So how do you teach a computer how to identify a cashew tree? “So even if you have great overhead images of farmland, it would take a lot of time to identify which are actually cashew trees - before you can even start analyzing how well those trees are maintained.” “In Benin, cashew trees are often planted irregularly with other kinds of trees and crops,” says James Obarowski, Country Director in Benin. Enter machine learning: teaching a computer to make intelligent assessments about the imagery it collects. To get the complete picture, analysts layer together several sources of information, including ground data collected by survey teams.Īll this imagery provides a treasure trove of agricultural information - but it still has to be analyzed on a wide scale. Drones provide high-resolution imagery but can only cover a small area, while satellites cover a large area but can be limited by cloud cover and other issues. It often involves drones, airplanes, and satellites, which can provide important aerial imagery. Remote sensing is the process of acquiring information from a distance. Now, technology known as remote sensing may change all that. While “ground-truthing” agricultural information is essential, it doesn’t allow trainers to identify and support farmers on a large scale. Now I’m selling 15 bags this year.”īut how can agricultural trainers know which farmers need help? Currently, trainers visit farms on foot, wandering rows of cashew trees and jotting down notes on any signs of poor farming practices. “In the years before I participated in training with BeninCajù, my two hectares produced five bags. “Cashew allows me to live,” says Biba Saka Koto, a cashew farmer in Benin. With additional co-funding from Wehubit in 2019 and USDA in 2020, the CajùLab initiative has been using emerging digital solutions such as drones and machine learning to promote farmer adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, with tools and impact scaled across the entire BeninCajù program. Department of Agriculture (USDA), TechnoServe has helped smallholder cashew farmers in Benin improve their yields, boost their incomes, and increase domestic processing. James Obarowski, TechnoServe Country Director, Benin So even if you have great overhead images of farmland, it would take a lot of time to identify which are actually cashew trees - before you can even start analyzing how well those trees are maintained.” In Benin, cashew trees are often planted irregularly with other kinds of trees and crops. With the Benin government vowing to triple cashew production by 2027, the issue of identifying and training those farmers who aren’t practicing the best agricultural techniques has become critical. Without this knowledge, farmers often struggle with low yields and limited income. Simple practices like proper weeding and allowing sufficient space between trees to avoid leaf canopies touching can make a major difference in the amount and quality of cashews that farmers can produce. Many smallholder farmers in Benin do not use good agricultural practices on their farms, either because they are not aware of them or because they are perceived as too costly. Now, the latest technology is enabling the spread of agricultural information on a scale that could change the fortunes of hardworking farmers across the country - and the region. Cashew represents almost 10% of the country’s national export earnings, but smallholder farmers often lack the skills and training to maximize the potential of their crop. Soaring above acres of farmland, this drone captures hundreds of images within minutes, which tell an important story about the health of the crops below.įor approximately 200,000 farming families in Benin, this information is critical to their hopes of a good cashew harvest and the income to build a better life. In the bright blue sky above an orchard of cashew trees in Benin, an object the size of a large bird skims the air. TechnoServe is using remote sensing and machine learning to map cashew production and target agricultural training to farmers who need it most. However, poor agricultural practices often limit their productivity and incomes. In Benin, the cashew industry has the potential to help hundreds of thousands of small-scale farmers lift themselves out of poverty.
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