SWFF Program & Innovator News
October 30, 2017
The Database That's Fighting Drought


Rampant droughts in sub-Saharan Africa have left millions of families hungry. Unpredictable weather patterns and sporadic rainfall mean farmers can't accurately plan, and as a result crops that could feed hungry families often fail. Small-scale farmers in villages like Mbeere, Kenya aren't just losing crops - they are beginning to lose hope.
 
Professor Muthoni Masinde, pictured above, is a computer scientist who grew up among these farmers. She created a tool that helps farmers in Mbeere and elsewhere predict and plan for droughts. Professor Masinde's integrated both into a Drought Prediction Tool
   -    called ITIKI, or Information Technology and Indigenous Knowledge with Intelligence - uses smartphone alerts to inform farmers of upcoming droughts in familiar terms they understand.
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Opportunities
  • Take this course from 2SCALE to learn how partnerships and bottom-up innovations can help you build a profitable and inclusive agribusiness. 2SCALE is an agribusiness incubator improving rural livelihoods in Africa by accelerating inclusive business in agri-food industries.
  • Learn about farmer-level data collection that will take your marketing to the next level in Feed the Future's Metrics for Marketing TechTalk webinar.
  • Participate in online workshops by Agribusiness Academy to add to your knowledge about food and agribusiness supply chains, with the technology and expertise for global scale.
  • The Yield Lab assists entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing agri-food systems in order to more sustainably provide for the world. It operates 2 accelerators and funds throughout the world: The Yield Lab US (St. Louis, MO) and The Yield Lab Europe (Galway, IE.) Both programs provide $100,000 investments, along with access to mentorship, customized programming, and access to a global network. You can now submit applications for the Yield Lab US in St. Louis, MO.
1001 Words

SWFF Program lead Dr. Ku McMahan and USAID representatives traveled to Uganda last week to meet with innovators at local sites. The field trip took place in Kampala, Jinja, and Mbarara. Read about the trip here.