AIR-BORNE REMOTE SENSING AS A MONITORING TOOL FOR SMALLHOLDER’S CROPPING SYSTEMS IN EAST AFRICA

Project Advances and Lessons Learnt

Presented by Dieudonné Harahagazwe, PhD

Contents

• Project Aim• Achievements• Regulatory frameworks• Way forward

The aim of this “proof of concept” project is to develop and validate

a low-cost UAV-based remote sensing tool for crop area

determination (ARSIS) using sweetpotato as a pilot crop

PROJECT AIM

4

2002

Balloons:• Hot air.• Hellium.

2008

Model planes:• Combustion.• Electric. 2009

Helicopter:•Combustion.•Eléctric. 2012

Multirotor:• Quadcopter.• Octocopter.

How did we get here?

1. A community of practice in East Africa

2. The UAV-RS platform3. First field mission

ACHIEVEMENTS

ILRI Campus, Nairobi, KenyaOctober 7, 2014

Ach.1: A community of practice

Workshop objectivesHow can ARSIS become part of the tools that improve agriculture and the wellbeing of smallholder farmers?

Specific Objectives:1) Learn what ARSIS means to each participants’

practice: core developers, application scientists, end users & enablers

2) Identify networks of collaboration for the community of practice in each country/region

3) Plan next steps

Community of practice on UAV for agriculture in ECA region

Institutions generating the innovation

Users of the Innovation (Cost effective improved crop statistics

andlandscape mapping)

Users of the Information (Better priority setting and budgeting)

• International Research Organizations• University and National Research

Organizations • Private Sector• Governments and Public Institutions • Regional Organizations

• National Agricultural Bureaus of Statistics• Public Institutions• International, regional and national

research and development organizations

• International and regional planning and aid organizations

• National, regional, districts, counties, and local organizations

• Research and development organizations in agriculture

Theory of change

Innovation Flow & Feedback Loops

• Core Developers (Hardware & Software)

Developing

• Application Scientists (Exploring Applications; Field Experiments)

Exploring Potential

Users • End users

• Enablers Real world

Applications

Highlights of messages from the meeting• Identified needs at smallholder farms:

crop area statistics, Yield assessment, Variety discrimination, Early disease detection, Soil erosion and fertility assessment and Irrigation performance

• Costs, accessibility, and user-friendliness matters• Involving local institutions at different stages is a must• Walk the talk – e.g. test in making official statistics• Complementarity with satellite imageries• Stepwise – From simple to complex tools

Octocopter assembled using imported parts

3D printed quadcopter together with an open source flight controller

1. The vehicle

January 2015 November 2015

Ach.2: The UAV-RS platform (open source)

NDVI with TETRACAM ADC Micro NDVI with CIP Built CameraRGB Original Image – Canon EOS

2. The sensors Reducing camera cost while improving image quality

Spectra CIP Spectroscopy Operating Software for Windows

3. The interface - electronics

Spectra CIP Software

Mosaic produced

High Resolution Mapping using Stitching Algorithm

Image Stitching Software (open source)

Ach. 3: Field mission in Tanzania

Aerial image taken with a regular digital camera

Identification of crops from image taken using regular camera

REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS

Regulatory Framework

Community of practice

Smallholder farmers

Obtaining flight permits is the most challenging constraint in East Africa due to lack of regulatory frameworks

Applications for flight permitsCountry Purpose Date of

process initiation

Application date

Response date

Observation

Kenya Test the newly assembled UAV

21/01/2015 27 January UAVs are on ban in the country until regulatory framework released

Tanzania One week field mission

27/01/2015 5 March 27 March Mission completed

Uganda One week field mission

27/01/2015 5 Nov. Mission planned in December

Rwanda 1 hour demonstration in a conference

27/7/2015 21 Sept. 28 Sept. Mission completed

The most critical issue is to know from where to start the application

WAY FORWARD

• Planning and implementing joint work with STARS Project

• Second workshop to take place in Mwanza, Tanzania (March 2016) mainly focused on advances in the theory of change:

– translational research to provide information in the context of the decision makers

– identifying impact pathways, and – Defining strategies for overcoming barriers related to

regulatory frameworks

The team:R. Quiroz, C. Valdivia, H. Loayza, A. Bett, S. Palacios, M. Balcazar, L. Silva, A. Posadas,

F. Mendiburu, V. Mares, C. Barreda,M. Cruz, J. Alcazar, R. Morales,

E. Cheruiyot, D. Ramirez &D. Harahagazwe

Thank you

For further information, please contact Dr. Roberto Quiroz at r.quiroz@cgiar.org