Agricultural Improvement With Sensors
Collaboration
On November 2017 a software company (HiView) collaborated with a Netherland based organization (FutureWater) to create the “‘ThirdEye” project which would help farmers in Kenya as well as in Mozambique with their decision making for farm and crop management.
HiViewe is a data driven company that specializes in producing applications for displayed designs and exploring the details of image data. While FutureWater is an organization that thrives on creating projects that addresses important issues such as water for food, irrigation, water excess and shortage, impacts of climate change, and comprehensive river basin management. As a means to tackle such issues they combine scientific research with practical solutions.
As part of the Smart Water for Agriculture (SWA) project. the Netherlands embassy in Kenya fundeded the ThirdEye to help farmers boost soil nutrients thus increasing food productivity, while at the same time diminishing pests. In order to achieve this goal, it was essential to approach the first fundamental part of the production process which was obtaining concrete, relevant information to have a strong hold of the decision making process.
Flying sensors
With an ultra-high spatial resolution (NDVI, unprecedented flexibility in location and timing as well as wavelengths not observable by the human eye, flying sensors (drones) became a useful tool to obtain key agricultural information.
Once images are caught and analyzed, using common sense management would become a thing of the past. Farmers are now able to make decisions based on facts. In using the information captured by the flying sensors, farmers are able to see when and where they can apply their limited resources such as water, water, seeds, fertilizer and labor.
Developments
As a result of the partnership with HiView and the advancement of smart devices, workers are able to control flying sensors with a click of a button.
After years of introducing flying sensors into the agricultural landscape, 6 active local operators were created to provide services to more than 3,500 farmers. Such operators are able to support over 400 small-scale farmers, by collecting information and sharing it with farmers on a weekly basis. Farmers make decisions on where to do what in terms of irrigation, fertilizer application and pesticides, based on the generated information.
Additions
To top it all off, ThirdEye offers services such as training, soil testing and input supply, far beyond the border of Meru County.
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