Agricultural performance in Africa is hindered by factors like inaccessible inputs, limited credit, unfavorable weather, pests, diseases, and poor management. The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) implemented a project funded by CGIAR to develop digital advisories for Rwanda and Ghana. They created models to forecast fall armyworm invasions and Striga weed risk, which cause significant crop losses. These models, integrated with climate forecasts, run on a Python back-end and are accessible online.
The advisories, sent via SMS, help farmers take timely action. In Rwanda, over 90% of farmers in high-risk areas acted on these advisories. The project used a straightforward data integration matrix to derive various risk levels for each country and month. These risk levels were linked to concrete advisories for different administrative units and formulated with partners in each country.
The advisories were linked with Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices, including cultural practices and land tillage advice. A bottom-up approach was taken, and the private sector was consulted to find the best subscription or commercialization model. In Rwanda, an ex-ante survey showed that most farmers implemented measures like early weeding or plucking of larvae within five days of receiving the advisory SMS.
Existing scaling support methodologies often fail to consider the socially differentiated impacts, including gender effects, of innovation uptake. To address this gap, GenderUp was developed as a conversational tool to enhance the inclusivity, reflexivity, and responsiveness of scaling initiatives. GenderUp...
The project emerged as a practical example of how digital innovation can be an effective tool to tackle poverty and hunger in rural areas. Governments in the region have adopted digital solutions that directly contribute to advancing SDGs 1 and...
A novel rectangular hand net (RHN) was developed to manage insect pests in rice seedbeds, overcoming the limitations of traditional round nets, which can damage seedlings and are less effective in catching insects. The RHN features a 50 cm by...
The franchising business model developed by Rikolto in collaboration with the National Union of Parboiling Women (UNERIZ) in Burkina Faso was initiated in 2017.
It empowers women parboilers by providing a holistic support system, ranging from technical training to access...
Within the sustainable rural livelihood’s framework, Agrisolve has designed the WESOLVE program that targets women and young women smallholder farmers’ agriculture and financial inclusion ensuring easier access to resources for increased yield and livelihood improvements. Through WESOLVE, women are given...
