Farming Smarter: Technology and Climate Adaptation in Rwanda

A smallholder farmer producer group learns about a remote weather station

Global warming is a pressing concern in Rwanda. Long-stable rain patterns are changing and becoming unpredictable. Wet seasons are becoming shorter, with more intense rainfall.

Smallholder farmers who have relied on historical norms for their agriculture are seeking new ways to farm. AEE Rwanda is working with small holder farmers and our partners to trial new technologies alongside improved agricultural techniques.

Two recent innovations are small-scale soil sampling and remote weather stations.

Soil sampling on location

Soil types are broadly known in Rwanda through government-run soil surveys and farmers’ knowledge of what crops grow well. From this, farmers can estimate which organic and mineral fertilizers to apply. However, variability at the small scale — between two neighboring fields or even across a single field — often means that fertilizers are under- or over-applied, affecting crop yields and increasing farmers’ costs.

Crop recommendations

The cost of sample collection and laboratory analysis has historically limited smaller-scale soil surveys. AEE Rwanda, with one of our collaborators, is testing a handheld soil sampling device that can analyze a sample in the field and, through a connection to a database incorporating the analysis results, location, and elevation, recommend precise fertilizer quantities for each crop type. We believe that accurate fertilization will increase harvests and reduce costs for farmers. Additionally, when combined with the improved planting techniques taught in our programs, applying only the fertilizer required by the crop will help reduce environmental runoff — already an issue for drinking water sources in Rwanda’s valleys.

Remote weather station

Mobile app readout from weather station

Remote weather stations monitor temperature, humidity, sunlight, and soil moisture in their vicinity, periodically uploading observations to a cloud-based database. Automated analytical tools send recommendations to AEE Rwanda agricultural specialists and notifications to smallholder farmers via mobile messaging services. Recommendations include irrigation alerts based on observed and forecast weather, reducing unnecessary use of scarce water and enabling intervention before crops become water-stressed.

These technologies are still in the early stages of deployment. Together with our partners, we will continue to adapt our approach as we learn more about their benefits for Rwanda’s farmers.