AgroCares and Solidaridad have committed to work together to help smallholder farmers test their soils in Southern & Eastern Africa.
Thanks to AgroCares technology, Solidaridad will lay the infrastructure for digitally enabled agriculture in Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi and DRC. This month, the calibration of AgroCares technology in Mozambique has started, and will enable Mozambican farmers to use the Scanner and know their soil status instantly. This service will be available in a few months.
Fertilizer (mis)use
In several Southern & Eastern African countries, fertilizers are distributed to farmers at a subsidized price. However, these fertilizers are often distributed according a generic recommendation, irrespective of soil status, crop and farmers’ objectives. As a consequence, suboptimal use is made of fertilizers which leads to spillage and economic losses. Instead, fertilizers choice (both type and amount) should be based on soil status, crop type and expected yield levels. In this way, farmers can make the best use of nutrients.
The AgroCares Scanner
It is impossible to manage what you do not measure, and reliable soil tests are inaccessible for most African farmers. When available, they are often too expensive and the delay between the sampling and the result is too long for the farmers to make good interpretations.
Solidaridad and AgroCares will bring an affordable, quick and easy-to-use technology for smallholder farmers to test their soil: The AgroCares Scanner.
Solidaridad Approach
Solidaridad identifies three keys for smallholder farmer success: good seeds, good agricultural practices, and good information about the soil status.
If your soil is a black box, you are a blind fly. Eventually you will encounter a wall.
Mandla Nkomo
Director of Solidaridad Southern Africa
Solidaridad is not able to hire 1000 service providers that offer soil testing services to farmers in Southern and Eastern Africa. However, they will lay the infrastructure for digitally enabled agriculture so that it happens. For this purpose, they co-finance with AgroCares the calibration of the technology for South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Next to this, they will incorporate soil testing Scanners in many of their existing projects to adjust their soil management practices and showcase that it is now possible and easy to test soils.
Exciting partnerships with NGOs such as Solidaridad increase the impacts of our technology and allow us to help more East-African farmers.
Christy van Beek
Chief Agronomist at AgroCares
About Solidaridad
Solidaridad is an international civil society organization founded in 1969. Its mission is to facilitate the development of socially responsible, ecologically sound and profitable supply chains. Thanks to AgroCares technology, Solidaridad will lay the infrastructure for digitally enabled agriculture in Zambia, South Africa, Mozambique, Malawi and DRC.
Their ambition is to launch a large movement of agripreneurs who will efficiently advise farmers all over Africa thanks to smart data services. They picture 2000 active Scanners generating live nutrient maps on a cloud, so that it will be possible to know in real time which nutrient are lacking the most in which areas.
Is your organization also interested in partnering with AgroCares? Contact us now to discuss the opportunities!