By:  Nicholas Muthethia

Food sustainability is a crisis that has grown to intolerable levels in Kenya. In the last few years, cases of the government either importing large amounts of food items or receiving donations of food products from other countries and humanitarian organizations have been many.

Kenya is located at a prime geographic location within the tropics and on the equator with an average of 8 hours of sunlight throughout the year, two seasons of rainfall and about 160,000 square kilometers of arable land.

By leveraging on this geographic advantage and utilizing emerging technologies in agriculture, the country could address some of the challenges related to food production such as yield gaps, pest control and optimization of water resources for agricultural production.

Precision Agriculture

Precision agriculture is a modernized approach to farming that leverages on the use of advanced technology such as sensors, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Global Positioning System (GPS) to monitor crop conditions and intervene in time and space, thereby ensuring the sustainability of food production.

The data gathered from precise agricultural techniques is used to optimize farm processes like using precise, heavy-lift drones to dust crops and autonomously steering tractors that precise locations from inbuilt GPS. A few of the precision agriculture trends that can be leveraged on to promote sustainable food production in Kenya include.

1. Autonomous Agriculture

John Deere was the first company to develop a fully autonomous tractor concept. Autonomous tractors are self-driving farm equipment that perform duties on the farm without an operator sitting in the cab. The tractors rely on a wide range of sophisticated technologies like stereo cameras for obstacle detection and avoidance and an integrated Artificial Intelligence (AI) system to interpret the images captured by the cameras which helped the tractor to accurately judge distances.

For accurate positioning, the tractors are equipped with accurate GPS units, and multiple Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) receiver modules mounted on the tractor to receive corrections either from nearby base stations or from Continuous Operating Reference Stations (CORS).

The GPS signals helps in field mapping, autonomous steering of the machines using plotted field coordinates, field planning, soil sampling, crop scouting and yield mapping. The onboard GPS system helps the farmer to operate machinery even in low visibility in the event of fog, darkness and heavy rains since they rely on mapped GPS coordinates to navigate rather than their visual judgement.

Deploying RTK technology in tractors has several production-relatable advantages such as fuel use efficiency, minimizing human errors, better data gathering and addressing labor deficits. The GPS system also guarantees repeatability of accuracy in the trajectory of the tractors by maintaining the accuracy of coordinates every time. There is also a considerable overlap accuracy on these tractors with effective overlap being reduced by more than 0.5% to minimize wastage during spraying, ploughing and seeding.

2. Drones

Drones have a versatile use in the agricultural field, playing pivotal roles like plant health monitoring, aerial survey, dusting, seed broadcasting and livestock management. Agricultural drone breeds like the DJI Agras series (T20, T30 and T40) have an astonishing field capability, serving as multi-role heavy lift drones that can be used for the precise spraying of crops and broadcasting of seeds.

Additionally, survey-grade drones like the DJI Matrice 300 RTK and Phantom 4 pro are extensively being fitted with imaging land imaging sensors and other intelligent technologies to allow farmers to monitor crops and animals from above.

Drones are intelligent and they are being to troubleshoot problems like leakages in irrigation systems, dam infrastructural monitoring and counting livestock using specialized algorithms.

3. Variable Rate Technology (VRT)

When it comes to fertilizers, insecticides, and even irrigation water, farmers may tailor their inputs to each individual crop using Variable Rate Technology (VRT), a precision agricultural method. Prescription maps that direct the variable application of inputs are generated using data collected from fields via sensors, GPS mapping, and computational algorithms.

The ability of VRT to increase resource efficiency, decrease input costs, and boost crop yields gives it great significance in the agricultural sector. Farmers may save time, money, and produce more without wasting resources by applying inputs only when and where they are needed. With VRT, farmers can direct resources to problem regions, such as those with low fertility or large insect populations.

Growing crops in the best possible condition can improve yields and quality, and this method can help farmers achieve both goals. In conclusion, VRT is a crucial tool for contemporary agriculture since it allows farmers to increase their sustainability and profitability while reducing their negative effects on the surrounding environment.

4. Internet of Things (IOT)

The term “Internet of Things” (IoT) is used to describe the interconnection and communication between various machines, sensors, and other physical items that are linked via the internet.  IoT refers to the use of sensors and other connected devices in farming to gather and analyze data on crops, weather, soil conditions, and other elements that can affect plant development and yield. IoT technology in precision agriculture can be used to control farm activities in real-time, maximizing crop yields while decreasing expenses and wastage.

Soil moisture monitors, weather stations, unmanned aerial vehicles, and driverless tractors are just a few examples of the Internet of Things (IoT) devices utilized in precision agriculture. Technology like this is helping farmers make better decisions about when to water, fertilize, and harvest their crops based on data collected in real time about factors like soil moisture, temperature, and humidity.

Farmers can improve crop yields by analyzing data collected from IoT devices to reveal patterns and trends in crop development and inform decisions about how to manage their farms. This has the potential to boost output, enhance crop quality, and make farming operations more resilient.

Conclusion

It is now acknowledged that mechanization and automation of agriculture can play an important role in improving food production thereby addressing food security. In Kenya, to a large extent, the food related problems emanate from ineffective food production systems. Investing in emerging technology such as precision agriculture will be handy in addressing food shortages.

This will require policy initiatives to facilitate public private partnerships (PPP) in availing the required investment and capacity development for introduction and sustainability of technology-driven agricultural production both at large-scale and at small-scale farmer levels.