This archive report was first published on 1 July 2020.
Transforming Kenya's Agriculture Sector with Technology ¶
Published on July 1, 2020, Kenya's agriculture sector has experienced significant growth, with an annual increase of 4.8% since 2012. The sector's share of GDP stood at 33% as of 2016.
Despite this growth, Kenya's food deficit remains higher than the sub-Saharan Africa and world averages. The government has made food security a key part of its Big Four agenda, aiming for an annual economic growth of 10%.
Efforts to address food security have included the implementation of the 10-year Agricultural Sector Transformation and Growth Strategy (2019-2029). This strategy prioritizes the transformation of smallholder agriculture from subsistence to a commercially-orientated and modern agricultural sector.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic and government-imposed movement restrictions pose significant challenges to food production in the country.
Technology has the potential to mitigate these challenges, enabling farmers to use precise amounts of inputs, identify distress in plants, and maintain better control over their farm operations. Digital solutions can facilitate better decision-making, and farmers can benefit from this technology.
Recognizing the role of technology in agriculture, the president has emphasized the use of science and technology to achieve inclusive agricultural growth, nutrition, and food security. The right application of technology can address challenges like food security in current times and the future.
For instance, advanced devices and precision agriculture can make businesses more profitable, efficient, safer, and environmentally friendly. The Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem offers enormous promise in addressing the challenges outlined above.
IoT-based technologies and solutions can enhance agricultural productivity to meet food demand. Smart agriculture will utilize IoT-based technologies to boost operational efficiency, maximize yields, and minimize wastage.
A good example of this is the work done with Twiga farms. Liquid Telecom deployed a complete precision agriculture IoT system to improve farm productivity at Twiga's Takuwa farm. The system includes various types of agriculture sensors that provide critical information to the Twiga agronomy team.
These sensors help measure temperature, humidity, rainfall, and wind speed, giving real-time data at the farm site. This information enables the farm managers to apply the right farming approach, such as when to irrigate or apply pesticides. The water quality sensors provide specific metrics that help the team optimize their fertilizer application.
Furthermore, Liquid Telecom has installed soil probes that measure moisture levels and temperature at different depths into the soil, giving precise information of soil quality and irrigation needs at the roots of specific crops. This is set to improve farming methods at Takuwa farm and contribute towards an increase in crop yield for Twiga Foods.
In the long run, using IoT-based soil monitoring systems will enable farmers to track and improve the quality of soil, avoiding degradation and minimizing erosion, densification, salinisation, acidification, and pollution by toxic elements. This should significantly improve crop yields and help boost food security.
A similar approach can be applied to precision livestock farming, using the IoT to support real-time monitoring of productions, health, and welfare of livestock to ensure optimal yield. In line with this, an IoT network has been deployed in Western Kenya and Nyanza to monitor and protect freshwater fish populations.
By leveraging technology, farmers and their families can become more economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable.
By Adil Youseffi, Regional CEO, East Africa Liquid Telecom
