Geodata Empower Farmers
The potential benefit of using technology in the development sector is vast. Information from satellites and other (geo) data can be translated into agricultural advice, which enables higher crop yields and a more efficient use of seeds, water and fertilizers. Food producers will also be able to receive early warnings for drought, flooding and/or diseases.
SMARTseeds in Indonesia
In South East Asia, ICCO Cooperation is implementing the SMARTseeds Indonesia project, funded by the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) Facility, a Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs grant program, and managed by the Netherlands Space Office. The objective of G4AW programs is to improve sustainable food production through large-scale provision of relevant information and services based on geodata and supplemented with other data sources.
SMARTseeds aims to provide information services to improve the production, income and food security for 100,000 smallholder vegetable (tomato, chili and cucumber) farmers in 14 regencies and 3 provinces in Indonesia. Climate change has created difficulties for Indonesia’s vegetable farmers – particularly in creating and consistently using a crop plan.
What and how?
What makes this project unique is its application of science and technology to empower the most important actors in the food production chain: farmers. This project combines traditional and innovative methods of collecting data through field research and the use of geodata (satellite, GIS) to develop relevant information on climate, weather and soil nutrients, amongst others. The collected information will be collated and analyzed on the project’s integrated platform (Lizard) and formulated into content messages to provide demand-driven and accurate geo specific information and services, helping farmers work more effectively and efficiently.
To ensure the successful implementation of this project, SMARTseeds brings together seven public and private partners that make up the consortium for this project. Each member brings a unique set of knowledge and experiences that will contribute to the service for farmers.
First year progress
Having only kicked off at the end of 2016, the project is still in the early stages of implementation. In 2017, the baseline data has been collected, a soil survey has been conducted using the Akvo FLOW tool, and a weather station has been set up in East Java. The soil and weather information has been uploaded onto the integrated platform; however, the geodata, which is aimed at developing a crop map, is still in the process of being developed. As the work continues, exciting progress is sure to be made in the coming year.
Dini Kamayana,Communication Officer: m.kamayana@icco.nl
More info
Visit our website for more information and updates: www.smartseeds-indonesia.org.
For a quick overview of ICCO’s G4AW projects, see our video here.