In order to feed 9 billion people by 2050, sustainable agricultural growth in needed, supporting an agricultural sector which produces enough food, which is inclusive and resilient, and which makes optimal use of innovation and digital solutions. Smallholder and family farmers must play a key role in achieving this. About 80% of the world’s food supply is produced by small-scale and family farmers, yet their full production potential is hardly reached. To strengthen resilience and productivity of these smallholder farmers, they need an enabling environment that supports their access to critical resources such as finance, markets, inputs, information and technical solutions.
In this issue
Can access to data really transform agriculture for smallholders?
In order to feed 9 billion people by 2050, sustainable agricultural growth in needed, supporting an agricultural sector which produces enough food, which is inclusive and resilient, and which makes optimal use of innovation and digital solutions. Smallholder and family farmers must play a key role in achieving this. A 80% of the world’s food supply is produced by small-scale and family farmers, yet their full production potential is hardly reached.
Farmer registration and development – the SACAU experience in Lesotho and eSwatini
Dispersed smallholder farmers in Sub-Sahara Africa are at risk of social and economic exclusion. Digital innovation and an enabling policy environment can help smallholders to transition out of poverty. The Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) considers farmers’ organisations to be the key to drive this change.
Value addition through digitalisation for Ugandan coffee farmers
A digital farmer profiling initiative, which enables coffee to be traced back to its roots, is paying off for smallholder farmers in Uganda. NUCAFE’s David Muwonge describes how coffee produced under the scheme is fetching far higher prices, revealing the strong potential of geo-referencing as a marketing tool to guarantee authenticity and origin.
Aggregating farmers for markets and agricultural support services
Agriculture is back at the top of Africa’s development agenda, enjoying the support of governments and attracting heavy investments from private sectors. Many of smallholder farmers across Africa that are central to the agricultural transformation taking shape on the continent, however, struggle to benefit from these developments due to their dispersed, small-scale and unorganised nature. Aggregation of smallholder farmers’ needs may provide the solution, says Norbert Tuyishime of the Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF).
Harnessing datafication for improved market access by farmers’ organisations: a case of Cameroon
by Marc Ghislain and Nestor Ngouambe
Marc Ghislain Bappa Se and Nestor Ngouambe discuss opportunities for farmers’ organisations to harness data-driven agriculture to facilitate market access for smallholder farmers in Cameroon. Taking the PIDMA project as an example, they argue that supporting farmers’ organisations’ capacity to capitalise on data is crucial for farmers to efficiently and effectively tap into the ‘data value chain’ sphere.
Data-driven smallholder tea production in Uganda
A spatial data management system to profile tea farmers and map tea plots among members of the Igara Tea Growers Factory (IGTF) in Uganda has led to increased access to financial services for producers, and higher repayment rates for input loans. An immediate impact has been increased productivity and a dramatic fall-off in the practice of side-selling – so much so that other tea companies are now considering adopting the model.
On-the-spot, easy and affordable soil testing for Kenyan smallholder farmers
by Christy van Beek , Susanne Coolen , Berten de Leede and Angelique van Helvoort
Africa is facing an escalating soil fertility crisis and without immediate interventions, the continent continues to lose over €3,5 billion per year worth of nutrients. To increase productivity whilst decreasing soil fertility decline, balanced fertilisation is essential. Farmer cooperatives using soil scanners to provide real-time fertiliser recommendations to farmers may be part of the solution. AgroCares and Agriterra present their findings from a soil sensor services pilot for farmer cooperatives in Kenya.
Enhancing pastoralists’ resilience in livestock value chains in East Africa
by Racho Godana Barille , John Mwikya and Frankline Agolla
The remote arid and semi-arid Lands of Northern Kenya are dominated by pastoralist livestock production and are constantly threatened by prolonged droughts. Destocking, restocking and moving their herd to grazing areas are a key coping strategy for herders. Yet in times of stress, herders often find themselves selling stock at low prices. The challenge of accessing information serves is a key constraint for pastoralist communities to make informed decisions and manage risks.
Satellite data for agricultural index insurance
How can we ensure that drought is no longer an outright disaster to smallholder farmers in Africa, but instead a manageable risk? With low-cost satellite-based index insurance products that monitor climatic conditions in near real-time and automatically trigger a pay-out when conditions are below normal. This helps farmers secure necessary credit for inputs, recover faster from bad seasons and sustainably improve their livelihoods.
This issue of ICT Update uncovers the power of organised smallholder farmers. Through a series of case studies, we explore how farmers’ organisations can make use of farmer data to enable access to resources, thereby strengthening the resilience, voice, or livelihoods of smallholder farmers.
