• Latest
  • Trending
8 digital tools cassava farmers must have in 2020

8 digital tools cassava farmers must have in 2020

February 6, 2020
My encounter with Bola Tinubu- Sunday Igboho

My encounter with Bola Tinubu- Sunday Igboho

January 26, 2021
BREAKING: Buhari appoints new Service Chiefs

BREAKING: Buhari appoints new Service Chiefs

January 26, 2021
Suspected ISIS operatives, terrorists positioned in Oke-ogun area of Oyo State, says Gani Adams

Sunday Igboho: Yorubas always destroy their warrior-Gani Adams

January 26, 2021
IGP has ordered arrest of Sunday Igboho-Garba Shehu

VIDEO: Sunday Igboho speaks on fire incident, says Yoruba people conspiring with Fulani criminals to attack him

January 26, 2021
COVID-19: CACOVID donates Oxygen to isolation centres

COVID-19: CACOVID donates Oxygen to isolation centres

January 26, 2021
PHOTOS+VIDEO: Fire razes Sunday Igboho’s house in Ibadan

JUST IN: Hoodlums shoot sporadically before setting Sunday Igboho’s house ablaze- Oyo Police

January 26, 2021
Coronavirus strain found in UK now in Nigeria, says PTF

Coronavirus strain found in UK now in Nigeria, says PTF

January 26, 2021
PHOTOS+VIDEO: Fire razes Sunday Igboho’s house in Ibadan

PHOTOS+VIDEO: Fire razes Sunday Igboho’s house in Ibadan

January 26, 2021
Quit notice: Group condemns Miyeti Allah, FG over comments, wants killers of Aborode, others unearthed, prosecuted

Quit notice: Group condemns Miyeti Allah, FG over comments, wants killers of Aborode, others unearthed, prosecuted

January 26, 2021
We are investigating alleged high-handedness of Amotekun, says Makinde

Insecurity: Why I won’t support support Sunday Igboho’s actions- Makinde

January 25, 2021
Firms begin construction of 900 low cost federal housing units in Ibadan

Firms begin construction of 900 low cost federal housing units in Ibadan

January 25, 2021
IGP has ordered arrest of Sunday Igboho-Garba Shehu

VIDEO: Yoruba leaders have warned Buhari not to arrest me- Sunday Igboho

January 25, 2021
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
  • Login
Newspeakonline
  • News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak ExclusivesNew
No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak ExclusivesNew
No Result
View All Result
Newspeak
Home News Science

8 digital tools cassava farmers must have in 2020

Patrick Akpu by Patrick Akpu
February 6, 2020
in Science
Reading Time: 7 min
0
8 digital tools cassava farmers must have in 2020
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on WhatsAppShare on Telegram
UBA Banner 533×166
FirstBank Dec29

Africa is a major producer of cassava in the world, but many farmers are recording low yield per hectare (less than 10 tons per ha) due to poor weed management, wrong application of fertilizers, low knowledge of cassava agronomy, and the cultivation of poor quality seeds with low genetic potential, says a statement issued by Godwin Atser, Digital Extension and Advisory Services Expert with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA).

To address those challenges, IITA has developed digital solutions to tackle the agronomic factors undermining cassava yield in Africa.

RelatedPosts

IVG: The new technology that could make same-sex couples have children

Oyo cassava farmers excited over ‘Six Steps’ toolkit

Agribusiness: Study reveals how horticulture can bring quick investment returns, boost Africa’s economy

According to Atser, “these smart farming tools are helping cassava farmers to make wise investment decisions. He said the aim is to match or beat the mark in Asia where farmers record yield of more than 20 tons per ha.

Eight of these digital tools are discussed below:

1.     Akilimo Paper and Mobile Application

Developed by the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) of IITA, Akilimo is an all-in-one agronomic advisory tool that supports cassava growers with knowledge and recommendations to intensify their cassava-based cropping systems. Recommendations from Akilimo are based on the knowledge gathered from field trials in over 5,000 farmers’ fields, according to Dr Pieter Pypers, Project Leader for ACAI. Akilimo combines this data with weather and soil data in spatial crop models to calculate expected yield increases and revenue gain from investments in improved agronomic interventions. These include customized advice on fertilizer application, tillage regime, best planting practices, cost-effective weed control measures, intercropping practices, and tailored planting and harvest schedules.

Akilimo exists in different formats—as paper-based tool, mobile app and as a component of the digital tools of the 3-2-1 service of Viamo. Akilimo will also be included in the chatbot of Arifu, and the existing agronomic content of eSOKO. A unique feature of Akilimo is that its recommendations are site-specific and tailored towards the farmer’s needs and cropping objectives since the app only advises after obtaining answers to vital questions and as well as the user’s farm location via GPS or manual imputation. Akilimo combines the 3-2-1 service of Viamo. By simply dialing 3-2-1 on any mobile phone with an Airtel sim card, a farmer can get information on cassava agronomy free of charge up to 10 times in a month. All that a farmer needs to use this service is a simple mobile phone with an Airtel sim card and the ability to press 3-2-1 on the phone. The service requires no education and no internet. The Akilimo advisory service on Viamo is available in English, Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo.

The agronomic recommendations were developed by the Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) and the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI). The name Akilimo was coined from a combination of two Swahili words: Akili, meaning Smart/Intelligent and Kilimo meaning Agriculture, which loosely translates to smart agriculture.

Click here: https://cassavamatters.org/akilimo/ to Download the paper version of Akilimo

 

2.     IITA Herbicide Calculator

The IITA Herbicide Calculator is a mobile app developed by IITA’s Cassava Weed Management Project (CWMP) (now ACAI) to forestall incidents of under-dosing or overdosing of herbicides. This simple mobile application, which has been embraced by many cassava farmers in Nigeria, Tanzania and several other African countries, has many benefits. It brings about precision in agriculture, helps farmers to become more efficient and prevents economic losses arising from overdosage of herbicides.

“The app also prevents environmental pollution and herbicides resistance arising from herbicides abuse,” says Prof. Friday Ekeleme, Principal Investigator on Weeds under ACAI.

The App helps farmers and spray service providers to estimate correctly, the quantity of herbicides to be added to knapsack sprayers and promotes the effectiveness of herbicides. The herbicide calculator was developed under the coordination of Godwin Atser, IITA Digital Extension & Advisory Services Specialist, and is the most downloaded of the apps recently rolled out.

Click here: https://cassavamatters.org/iita_herbicide-calculator/ to download IITA Herbicide Calculator

 

3.     Cassava Seed Tracker

Access to high quality and affordable cassava planting materials is an important part of cassava farming since it affects the performance of the crop. The Cassava Seed Tracker is a web-app that provides essential features for quality seed production and access to quality stem cuttings of improved cassava varieties from the accredited seed producers. The Seed Tracker is available on android app in Google Playstore, and it enables registration of seed fields for accreditation by National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC). It also facilitates the buying and selling of quality stem cuttings of improved cassava varieties from accredited seed producers. This app provides details of improved cassava varieties released in Nigeria, the location and availability for ready access. The map-based curation features readily helps users to navigate for information and access seed sellers or buyers.

The app was developed by a team at IITA-Nigeria led by Dr Lava Kumar, a Virologist and Head of the Germplasm Health Unit under the CRP-RTB and piloted in Nigeria in collaboration with  the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) through the Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Seed System for Cassava in Nigeria (BASICS) project.

Click here: https://seedtracker.org/cassava/ to access Cassava Seed Tracker

4.     Cassava Matters (Cassavamatters.org)

The Cassava Matters website, cassavamatters.org, is the online knowledge bank for farmers, extension agents, researchers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in the cassava sector.

The web platform was developed under the leadership of Drs Alfred Dixon (IITA Director for Development & Delivery) and Bernard Vanlauwe (IITA Director for Central Africa) and it provides information that improves cassava yields, weed management, cassava processing and marketing etc.

Cassava Matters operates as a collaborative platform between the Cassava Weed Management Project also known as the Sustainable Weed Management Technologies for Cassava Systems in Nigeria, the African Cassava Agronomy Initiative (ACAI) and the Cassava Seed Systems project also known as Building an Economically Sustainable, Integrated Seed System for Cassava in Nigeria (BASICS).

Click here to access Cassava Matters: www.cassavamatters.org

5.     Cassava e-Market

The Cassava e-Market is an online market place for cassava and cassava-related commodities on Cassava Matters website, www.cassavamatters.org.

The platform is a multi-seller/multi-vendor avenue for farmers (especially cassava farmers) to advertise and sell their produce. Related farming and processing equipment, herbicides, fertilizers, farmlands and lots more can also be advertised, sold and bought on the Cassava e-Market.

Since its debut in 2019, farmers and traders have been excited about the e-Market, because they can buy and sell processed cassava products like garri and fufu in large quantities and at great prices.

The platform was developed under the coordination of Godwin Atser, IITA Digital Extension & Advisory Services Specialist and it operates like other popular online stalls such as Alibaba and Kijiji.

Click here: https://cassavamatters.org/e-market/  to assess Cassava e-Market

 

6.     Farming on Radio

Apart from being a companion and a source of information, radio has become a vital knowledge-enhancing tool for farmers, thanks to a program called “Farming on Radio”.

“Farming on Radio” is a radio program that broadcasts agronomic recommendations to farmers. The program is aired on three Nigerian radio stations and in three languages – English, Yoruba and Tiv. The radio stations on which the program is aired are Splash FM (105.5 FM), Harvest FM (98.9FM) and Amuludun FM (99.1FM). There is a plan to extend the program to Tanzania in 2020.

The three radio stations are among the most listened to stations, according Media Planning Services— an agency that advertisers depend on to make investment decisions.

The program on Ibadan-based Splash FM, which is also streamed online is aired every Wednesday, 7.00 PM – 7.30 PM and is anchored by Seun Akinola with Godwin Atser. On Benue-based Harvest FM, the program is aired in Tiv language by 1.00PM -1.30PM every Fridays and anchored by Joseph Kwaghdega with Godwin Atser; while Amuludun FM airs the Yoruba version every Tuesdays (5.00PM – 5.30PM) with Rasheed Adegbola as the anchor with Abiodun Olatoye, an extension agent with Oyo State Agricultural Development Program.

Listen to Farming on Radio via:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1IXz_xvzFo0bwD7Hp9_5-lOFBkDuKnxXH

 

7.     Cassava Matters on YouTube

Extension agents working with ACAI are currently using videos to educate farmers on best bet agronomic practices. These videos are great tools for farmers because they contain visuals that help in communicating the recommendations.

Another high point for these videos is that they are available in several languages including English, Yoruba, Tiv, Igbo and Pidgin English.

The videos  can be found on the Cassava Matters Youtube channel via: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKcEMJeizGagCXZRGepZJ5g

 

8.     GoSeed Tracker

The GoSeed Tracker is a fully featured program for real-time tracking of cassava seed production, including planting planning, registration of seed fields, crop management, harvesting, quality assessment and quality assertion. The GoSeed tracker also serves as a digital platform for communication and networking of cassava seed producers and service providers. The tracker was developed by the IITA Business Incubation Platform (BIP).

Click here to access GoSeed Tracker: https://seedtracker.org/index.php/iita-goseed/

 

Related

Tags: CassavaDigital economyIITA
Previous Post

INEC deregisters 74 political parties(SEE LIST)

Next Post

Auditor went blind while working on univerity’s accounts, UI bursar tells Reps

Related Posts

Oyo cassava farmers excited over ‘Six Steps’ toolkit

Oyo cassava farmers excited over ‘Six Steps’ toolkit

October 12, 2020
Agribusiness: Study reveals how horticulture can bring quick investment returns, boost Africa’s economy

Agribusiness: Study reveals how horticulture can bring quick investment returns, boost Africa’s economy

July 2, 2020

IITA, Mastercard, partner to empower over 200,000 young Nigerians

June 20, 2020

IITA appoints ex-FUNAAB DVC to head cassava seed system project, BASICS-II

June 11, 2020

Agriculture: Enugu adopts IITA digital tools for cassava weed control, extension services, others

April 30, 2020

IITA extends cassava farming advisory tool, Akilimo, to 9 states in Nigeria

April 6, 2020

IITA, Bells University, sign MoU to establish Agric Centre, Incubation hub in Ota

March 5, 2020
Next Post
UI sets up panel to investigate sexual misconduct cases

Auditor went blind while working on univerity's accounts, UI bursar tells Reps

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Nigeria COVID-19 Live Update

NIGERIA

Confirmed
124,299
+1,303
Deaths
1,522
+15
Recovered
99,276
Active
23,501
Last updated: January 27, 2021 - 2:08 am (+01:00)

Global

Confirmed
100,807,063
+523,141
Deaths
2,165,017
+15,735
Recovered
72,818,740
Active
25,823,306
Last updated: January 27, 2021 - 2:08 am (+01:00)
Access Bank2020

Newspeakonline

© 2020 Newspeak & Associates
Optimized by IChannelTech.

Navigate Site

  • Breaking News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Interview
  • Newpeak Magazine
  • Newspeak Exclusives
  • Politics
  • COVID-19 Update

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Technology
  • World
    • Africa
    • Americas
    • Asia
    • Europe
  • Opinion
  • Interview
  • Newspeak Exclusives

© 2020 Newspeak & Associates
Optimized by IChannelTech.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In