To strengthen Africa's green revolution, look to the skies

A continent-wide network of weather stations to gather and provide data gives hope of transforming agriculture patternsEffective policy-making relies on availability of high quality data and nowhere is that more true than in Africa, where a 'green revolution' has been spoken about, waited for, but not been realised for decades. Across the continent, national governments and regional planners have never had the data to make proper decisions regarding investment in water resources infrastructure, essential to increase agricultural capacity sustainably.The main obstacle is Africa's extremely limited hydro-meteorological observation network. With more measurement stations, and thus better understanding of water availability, and enhanced ability to predict shifting weather patterns, the impact on African harvest predictions and food production could be transformative.The limited number of measurement stations reflects their expense (approximately $15,000 each). When confronted with a choice between building a school or a weather station, public authorities often choose the former. In addition, a traditional weather station needs local availability of technically skilled staff, a significant problem – especially in rural areas.It is clear that new models of data collection are necessary that are – technically, socio-economically, and financially – more sustainable. To this end, Delft University of Technology is leading a public-private consortium, comprising 14 universities ...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Tags: Farming Guardian Professional Meteorology Technology Data Mobile phones Editorial Global development professionals network Farming and food security Environment Africa Business Agriculture Science Source Type: news