To ensure sustainable use of resources and the application of new methods of farming, precision agriculture has emerged as a way to advance new techniques for improving production in Africa’s farmlands. Exactitude is fundamental to fertilizer application, pest and disease control and sustainable land use. Weeds that have previously been a challenge to Africa’s farming such as Striga spp. can now be subdued with precision agriculture that enhances water use efficiency and nutrient uptake by crops. Moreover, precision agriculture has a tridimensional approach towards better agricultural production, which is optimization of the resource use therefore more profits and sustainable land use. The new method’s other objective is to reduce the undesirable impacts connected to farming and land use in general. Also, the technique targets at enhancement of environmental quality in regard to the workplace. As an example, fertigation is at the fore of precision agriculture areas that ensure that wastage is minimized.
Precision agriculture applies a collection of real-time data hence data-driven information on crop growth, soil needs, atmospheric and air conditions, and forecast of the weather towards advancing agricultural production in derelict famlands. In addition to that, according to Nyaga et al., precision agriculture applies unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs-drones), the Internet of Things, and vertical farming methods to ensure better resource use. These are areas that are slowly being accepted for Africa’s agriculture to realize more productivity. At present, governments and stakeholders are promoting the application of this new technology for improved agriculture. The nexus of technology affordability and extension services is now the centrefold to realize the adoption and large-scale use of these new techniques in farming. The meaning of these is that more systematic mapping of agricultural resources is required for enhanced production.
Geographical information systems and detection of soil PH, moisture, air, temperature and nutrient contents is at the crux of the current studies on precision agriculture in several countries such as Kenya. Sub-Saharan African farmlands are generally arable making them key in sustainable agriculture and the use of precision agriculture concepts thereby better resource management and less wastage. Largely, climate-smart farming shall benefit from precision technology hence bettering the environment while ensuring reduced warming of the planet. At the centre of this is space farming such as vertical techniques that are applicable to Africa’s urban areas. This is buoyed by the increasing urban population and the need for sustainability.
References:
J.M. Nyaga, C.M. Onyango, J. Wetterlind, M. Söderström, Precision agriculture research in sub‑Saharan Africa countries: A systematic map. Precision Agriculture (2021) 22:1217–1236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11119-020-09780-w.
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