at such an early stage of our studies. During this tenure we have gained exposure into the Digital imaging world, having been introduced to some great projects and products by both FAO and Digital Earth Africa. This has allowed us to be better equipped in QGIS manipulation and problem solving through better understanding of the software. Working with Youth Mappers and FAO experts has taught us communication and collaboration both between the students and the experts, and amongst ourselves as peers. We have learnt to be goal orientated and to be team players”.
Sinothando Mhlanga, First-year Student, BSc Honors Degree in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, NUST
How do you think this experience has prepared you to be a part of Zimbabwe's digital transformation in agriculture?
“Digitising which was the main objective of this Mapathon has been an invaluable experience in learning the applications of GIS. This experience has prepared us to be part of Zimbabwe’s digital transformation in agriculture through sharpening digitising skills. This enables the calculation total area of the farm, helping in decision making like preparing the necessary inputs (seeds & fertiliser). Also, we can derive information about field boundaries, and this is critical to solving social disputes. We are also able to practice digital farm management. This can be through use of software’s and mobile apps for farm planning, monitoring and decision making. Near real-time crop monitoring can be achieved using high-resolution remote sensing data which can help the country to anticipate crop production early in the season helping the country to plan for import or export in good time. Through the presentations from the FAO GIS specialists, we also understood the Vegetation Indices which can be used in Crop Health monitoring. Through the comprehension of this we are ready and able to improve agricultural efficacy”.
Thandazani Nkala, First-year Student, BSc Honors Degree in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, NUST
Looking ahead, what additional support or resources do you think are needed to continue developing geospatial skills among young professionals in Zimbabwe?
“There is need of awareness in the geospatial field to young professionals in Zimbabwe. For example, this can be achieved through organizations like Youth Mappers which host mapathons and seminars in schools, at primary or secondary level. Pushing GIS as a career by means of career guidance counselling is also crucial in developing geospatial skills among young professionals as they attain knowledge. In addition, mentorship and networking programs are important as the young professionals interact with the experienced geospatial experts and develop their skills.
More so, funding is also essential. The government should provide financial support to schools to purchase the right equipment like computers, geospatial labs and GIS devices. There should also be funding towards internet access for the young professionals.
The young professionals should also be encouraged and be trained to use resources open resources like Digital Earth Africa. This enables them to attain knowledge and develop their geospatial skills from free online courses, for example in Python programming. They will also access data repositories there.
International collaboration with organizations like FAO, Bloomberg and WFP among others enables knowledge transfer as there will be exchange of expertise and they stay updated on industry trends. The young professionals also get access to advanced hardware, software and infrastructure which leads to the development of their geospatial skills.
At University level, the geospatial department may collaborate with other departments like the agricultural and engineering departments”.
Tambudzai Ngatiane, Second-year Student, BSc Honors Degree in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing, NUST
How do you think the data generated from this Mapathon will impact local farmers and agricultural policy in Zimbabwe?
“Farm boundary mapping is a critical step in sustainable land use and management by promoting efficient land utilization, which include resource planning, efficient resource allocation, and automated systems, e.t.c. There is also more clarity when modelling yields/ production utilizing the mapped data there by contributing to famine early warning and targeted response. There is also an opportunity for government to use the data to understand land holdings in terms of size, location and use”.
Albert Chirima, Lecturer, Department of Geospatial Sciences, NUST.
How do you see geospatial technology contributing to the future of agriculture in Zimbabwe?
“Geospatial technology is increasingly becoming an important tool in agriculture for several applications, including crop monitoring, yield estimation, mapping and planning, amongst many others. With an increase in the quality and abundance of free satellite data, geospatial technology will indeed play a critical role to improve efficiency and accuracy in several agricultural activities (e.g., yield estimation, planning, disease surveillance, etc.) in the shortest possible time”.
Prof. Hilton Ndagurwa, Chairperson, Department of Geospatial Sciences, NUST.
How do you see the relevance of the EOSTAT project of FAO for the future of agriculture in Zimbabwe?
“The hands-on experience of EOSTAT field boundary digitizing Mapathon training exercise and drawing field polygons of plots in Mazowe and Zvimba Districts gave me more insight on the importance of the exercise and the valuable need for more resources in terms of personnel and finances to cover much ground as this is the first stage that will foster smart-climate agriculture. During the 3 days exercise, the team of 15 participants managed to digitise at least 21000 field polygons of various categories which include large scale commercial, irrigation schemes, A1, A2 and communal fields.
EOSTAT is a powerful initiative has a dashboard showing field maps, crops planted, crop statistics, connects to the IDEA farmer registry, and has a drought forecasting monitoring tool and flood monitoring service integration capabilities.
Creation of accurate crop parcel boundaries offers numerous benefits that can significantly enhance productivity, sustainability, and efficiency and is a crucial step towards modernizing agriculture, making it more efficient, sustainable, resilient and solve both economic and ecological problems, which are becoming more acute.
The Ministry is looking forward to adopting Precision Farming, using Digital tools to enable farmers to monitor and manage their fields with high precision. This will result in better crop yield estimation, improve crop quality, profitability and enabling a stable food supply thereby working towards solving the global problem of hunger and attain back our status of being the Bread basket of Africa.
Mapping the fields is the first necessary step towards digitalisation and will enhance the use of IoT sensors to monitor crop health and soil moisture, soil ph., soil nutrients and optimize planting and harvesting schedules and help in reducing costs by optimizing the use of inputs like water, fertilizers, and pesticides. This will also apply to livestock farming.
This powerful initiative should be extended to digitising water bodies, dip tanks and business units which are being set up by the Ministry”.
Ms Besinnat Nyango, Acting Deputy Director - Digital Transformation and Modernization, Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development
