The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization
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The inventor of a gadget that uses wifi from the moon Dr Harold Omondi Omollo explains to members of the public how the machine works. [Collins Kweyu, Standard]
One unique aspect at this year’s Nairobi International Trade Fair was how more farmers are willing and eager to embrace technology and digital solutions to solve their farm challenges.
As Smart Harvest witnessed, the stands that attracted more traffic were those showcasing farming solutions that have a technological component.
“I am looking for stands where they are showcasing digital solutions. As a veteran farmer, I am tired of doing things the manual way. I want to learn how to use the internet to manage my farm. That way I can run things more efficiently,” said Mugo Kuria, a horticulture farmer from Kiambu County.
To capture that thirst, more innovators at the popular agricultural trade fair explored uncharted waters to unveil cutting-edge technologies that will undoubtedly revitalise farming.
In line with this year’s theme, “Promoting Innovation and Technology in Agriculture and Trade,” here are some exceptional technologies that Smart Harvest sampled from the hundreds of exhibitors.
Internet from space
With the growing digital space, internet connectivity is, perhaps, the biggest necessity. But in remote areas where the available internet providers are inaccessible, internet is still what many can only dream of.
Identifying this gap, a team of innovators at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology have developed a tool that will provide internet connectivity in places that have never accessed internet before at subsidised charges.
The seven-member team is led by Dr Harold Omondi, Dr Nicholas Onyango and Dickens Ojijo.
“We aim to provide internet to villages in far-flung areas where people are not connected. Places where available internet service providers are inaccessible,” says Omondi.
Internet from the moon is a system of a satellite disk, a receiver and a transmitter. The system is designed to send and receive internet signals from the moon to the satellite disk, to a modem and then to a computer.
The innovation which won the Oracle Innovation awards, coming second after Safaricom in terms of providing community internet is already applicable at the Juja-based university where it has been incorporated in the university’s Taifa laptop project. And in South Sudan, Omondi explained that the governor of Kapoeta State has already installed the technology for residents of the state.
At the Nairobi Show, the innovators explained the benefits of the internet tapped from the moon.
“It will support health provision in far-flung areas, help schools in these areas and help in disaster management. The affordable internet will steer many government projects,” explained Onyango.
Internet from the moon supports nine other apps, including an app that supports communication between farmers and their crops. Farmers can easily find out the nutrient requirements of their crops through the app.
If supported by the national government and adopted by county governments, the technology which costs Sh2 million to install will provide free internet access to households, says Omondi. The innovators have also designed internet antennae that will be installed in households to pick internet signals.
Flow Hive
Harvesting honey is perhaps the most daunting task in bee-keeping. If not done carefully, the process endangers the bees as well as the one harvesting.
Sometimes bees are mixed with honey, leading to a heavier task of separating the two.
Recognising these challenges, The Hive, a company that manufactures bee-keeping equipment has scaled up beehives to equipment that allows harvesting of honey with zero interference with the bees.
“With the flow hive, there is no mess while harvesting the honey because the system is not opened in the process. All a farmer needs is a protective gear and they are good to go,” says Lucy Wanga who works at The Hive.
The technology dubbed Flow Hive has a lever and taps that are moved through an angle of 90 degrees to squeeze honey from the honey combs without removing the frames on which honeycombs are carefully placed.
The equipment costs Sh80,000 and comes with synthetic honey combs, also known as worksheets that are inserted into the brooding space. A Flow Hive requires two worksheets that cost Sh230 each to attract bees in to the hive.
Wanga says some 26 kilos of honey can be harvested from each flow hive. Honey is harvested twice every month.
Confusion reigned at a stand that was labeled ‘Spirulina value chain and benefits’ as Agnes Mugane tried to explain to bewildered onlookers a plant that looked like potted water.
Wonder plant
“This is a wonder plant and a super food because of its numerous nutritional benefits,” said Mugane, tapping on a wooden cage that was filled with green water.
“But I can only see water, where is the plant,” an elderly man said.
Ms Mugane explained that the plant — spirulina — was actually a microscopic plant that grew in the water. That explained the green colour.
Because of its microscopic nature, the algae plant is grown through tissue culture.
“It is grown in a tank or pond where it is fed on organic nutrients such as potassium and magnesium. Sodium bicarbonate is added to the plant that grows well in an alkaline environment,” explained Mugane.
Like this year, last year also witnessed exhibitors showcasing cutting edge technology. The most outstanding was the fruit sorting robot.
Fruit sorting robot
Though the robot was still at a prototype phase, the machine designed by Technical University of Mombasa Mechanical Engineering student Anthony Gachuiha offered a glimpse in the future of mechanised farming that Kenya desperately needs. With sensors that can identify colour and size, the robot can be used to sort harvested fruits and vegetables thus helping the farmer sort out produce in terms of grade. The robot which if developed will assist large farms sort out their produce faster so that they can get the best prices for them.
“All colours have different codes when programmed into a computer,” said Gachuiha.
“As the sensors on the robot sense anything passing through the conveyer belt, they actuate the arm which pick the object and drop it where other objects with the same specifications are,” he says.
Indoor Greenhouse
With arable land fast getting depleted, the future perhaps lies in the use if indoor greenhouses where plants will not require sunlight but will also grow in record time.
The automated indoor greenhouse designed by Jethrow Kimande, a Master of Science in Nuclear Science student at University of Nairobi has an ability of recording its internal conditions which enables the farmer to know whether to increase water, light intensity, soil moisture or temperature.
Wick irrigation system
If at any point you have used a tin lamp in your life then you must know how simple its lighting mechanism is. An absorbent wick transports liquid fuel that is consumed by the flame to provide light.
A similar system is used in firing a kerosene stove but now it can also be used to grow vegetables.
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization
with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper print operations,
television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The Standard Group
is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in
matters of national and international interest.
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