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Launching Next Generation ICT for Weather and Water Information and Advice to Smallholders in Africa

Launching Next Generation ICT for Weather and Water Information and Advice to Smallholders in Africa. Bharat R Sharma , L. Rebelo, G. Amarnath, I. Miltenburg 4 th CRS ICT4D Conference: Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities March 19-21, 2013; Alisa Hotel, Accra, Ghana.

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Launching Next Generation ICT for Weather and Water Information and Advice to Smallholders in Africa

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  1. Launching Next Generation ICT for Weather and Water Information and Advice to Smallholders in Africa Bharat R Sharma, L. Rebelo, G. Amarnath, I. Miltenburg 4th CRS ICT4D Conference: Mobile Services that Empower Vulnerable Communities March 19-21, 2013; Alisa Hotel, Accra, Ghana

  2. What are the opportunities to use ICT to increase agricultural productivity?

  3. Development Tools & Algorithms Develop Tool algorithms ->Turn satellite imagery and ancillary data into valuable information Develop operational calculation system Develop data delivery infrastructure Develop user applications What did we already do? • Run Operational Service • Data acquisition (satellite imagery) • Calculation automation • Tool application • Development of Information Package • Central storage • Dissemination through user application

  4. Strategy and Approach: Modular Information packages and transfer modes (cell phone, radio, smart phone, web) will be piloted based on the requirements and possibilities per location.

  5. From pixels….to information….to simple action messages For each field: weekly predictions:

  6. Development of Information Packages • Weeklycalculation of informationpackagefromsatellite image • Period: 2012: August 15 – December 31 -> Finished and available • Period: 2013: August 15 – December 31 -> Nextseason • 9 parameters (evapotranspiration, biomassgrowth, crop stress, …) 14-Dec – 20-Dec 2012 BiomassProduction [kg/ha/week] High detail: 20m spatialresolution 0 400 800

  7. Example Operational service • Example FieldLook Web Platform • Information packages ((2)weekly/seasonal) • Based on satellite imagery • Growth • biomass production (kg/ha) • leaf area index LAI  (m2 leaf/m2 ground) • vegetation index NDVI • Moisture • evaporation shortage (mm/week) • current evaporation (mm/week) • surplus rain (mm/2 weeks) • reference evaporation • Minerals • Nitrogen content in the top leaf layer (kg/ha) • Nitrogen content in all leafs (kg/ha)

  8. Inundation and flood forecasting: The Gash River, Sudan • Frequent rain-induced floods result in heavy losses in agriculture in this region The GeoSFM is a semi-distributed physically based hydrological model that simulates the dynamics of runoff processes using RS data Spatially distributed data is assimilated to simulate stream flow on a daily basis http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=12099

  9. Flood Inundation Products

  10. FieldLook Sudan operational website • http://fieldlook.com.sd/ • Also available in the Arabic Language

  11. Final Outputs • Cell-phone and web-based information system developed and tested in pilot areas. • Different stakeholders/ end users are able to make use of information and advice for better management, negotiation. • Priorities for specific weather, water, crop related information agreed and mode of transfer identified. • Agri-industry and other service providers interested in expansion and continuance.

  12. Target Groups • Individual smallholder farmers • Contract farm managers • Water User Associations • Irrigation Boards and Block Inspectors • Agriculture Extension Service Providers • Crop and Livestock Insurance Companies • Commodity stock cooperatives/ traders • State Dept. of agriculture/ irrigation/Meteo. • Agric. Research Institutions

  13. Project Partners ELEAF, DLV Plant, Basfood, The Netherlands -The Hydraulic Research Station, Sudan -Soil, Water, Environment Research Institute, Egypt -Directorate of National Meteorology, Mali -The HEDBEZ Consult, Ethiopia

  14. Bharat SharmaInternational Water Management Institute- New Delhi, Indiab.sharma@cgiar.org Thank You for Your Time and Interest! http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2011/jul/24/mobile-phones-africa-microfinance-farming

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