Improving Agricultural Productivity and Resilience to Climate Change Using the Land Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) Mobile Technology
Project Duration: 2015
Donor: The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA)
Contacts for ATPS: Dr. Nicholas Ozor, Executive Director
Email: executivedirector@atpsnet.org
Program Coordinator: Dr. Nicholas Ozor
Project Value: EUROS 20,000
Background
The rapid expansion of internet access through mobile phone networks together with simple mobile applications and expert knowledge systems provide new opportunities to connect farmers, extension agents, development workers, and policymakers with site-specific knowledge and information. Leveraging on the advances made in mobile technology and internet access, the Land-Potential Knowledge System (LandPKS) has emerged as a knowledge system that offers agricultural-based mobile application (Apps) that allows individuals and organizations to determine land potentially at a specific location by blending local knowledge and crowdsourcing technologies to produce robust information for making wise land management decisions.
Project Goal and Objectives
The overall goal of the project is to globalize knowledge by collecting, sharing and integrating local and scientific knowledge about the potential productivity and resilience in order to support long-term sustainable land productivity. The objective of this project is to document the impacts of applying LandPKS mobile technology in farm management decision-making to improve agricultural productivity and climate change resilience. The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) has provided a seed fund to the ATPS to enable it to fulfil this objective
Project Activities
This project employs different methodologies under the umbrella of Participatory Methodologies- Participatory Rural Appraisal and Participatory Learning and Action. These methodologies employ both qualitative and quantitative ways of creating knowledge and collecting data. These approaches are deemed suitable for documenting impacts and best practices, allowing beneficiary communities to share their experiences and feedbacks following the use of LandPKS technology. The approaches under the methodologies entail in-depth desk studies, focus group discussion, group interviews, key informant interviews, stakeholder’s workshops, electronic platforms, and participatory on-site demonstrations.
Outputs
- A comprehensive report of the field activities, status of adoption, and impacts of the LandPKS technology in improving agricultural productivity and resilience to climate change
- Final Documented Comprehensive Report on improving agricultural productivity and climate change resilience using LandPKS mobile technology