A lack of access to reliable information is one of the major challenges facing small-scale farmers in South Africa. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research states that it is working to address this issue in collaboration with the relevant government departments.
The Head of the CSIR’s Precision Agriculture Research Group, Professor Moses Azong Cho, says they have developed near-real-time systems that use satellite data to give farmers crucial information about their soil and crops.
Speaking at an event showcasing innovations driving sustainable development, the CSIR says new technology is helping to dramatically boost productivity for small-scale farmers in South Africa. Prof Moses Azong Cho says their systems help them manage their land more efficiently without relying on costly laboratory tests.
“At the CSIR, we have embarked on a number of R&D, that is research, development and innovation initiatives, all in support of government’s decadal plan to modernize the agricultural sector. As we are all aware, we have a sector that is almost divided between the large-scale producers and the bigger majority are small-scale farmers who lack access to information. And we argue that you cannot manage what you can’t measure. And so some of the technologies we’ve developed are near real-time technologies that will enable farmers to manage and monitor their farms on a near real-time basis,” Cho added.
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Cho explains that limited resources prevent small-scale farmers from sending samples to remote laboratories to assess soil nutrients, acidity and other vital factors. He says this is where the satellites help farmers collect data.
“Satellites are these cameras that pass over our heads, some 600 kilometers on a daily basis. So we derive this information from the satellite data, and we can provide this information to the farmers. And this is really facilitating the process of our farmers, you know, producing on a more sustainable basis, managing their resources, because the cost of production is high. And anything we can do to minimize the cost of production is helpful to the farmer, so that they earn better yields, better quality crops, and of course, better, I mean, profits at the end of the day,” says Cho.
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Cho says they have helped farmers in Bronkhorstspruit who were struggling with acidic soils. They were guided on exactly where and how much lime to apply and their maize production rose from 3 tons per hectare to about 8 tons. Meanwhile, the CSIR is also using technology to support the livestock sector.
“Your foot and mouth disease – farmers are faced with all of these challenges, including cattle theft, livestock, and stock theft is a huge challenge, but with technology, we can mitigate some of these challenges. For example, with regards to foot and mouth, we are currently undertaking a project where we’re mapping, animal, wildlife, and livestock mobility around parks so that we can advise park managers and landscape managers on how to manage the movement of livestock within those regions where there’s a possibility of wildlife, the buffaloes and the cattle coming into close contact,” says Cho.
Prof Cho says science and technology remain critical tools for modernising agriculture and supporting South Africa’s food security.
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