This AI Helps Kenyan Farmers To Know When To Plant Their Crops
Wednesday, October 9, 2019
By Andrew Wight
Seven decades ago, agricultural scientists used high-yielding, dwarf varieties of wheat and rice to revolutionize agriculture across Asia and Latin America – and now European data scientists are teaming up with Kenyan farmers to use the fruits of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to drive the next agricultural one.
The Green Revolution produced massive increases in crop yields throughout Asia and Latin America, but even today, many smallholders –farmers who produce crops on small pieces of land – struggle to afford and utilize the mechanized equipment and agricultural chemicals that came with that revolution.
When it comes to Africa, there is still great potential for productivity increases in agriculture. The number of small-holder farmers in Kenya could be between 5 million and 9 million people according to some estimates.
In order to see how artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data could help those farmers, French consultancy firm Capgemini teamed up with a Kenyan social enterprise in the Kakamega region in Western Kenya.
Photo courtesy of Bioversity International.
Source: Forbes (link opens in a new window)
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