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Advanced agricultural technology for smallholder farmers in Africa: PlantVillage

Copyright licence

Year of publication 2019

Place of publication Rome, Italy ;

Pages 2

Author FAO

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Brochure, flyer, fact-sheet

Category Brochure

Edition 1

Synopsis (short abstract) The stresses of increased transboundary pests and diseases, decreasing soil quality and the uncertainties of climate change mean that establishing detailed agriculture knowledge delivery systems is a critical requirement. Unfortunately, current systems for smallholder farmers, which rely on extension services, are unable to address this requirement. Smallholder farmers typically lack the in-field, in-season knowledge required to make optimal decisions. Such detailed knowledge is called precision agriculture. In particular, precision agriculture consists of the use of ground and aerial sensors to enable in-field, in-season decision-making to maximize yield, which until recently has been associated mainly with farms in high-income countries. To fill this gap, FAO has partnered with Penn State University and PlantVillage, a public good system that offers in-season, in-field knowledge delivery.

Language English

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