Keyhole gardens for climate smart agriculture.

Climate smart agriculture is using less to get more,that is reduced space for planting but higher productivity by planting more than a crop thus promoting biodiversity. This is the story of the keyhole gardens which provides better nutrition and livelihoods. A keyhole garden is a round raised garden, supported with stones. Keyhole gardens are built in places where it is difficult to build normal gardens such as rocky areas, shallow arid/or compacted soils, etc, near the entrance of dwellings to facilitate their watering with household waste water. Keyhole gardens are made with low-cost locally available materials,the production of a keyhole garden can be enough to feed a family of 8 persons and such gardens can produce food all year round even under harsh temperatures and can support the production of at least 5 varieties of vegetables at a time - thus supporting dietary diversity. The keyhole gardens require less labor thus its ideal for elderly, children or sick persons, and requires less water and no costly fertilizers or pesticides. They act like an organic recycling tank, using your food and garden waste as fuel to grow vegetables! Crop rotation and growing of insect-repellent plants are important to balance nutrient demands, fight insects and plant diseases, and deter weeds. When a project introduced keyhole gardens in Lesotho, neighboring villages outside the project intervention area were reproducing keyhole gardens on their own initiative, clearly indicating the success of the intervention and its potential sustainability. This technology gives a detailed step-by-step description of the building process of a keyhole garden. The keyhole garden is built using the following; 1)Soil, compost 2) Strong string 3) Straw or something similar 4) Worms 5) Well rotted manure and wood ash 6)large stones, bricks or logs 7)Scrap metal (old cans, etc.) and 8) Several sticks or 1.5meters canes The garden is built as follows ;find a space near your house that’s about 3m2 and make sure that there is enough sunlight and it is located closely to access to water. 2) Clear the space of weeds and dig it over. continue

Agribusiness: How to turn poultry waste to electricity.

The role of the chicken in nation development cannot be over emphasized,from food to fashion to power generation and employment facilitation,the role in solving power crisis is huge and we need to start tapping into this fast. There has been recent reports about drops in power generation due to inadequate gas-to-power for the mostly gas-based power plants,this can be solved easily with proper harnessing of the power locked in chicken. 

The number of chickens in the country can help solve this power crisis by the using their waste to generate electricity. This is another aspect of climate smart agriculture,the waste that usually end up in landfills destroying the environment and increasing emissions can actually be converted to power which is clean energy. This is an analysis for a state,imagine this replicated in other states especially from local government levels where waste to wealth initiatives are encouraged. 

 The waste generated not only smells but also is a breeding area for flies which further increase spread of diseases. The problem of waste disposal is one that can be turned to a new source of income by channeling the waste to a digester to produce heat,electricity and fertilizer. 

 Biogas uses anaerobic digestion to breakdown poultry litter to methane,carbon dioxide and other gases which can easily be converted to light and energy.

The gas is lighter than air ,will be pipped to the top of the tank to a biogas cooking stove or light. The advantages of the biogas plants are 

1) Improved manure composition and less odor 

2)Higher availability of nutrients thus higher crop yields 

 3)No acidification of the soil as digestate has a pH of 8.

 4) Reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases. 

5) Generation of renewable energy; green power. 6) Reduced overhead cost. Every kg of organic matter yields 0.5m3 of biogas.

 1000kg of chicken litter yields 200m3 of biogas. 

 1m3 of biogas = 2.1 KW electricity and 2.5 KW heat.

 The poultry value chain can not only provide food,cloth accessories,jobs but it can also generate electricity that will power more farms,industries and homes .

 The biogas plant will also ensure a cleaner environment.Join the biogas project to change our #environment #economy #lives .

Robots and climate change.

Tiny aquatic robots that resemble mussels, are being used to monitor climate change and its impact on biodiversity. The robots dubbed robomussels actually resemble mussels and was developed by Northeastern University scientist Brian Helmuth. These robots have the same shape, size and color of actual mussels and are fitted with miniature sensors that track temperatures inside the mussel beds. For the past 18 years, every 10 to 15 minutes, Helmuth and a global research team of 48 scientists have used robomussels to track internal body temperature, which is determined by the warmth of the surrounding air or water and the amount of solar radiation the devices absorb. They place the robots inside mussel beds in oceans around the globe and record temperatures. The researchers have built a database of nearly two decades worth of data, enabling scientists to pinpoint areas of unusual warming, intervene to help curb damage to vital marine ecosystems and develop strategies that could prevent extinction of certain species. By tracking the effects of climate change, the findings can reveal emerging hotspots so policymakers and scientists can step in and relieve stressors such as erosion and water acidification before it’s too late. The robots look exactly like mussels, but they have little green blinking lights in them,what the scientist do is basically pluck out a mussel and then glue the device to the rock right inside the mussel bed. These enable them link field observations with the physiological impact of global climate change on these ecologically and economically important animals. Mussels have often been used as a climate change barometer because they rely on external sources of heat such as air temperature and sun exposure for their body heat and thrive, or not, depending on those conditions. Using fieldwork along with mathematical and computational models, Helmuth forecasts the patterns of growth, reproduction and survival of mussels in intertidal zones,these data sets indicate when and where to look for the effects of climate change. The mussels are early indicators that signals trouble warning. The mussels are a major food supply for many species, including lobsters and crabs and also function as filters along near-shore waters, clearing huge amounts of particulates. Losing them can affect everything from the growth of species we care about because we want to eat them, to water clarity, to biodiversity of all the tiny animals that live on the insides of the beds. more

Digital Soil mapping in Africa for food security.

In Nairobi, Kenya, a group of modern day explorers is providing the data for a first-ever set of digital maps of African soils. Traditional maps, the scientists say, provide information on broad soil types but not on specific soil properties. The new maps provide direct information on soil properties at a level of accuracy once considered all but unachievable. Detailed maps are now available that are helping thousands of subsistence farmers to maximize their production of basic food crops, an effort that many experts believe will also take the pressure off Africa’s forests and marginal lands and help reduce global climate change. When you know what your soils can do and how to take care of them, that’s an all-important first step to maximizing production and once farmers can produce enough to feed their families and produce surpluses, the back-breaking work of cutting down forests to grow crops will no longer be necessary. A group of scientists is producing the maps using technologies known as infrared and x-ray spectroscopy. what it entails is to shine light on a soil or plant sample and measure the amount of light reflected back at different wavelengths or energy levels, much in the same way that a digital camera records color. The spectral signature, or fingerprint, gives information about the sample’s mineral and organic composition. These characteristics determine a soil’s functional capacity its ability to retain and supply water and nutrients and to store carbon. This information can then be used to determine the soil’s potential and make highly accurate recommendations about what farmers need to do to improve the health of their soils and produce better crops. more

Uganda’s rural women find beans to beat climate.

Sunny Mbeeta Abwooli knows a lot about beans as its her favorite ingredient.She shows a colorful basket of different bean types. The beans are different in color, taste and manner of cultivation . They are all important in the home because they’re easy to grow and to keep during times of food scarcity. In recent years, as chairwoman of the Kyamaleera Woman’s Handicraft Association, Sunny and 300 other farmers in western Uganda of which more than half of them are women have partnered with scientists to get beans that will beat drought, malnutrition and disease. In Uganda, common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) are eaten at almost every meal and are integral to food security and the fight against malnutrition. Each variety has a different color, size or taste, and is preferred in different parts of the country for different reasons. Between 2012 and 2013, the 300 farmers in western Uganda were given 15 different bean varieties to test on their plots. Some were improved varieties, bred by researchers to improve characteristics like drought resilience or high iron content; some were locally preferred and others released varieties. Over three seasons, the farmers – together with researchers from the National Crops Research Resources Institute (NACRRI) in Uganda and CIAT – tracked height, yield; number of pods per plant and disease resilience of each. All 15 varieties were maintained for the three seasons, and at the end of the trail, farmers replanted the varieties which they considered performed best, without the participation of researchers. The best beans was identified but the women did not vote it as the best. Its a small, round, black variety from the northern part of Uganda, although they were found to beat drought and survive excessive rainfall better than some local yellow and red varieties, they are black. These beans are not a traditional part of the diet in Western Uganda, and so they were not selected by farmers. When farmers saw that NABE2 – the black variety – could withstand excessive rainfall and drought, they said they would grow it in those weather conditions. The marketability is based on seed size and color and this was the main driver for farmer selection. The need to educate farmers about the nutritious benefits of legumes, so that nutrition is a more important factor in making decisions about which beans to grow, was also a key lesson from the trials. When a woman with a small piece of land grows beans, they can fight malnutrition, improve livelihoods, nutrition and incomes for women,men across the continent and for future generations. Read

Farmers embracing climate smart agriculture.

Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) is agriculture that increases productivity, resilience and adaptation, as well as contribute towards reducing the emission of greenhouse gases. 

 The overall objective therefore is food security and nutrition in the face of climate change. There must be training,education and interactive sessions especially for smallholder farmers ,the importance of building capacity at all levels cannot be overemphasized order to attain the goal of 25 million African farmers practicing climate-smart agriculture by 2025. 

 The challenge of climatic changes can be sidelined by using more resilient seeds, conservation of water, use of hybrid seeds that are ready for market earlier than the conventional seeds. Africa is affected dramatically by climatic changes of extreme weather patterns mechanisms ,hence there is the need to transform agriculture and ensure food security through adoption of innovative ways are gaining prominence fast.

 In Kenya, like most African countries, small-scale farmers who are the majority are opting for sustainable solutions. One such farmer is Albert Waweru, a retired police officer with 1.75-acre farm in Kasarani on the outskirts of Nairobi. He has 50 dairy cows that produce 290 liters of milk daily. He also rears poultry, dairy goats and has several green houses where vegetables are grown. 

 He practices smart agriculture as he harvests every drop of rainwater to counter the challenge of water, he embarked on harvesting rainwater from rooftops in his compound and store water flowing into his compound.

The water is preserved in a network of several underground concrete tanks about 12 meters deep. This ensures that he has enough water at any moment on his mixed farm, for his animals and plants as well. He has been sharing his method with other farmers to expose them to smart agriculture by way of provision of solution to water scarcity

. 44-year-old Rajiv Kumar from Sheikhpur district of Bihar is another farmer practicing smart agriculture; he does zero budget farming on his 4-acre farm. He learnt water conservation and methods to replace nutrients in the soil ,different crops are grown at the same time and cow dung and cow urine were used as fertilizers. 

This kept the cost of farming at a minimum with the farmer only investing in water and seeds. Rajiv dug pits every 30 feet, filled it with water, and sowed different types of flowers and fruits around it. This helped increase the ground water flow. As plants need moisture, and not water, cultivating near a pit of water provided better irrigation and prevented water wastage. He does not use chemical pesticides, he sows a Neem plant every 30 feet to keep pests away. see

The World’s smallest drone is voice controlled, and it fits in a pocket.

The World’s Smallest Drone is Voice Controlled, And it Can Fit in Your Pocket, Amazon just received a patent for the smallest drone ever. The miniaturized, unmanned, aerial vehicle (UAV) is designed to assist users in a number of ways — from recovery of lost persons and items, to providing assistance to policemen and firefighters. It’s Amazon’s first venture into a drone product for consumers not just for delivery. The drone’s features make it an all-around personal assistant, equipped with voice-control and Alexa (Amazon’s AI-equipped voice assistant). Accordingly, it can respond to voice commands such as “follow me” and “hover,” allowing for varied uses. Amazon also plans to make the drone quite small – small enough to fit in your pocket or to dock on a police officer’s radio.Using RFID-search capabilities and facial recognition software, the drone can help locate lost persons or even your elusive car keys. The UAV can receive a “find Timmy” command, which can include the “search” routine, and possibly an “identify Timmy” subroutine to locate a person identified as “Timmy.” In some examples, Timmy can have an RFID tag sewn into his clothes or a bar code printed on his shirt to facilitate identification. more