Soil testing can help farmers to know the current condition of their soil, and how to improve it for optimal crop growth. A soil test can also help farmers avoid over-fertilization, which harms the environment and wastes money. It can test for nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulfur, and other trace elements.
Agricultural productivity relies on various factors, with healthy soil being critical. Understanding the quality of the soil is essential for optimizing crop yield, preventing nutrient deficiencies, and promoting sustainable agricultural practices. However, many farmers face challenges in accessing affordable soil testing services, which can help them measure the nutrient levels and other properties of their soil. Some of these challenges include high costs, long waiting times, or lack of equipment and skills.
To address this challenge, due to a new partnership between eProd and AgroCares, we are able offer a solution for farmer cooperatives and commodity traders to make sure farmers and agribusinesses conduct soil testing and receive affordable nutrient advice to improve soil health. By combining soil analyses with socio-economic and environmental farm and field information, this can later result in more tailored recommendations.
With support from the Fit For Market+ program (financed by European Union and the OACPS) implemented by Colead, a private sector (not-for-profit) network of companies, professional organizations and experts committed to inclusive and sustainable agriculture, we have partnered with the Avocado Association of Uganda (AAU), an association that promotes sustainable avocado farming and supports local communities to develop and test nutrient advisory services for avocado farmers. The mobile soil testing technology applied has been developed by AgroCares, a company that offers highly innovative technologies for rapid soil analysis in the field, and via their local Ugandan agent Vida Verde it was tested successfully with 120 avocado farmers.
“The purpose of our partnership is to help agribusinesses and farmers understand the condition and requirements of their soil, and to advise them on the optimal type and quantity of nutrients to apply”, says Mukami Gitau, Business Development Manager at AgroCares. By integrating the eProd system with the AgroCares app, farmers can receive key information about their specific farms, recommendations of the type and quantity of farm inputs to utilize and when to use them. This will also enable better organization of growing sectors and new value chains.
How the system works
The system works by allowing agribusinesses to register their farmers and their fields using the eProd app, and farmers to assign soil samples to their fields using the AgroCares app. Via the integration the farmers in the eProd database can be found directly in the list of the farmers and their fields in the AgroCares app to avoid mistakes. The soil samples can be analyzed on the spot with the AgroCares mobile device, which provides crop-specific recommendations for fertilizer and manure application.
The results and the recommendations are shared with the farmers and extension officers on the eProd app used by the field extension officers for reference when advising farmers in the field.
The farmers receive tailored SMS reminders with affordable nutrient advice during the season on a simple features phone or smart phone and can also access the full nutrient advise report on their smart phone. This will subsequently improve crop productivity and quality by providing farmers with real-time nutrient intelligence.
By combining mobile technology, data analysis, and communication, the integration can provide farmers with accurate, timely, and relevant information that can help them optimize their soil and crop management. The system can also benefit agribusinesses, extension officers, and other actors in the agricultural value chain, by improving their efficiency, transparency, and profitability. The system can contribute to the goals of sustainable agriculture, food security, and environmental protection. The benefit of the use of ERP eProd in the supply chain management is that it creates many opportunities, such as creating access to input finance, reporting on environmental, social and governance indicators, compliance regarding certification, EU-Deforestation-free Regulation, and much more.
By promoting healthy soil, using cutting-edge data solutions, and supporting sustainable and resilient agrifood systems, eProd is helping farmers improve their lives and contribute to the growth of the industry.
The results of the pilot project were presented during a webinar organized by Hortifresh and Colead on 25th April 2024, click here to see the full presentation.
For more information call or WhatsApp on +254 112 203 982 or via info@eprod-solutions.com, or reach out to the AgroCares team at info@agrocares.com