A team under the CGIAR Research Program on Roots, Tubers and Bananas (RTB) has developed a mobile app that uses artificial intelligence to accurately diagnose crop diseases in the field. The team has won a $US100,000 award to help expand their project to help millions of small-scale farmers across Africa. The app provides advice on all major diseases and pests of root, tuber and banana crops, sends SMS alerts to farmers about potential diseases for their crops and pinpoints the location of the nearest agricultural extension support for farmers. “Smartphones are becoming more and more common...
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...
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...
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...
mFish is a set of mobile applications for fishing and aquaculture that educates fishers and connects them to market prices. The app is innovative in the way that it gathers information directly from the fishermen. Many small scale fishers lack the access to vital data such weather data, fish prices at port, fish handling and safety best practices. mFish aims to aggregate and distribute useful content to fishers around the world helping them to be more sustainable in their methods and as a small enterprise. mFish is available on Google Play, Facebook’s Free Basics, and even as a browser based...
Mitra, which stands for Mobile Interventions and Technologies for Rural Areas, is an app providing advice on fertilizer needs and doses for farmers. The app is designed both for farmers and extension workers to advocate site-specific recommendations to farmers on fertilizer dose. Mitra is available both in English and Tamil, so that farmers themselves can access the information on macro and micro nutrient deficiency and remedial measures. The content is based on the latest research by the Department of Agriculture of the Government of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, in...
A workshop called “Developing Apps: Building and Sharing Knowledge” will be held from July 31th to August 4th 2017 in FAO HQ in Rome, Italy, as part of the development of four new agricultural service apps delivered by FAO in the framework of the “Agricultural Services and Digital Inclusion in Africa” project, funded by FMM. The workshop will bring together young developers from Rwanda, Senegal and from FAO HQ to share knowledge and build capacity. The objective, at the end of the 5 day-workshop, is that the participants will have exchanged each other’s vision and contributed with their own...
mFarmer is an app developed by EcoHub that aims to provide free information such as access to market information, training and education to improve their productivity and yields and mobile money in order to enable farmers to be part of the formal financial system. mFarmer provides farmers with information such as weather data, optimal uses of fertilizers and inputs, sustainability best practices, and other content improves their profitability and their livelihoods. Watch the mFarmer pilot video: Credits: mFarmer The great majority of the world’s farmers have limited access to broadband data...
Digital Green is a non-profit development organization that disseminates agricultural information to rural communities using digital video. The platform partners with local actors (public and private sector as well as civil society organizations) to share knowledge on agricultural practices, livelihoods, health and nutrition, using locally produced videos. Digital Green uses local social networks to connect farmers and experts, the thrill of appearing on screen motivates farmers, and homophily is exploited to minimize the distance between teacher and learner. Digital Green is currently...
When: Friday 28 July - 9 AM EST – 10 AM EDT – 4PM CEST To register fill in the form by clicking here Human-centered design or user-centered design is at the core of the Principles for Digital Development : guidelines to help development practitioners to integrate best practices into technology...
When: Friday 28 July - 9 AM EST – 10 AM EDT – 4PM CEST To register fill in the form by clicking here Human-centered design or user-centered design is at the core of the Principles for Digital Development : guidelines to help development practitioners to integrate best practices into technology...