Saving Namibia’s livestock industry - Part 8:
Farming in the age of smart phones A
s we live in a time of innovative and exciting electronic and technological development, the increase in business being conducted by means of today’s variety of mobile phones is not surprising. In this regard, Steve Carver presented an interesting and enlightening presentation at the Rangeland Forum in 2018. The following is a summary of Steve Carver’s presentation: “Mobile phone technologies are presenting farmers with unprecedented opportunities to run their operations more productively and increase their income. It is radically changing the face of the world.” – Steve Carver, founder and chairman of Win:Win Earth pointed out the benefits of using technology for farm management and linking stakeholders in the industry to the farmer. He explained that an industry platform would give farmers access to 35 years of satellite-based records for weather conditions and temperatures. It would also assist with crop and input choices, decrease risks, increase yields and revenues, and provide access to communications, technical advice, and crop insurance. “Precision farming, the way we farm, the inclusivity of farmers and the inclusivity of women in farming is happening through mobile phones. It is one of the most important things in creating prosperity for residents of Africa.” Grassland management “The management of grasslands to ensure the regeneration of highquality grass for cattle to feed off can be achieved through Google Internet of Things.” Steve explained that the ongoing movement of cattle and the management and timing of when to move them away from certain grazing areas is critical for the sustainability and productivity of grasslands. To this end, an App on mobile phones will give farmers information such as the location and stress levels of the animals. This data can then be downloaded onto a computer, for which a platform is created to enable farmers to manage their rangeland from anywhere. Micro-jobbing Steve stressed the importance of mobile phones in micro-jobbing, microlearning, and micro-financing. With the concept of micro-jobbing, people in remote areas can use a dynamic mobile platform that allows them to complete tasks. They are then rewarded for their efforts through a verification system.
35 years of satellite records of weather, temperatures
Decreased risks for agripreneurs and buyers
Assistance with crop and input choice
Direct link to market and opportunities
Offline capability, data driven growing and harvesting advice
Increased yields and revenues
Traceability and transparency
Task and reward based micro financing Crop insurance
Agripreneur microlearning
Poverty to prosperity mapping
SDG impact tracking
Steve Carver illustrated the crucial role of cellular phones and an industrybased platform to transform the agricultural sector in Namibia. A task & reward platform (micro-jobbing)
Earn as you go
Win:Win Earth, for example, designed an App for 6 500 small-scale producers of chilli plants for the Tabasco product. Through mobile phone photographs, producers are able to show evidence of the work they have done. Money is then transferred to them via their phones from the manufacturers. “This system also ensures traceability of the product. Today’s consumer wants authenticity, fairness, and trust. They also want to know that producers benefit from their purchases. It is not only about the product anymore; it is the stories about the product that are becoming valuable.” The illustration above demonstrates how the simple task management and reward incentive platform works. Earn and learn “We discovered that education is more important than money for the young herders in northern Namibia. They want better jobs and better lives.” According to Steve, the majority of the herders come from Zambia. They
ProAgri Botswana / Namibia / Zimbabwe 13
are also the lowest income earners in the country because of their illegal immigrant status. These workers can learn and, at the same time, earn money through incentive programmes. Additionally, their observations could be valuable for conservationists. They can, for example, report on snares and elephant and predator movements to create an animal warning system, as well as provide information on cattle. In this way, they can play a dual role in assisting with conservation as well as herding cattle. Eye in the sky Another powerful tool that can be used, especially in conservation, is the American military intelligence tool, Eye in the Sky, which picks up data from mobile phones. For example, if a mobile phone owner goes off a road for more than five minutes, alarms will go off, alerting conservationists of possible poaching activity. Another way to use mobile phone information and social media in conser31
