Agri Information: New Satellite Data Technology in Uganda

In Uganda a big challenges for farmers is lack of up-to-date information, especially on the good agronomical and weather updates. Because of this, farmers either plant late or in the middle of the season, something which affects not only the quantities but also the quality of production.

In a bid to reduce on these losses, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in collaboration with six other partners with support from the Dutch ministry of Foreign Affairs, has launched a new satellite data technology project in Uganda.

This project dubbed the 'Market-led, User-owned ICT4Ag Enabled Information Service' (MUIIS) will help in building capacity of farmers to become information service providers using Information Communication Technology (ICT). This 3 year project is expected to benefit a total of 350,000 farmers in Uganda something experts say will go a long way not only in improving the livelihood of the farmers but also agriculture's contribution to the country's GDP will increase.

This project is predicted to increase food crop yield, increase in effective use of agricultural inputs, farmers' income, and trade and investment activities by agri-input dealers, provide and enhance literacy, capacity building for the disadvantaged.

This project is designed as a demand-driven, Market-led, User-owned ICT4Ag Enabled Information Service (MUIIS), seeks to strengthen information and communication technologies (ICTs) and knowledge management (KM) capacities of grassroots farmers.

Project partners include the Ministry of Agriculture, National Information Technology Authority, Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, and partners including Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), aWhere Inc., the East African Farmers' Federation (EAFF), EARS Earth Environment Monitoring (EARS-E2M), the eLEAF Competence Center (eLEAF) and Mercy Corps, Uganda.

Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/201510281411.html