First Workshop of the Kenya Chapter: Advancing Climate-Smart Agriculture Through IoT and Space Technologies

The KijaniSpace project held its first workshop in Kenya, marking a significant milestone in its mission to harness Copernicus Earth Observation data and IoT solutions for climate-smart agriculture in Africa. Hosted by APBL at their Nairobi boardroom, the full-day event brought together key partners to strategize and plan activities for Work Package 2 (WP2): Regional Needs Assessment and Multi-Actor Engagement.

Key Highlights of the Workshop

The workshop featured an agenda-packed day aimed at preparing for the implementation of WP2 while fostering collaboration among stakeholders. Representatives from Innotech21, Waziup, APBL, KMFRI, LakeHub, and the Lake Victoria Basin Commission (LVBC) participated, ensuring a diverse mix of expertise and perspectives.

Opening Session

The workshop began with a welcome address by Dr. Eng. Corentin Dupont (Innotech21), who emphasized the project’s innovative mission to bridge space and IoT technologies with real-world agricultural applications. The session set the tone for a productive day of discussions and planning.

Strategic Planning for WP2

The focus quickly shifted to defining the objectives and implementation strategies for WP2:

• Understanding Regional Development Needs: LVBC led discussions on designing a comprehensive survey to assess the best practices, local initiatives, and challenges faced by smallholder farmers.
• Multi-Actor Engagement: APBL outlined plans to engage local stakeholders through orientation workshops, ensuring the project aligns with grassroots needs.
• Ideation Workshops: LakeHub introduced the framework for ideation workshops aimed at collecting user needs and co-designing solutions tailored to Lake Victoria Basin’s unique context.

 

Piloting IoT-Driven Use Cases in Kenya

The workshop also laid the groundwork for piloting two key agricultural applications:

1. Crop Farming: Innotech21 and APBL presented an IoT-based crop management application designed to provide farmers with actionable insights on soil health, weather forecasts, and crop performance.
2. Fish Farming: KMFRI and Waziup discussed the potential of IoT sensors to monitor water quality, optimize feeding practices, and mitigate risks in fish farming operations.

Space-IoT Talent and Innovation Programs

An important component of the workshop was the introduction of two programs to be piloted in Kenya:

• Talent Program: Aims to equip local communities with skills to develop IoT and space-based solutions.
• Innovation Program: Focuses on empowering startups and SMEs to experiment with and implement IoT-driven applications in agriculture.

Outcomes and Next Steps

The workshop concluded with actionable steps to ensure progress in WP2:

• Launch of surveys and data collection activities across Kenya and Tanzania to capture regional needs.
• Planning for the first multi-stakeholder orientation workshop scheduled for January 2025.
• Setting milestones for the pilot implementation of crop and fish farming use cases.
• Collaboration to finalize the V1 Lake Victoria Space-IoT Regional Development Strategy and Plan by March 2025.