Experts root for mapping technology to boost food production

As Raphael Orwa packs his tomatoes for sale in Kisumu, he is expecting at least Sh200,000 this season. His neighbours are also preparing other fresh produce like vegetables and fruits following a bumper harvest despite the dry season.The fresh produce growers from Mbita, Homa Bay County counts their gains, thanks to irrigation farming and adoption of modern technologies. For Mr Orwa, he says irrigating his farm with water from Lake Victoria has turned his three-acres land under tomato into a money spinner.

Mr Orwa is just one of thousands of small-scale farmers in Kenya who depend on their small plots of land to generate a sizable amount of income.  For many small-scale farmers, however, the story is not so good. Analysts say farmers have failed to embrace new technologies. One such technology that agriculturalists are rooting for is the geographic information system (GIS) mapping.
GIS is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyse, and present all types of geographically referenced data. When applied in Agriculture, GIS mapping is used to map out agricultural land in accordance to specific characteristics like soil texture, weather patterns, and prevalence of pests etc.This in turn provides farmers with crucial data that can greatly improve their yield read more: http://www.businessdailyafrica.com/Corporate+News/Experts+root+for+mapping+technology+to+boost+food+production+/-/539550/1266476/-/mx5b2s/-/index.html