Kenya introduces 14 mobile apps for farmers to improve agriculture industry

  • 30/05/2018

Kenyan government launched 14 mobile applications for farmers in order to improve agricultural productivity, commercialization, trade and enhanced nutrition. Mwangi Kiunjuri, Cabinet Secretary for Agriculture and Irrigation, during the opening of the East African Digital Conference on Tuesday in Nairobi said that the digitalization of agricultural value chain in Kenya will provide farmers easier access to markets, more meticulous weather forecast and let them enjoy quality seeds. "We are digitizing our agriculture to help ease agricultural processes, boost electronic commerce and provide open data for future use," Kiunjuri noted. He stated that Kenya is transfiguring agriculture as a paradigm shift, given that old ways of delivering important services to populations are becoming old-fashioned. Adding further, he said that knowledge and information can effectively be harvested for overall agricultural and rural development with the paramount use of information and communication technology (ICT). "We are ushering in a new revolution that will lower prices for consumers, contribute to smart agriculture and motivate farmers to increase their production," he cited. The Cabinet Secretary announced that Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Organization (KALRO) is in the process to establish the first big-data platform and high-performance computing for agricultural research. "The platform will help improve research data democratization and insights to inform policies, particularly on improving smallholder farmers' livelihoods under current and future data scenarios," he added. Boniface Akuku, Director of ICT of KALRO, said that the mobile applications will help bridge the gap between research and practice. "It will help farmers acquire genuine information, unlike the conventional model that was open to farmers receiving wrong information that led to the growing of fake and un-recommended seeds," he stated. Akuku added that the applications will also help cultivators see crops that have been attacked by pests and diseases and also show preventive measures. "The farmers will from today see disease and pest varieties, time for harrowing, planting of seeds and also enable farmers report when they spot the pests," said Akuku.