One solution that may help farmers face climate challenges is for them to access real-time water-related information by using smart Information and Communication a Technology (ICT). This paper shows how integrating remote sensing, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), flood-forecasting models and communication platforms can, in near real time, alert smallholder farmers and relevant government departments about incoming floods, using the Gash basin of Sudan as an example. The paper outlines how to develop tools that can monitor plot-specific information from satellite measurements, and supply detailed and specific information on crops, rather than providing very general statements on crop growth. Farmers are able to use such tools to optimize their farm profits by providing water to their crops in the right place, at the right time and in the right quantity. Finally, the work demonstrates the high potential of combining technology, namely remote sensing data and simple a agro-meteorological model with limited parameters, for large-scale monitoring of spate irrigation systems and information sharing to advise farmers as to how to apply this information to their managerial decisions
Providing smallholder farmers with support through conventional government extension approaches is challenging as the number of extension agents is decreasing. At the same time, new information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as short message services (SMS) sent via mobile phones,...
The creation of commercialization opportunities for smallholder farmers has taken primacy on the development agenda of many developing countries. Invariably, most of the smallholders are less productive than commercial farmers and continue to lag in commercialization. Apart from the various...
Climate variability and change threaten and impact negatively on biodiversity, agricultural sustainability, ecosystems, and economic and social structures – factors that are all vital for human resilience and wellbeing. To cope with these challenges, embracing sustainability in food production is...
De nombreux agriculteurs africains pratiquent des formes d'agriculture potentiellement qualifiables de "?biologiques?". Pourtant, la capacité de l'agriculture biologique à répondre aux enjeux de la sécurité alimentaire en Afrique est encore mal connue, car il existe peu de références expérimentales disponibles...
Sustainable intensification (SI) is promoted as a rural development paradigm for sub-Saharan Africa. Achieving SI requires smallholder farmers to have access toinformation that is context-specific, increases their decision-making capacities, andadapts to changing environments. Current extension services often struggle toaddress these...
