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Elton Manguwo
Government is rolling out various smart technological initiatives aimed at modernising the agricultural sector by 2025.
The Agricultural and Rural Development Advisory Services (ARDAS) chief director Professor Obert Jiri said they have made significant strides in incorporating information and communication technology (ICT) in the agriculture sector as global production trends shift towards smart technological systems.
“The objective is to develop a smart agricultural system to boost growth in the sector and integrate it closely into the wider economy supported by good information management strategies,” he said.
The Government is implementing the AgricTips365 and the Agricultural Information Management System (AIMS) which focuses on technical aspects of crop and livestock production as well as product marketing.
“Critically, the roping in of ICT tools is of value to farmers and the overall food security of the country through provision of crucial data on these pertinent aspects,” said Professor Jiri.
Accurate information and analysis can help ensuring agricultural output is known well in advance. Henceforth, this is important for farmers to have access to information as they produce.
The advent of climate change has resulted in the incorporation of agricultural methods that influence precision production and conservation agriculture practices.
“The investment in ICT in agriculture is part of the Government’s strategy in the digitalisation of the agricultural sector to improve in efficiency, reducing costs, increasing production and productivity,” said Professor Jiri.
Government has also capacitated extension service workers with laptops and tablets to improve their access to information and provide farmers with updated information.
“The major resource required to achieve the objective of becoming a smart agriculture economy by 2025 is information technology as ICT in agriculture which provides farmers with timely vital information,” said Professor Jiri.
The recently launched ZimSat-1 will assist in mitigating the effects of climate changes for food security amid increasing populations and corresponding pressures on the available agricultural land.
“The satellite complements our efforts in gathering accurate production data for analysis which can assist in predicting a region’s agricultural output well in advance,” said Professor Jiri stressing how this is important in anticipating and mitigating food shortages and famines by providing the basis for policy formulation.
Therefore, the use of modern technological tools in the agricultural sector will lead to the transformation of the industry.
“The agricultural sector remains the backbone of the economy as it provides raw material for the processing industry henceforth it is imperative that the sector remains competitive, innovative and adorned with modern agricultural communication technology,” said Professor Jiri.
Online Reporter