Articles
Digital agriculture to fulfil the shortage of horticultural data and achieve food security in sub-Saharan Africa
Article number
1348_33
Pages
239 – 246
Language
English
Abstract
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), agricultural data are often scarce, irregular, unreliable, and inaccessible.
Agricultural data, when existing, relate almost exclusively to yields and cultivated areas at the national level and SSA suffers a significant lack of information at sub-national levels describing the agricultural systems (area, production quality and quantity, management practices, agrobiodiversity). This study focused on horticultural crops (fruits and vegetables) for which the situation of data are worse than for annual staple crops because: i) fewer studies are carried out on horticultural crops; and ii) the complexity of horticultural systems hampering the development of accurate assessment methods.
Despite the importance of fruits and vegetables for food security, it is acknowledged that the lack of horticultural data in SSA affects all stakeholders of the value chains NDASH from farmers to the national and international institutions.
We focused on digital agriculture, which relies on technologies, as one of the pathways for data improvement in SSA by supporting data acquisition, standardisation, availability, and sharing between stakeholders.
For instance, data acquired by participative monitoring using smartphones might increase the availability of accurate information on yields at the field scale.
Other examples have shown that remotely sensed data from drones or satellites allow to accurately map and monitor horticultural systems, including agroforests.
By overcoming the lack of data, digital agriculture can help to better characterise and evaluate horticultural systems to improve food security.
The robustness of these tools and their adoption by farmers are discussed to upscale digital agriculture to address food security issues in SSA.
Agricultural data, when existing, relate almost exclusively to yields and cultivated areas at the national level and SSA suffers a significant lack of information at sub-national levels describing the agricultural systems (area, production quality and quantity, management practices, agrobiodiversity). This study focused on horticultural crops (fruits and vegetables) for which the situation of data are worse than for annual staple crops because: i) fewer studies are carried out on horticultural crops; and ii) the complexity of horticultural systems hampering the development of accurate assessment methods.
Despite the importance of fruits and vegetables for food security, it is acknowledged that the lack of horticultural data in SSA affects all stakeholders of the value chains NDASH from farmers to the national and international institutions.
We focused on digital agriculture, which relies on technologies, as one of the pathways for data improvement in SSA by supporting data acquisition, standardisation, availability, and sharing between stakeholders.
For instance, data acquired by participative monitoring using smartphones might increase the availability of accurate information on yields at the field scale.
Other examples have shown that remotely sensed data from drones or satellites allow to accurately map and monitor horticultural systems, including agroforests.
By overcoming the lack of data, digital agriculture can help to better characterise and evaluate horticultural systems to improve food security.
The robustness of these tools and their adoption by farmers are discussed to upscale digital agriculture to address food security issues in SSA.
Publication
Authors
J. Sarron, D. Beillouin, J. Huat, J.M. Koffi, J. Diatta, É. Malézieux, E. Faye
Keywords
digital technologies, remote sensing, data collection, smartphone applications
Groups involved
- Division Plant Genetic Resources, Breeding and Biotechnology
- Division Tropical and Subtropical Fruit and Nuts
- Division Temperate Tree Fruits
- Division Temperate Tree Nuts
- Division Vine and Berry Fruits
- Division Ornamental Plants
- Division Vegetables, Roots and Tubers
- Division Plant-Environment Interactions in Field Systems
- Division Greenhouse and Indoor Production Horticulture
- Division Postharvest and Quality Assurance
- Division Precision Horticulture and Engineering
- Division Horticulture for Human Health
- Division Horticulture for Development
- Division Landscape and Urban Horticulture
- Commission Banana
- Commission Cultivar Registration
- Commission Agroecology and Organic Farming Systems
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