Delivering information products to small-scale farmers: IRRI's experience with the Crop Manager Roland J. Buresh, Rowena Castillo, and Marco van den Berg International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines Remote Sensing Workshop CIMMYT, Mexico City 14-15 December 2013
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Delivering information products to small-scale farmers: IRRI's experience with the Crop Manager
Remote sensing –Beyond images Mexico 14-15 December 2013
The workshop was organized by CIMMYT Global Conservation Agriculture Program (GCAP) and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Mexican Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), CGIAR Research Program on Maize, the Cereal System Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) and the Sustainable Modernization of the Traditional Agriculture (MasAgro)
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Delivering information products to small-scale farmers: IRRI's
experience with the Crop Manager
Roland J. Buresh, Rowena Castillo, and Marco van den Berg
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Philippines
Remote Sensing WorkshopCIMMYT, Mexico City14-15 December 2013
Farming on small land holdings is often associated with high spatial and temporal
variations
Variations are common in• Crop management• Risks of flood and drought• Soil fertility• Financial resources of farmers• Access to new technologies
Need cost effective ways to• Provide farmers with
‘actionable’ information matching their specific needs
Develop computer- and smartphone-based tools for providing small-scale farmers of rice, maize, and wheat with customized, field-specific crop and nutrient management guidelines.
Our objective
• Use best available science to develop tools.• Verify and release through national agricultural
research and extension systems.• Ensure availability for wide-scale use across
public and private sectors and civil society organizations.
Our approach
• Uses scientific principles of site-specific nutrient management (SSNM)
• Aims to increase income of farmer by US$100 per ha per crop
• Provides customized recommendation for a farmer’s field through mobile phone or computer
IRRI developed Nutrient Manager for Rice to provide rice farmers with ‘precise’
fertilizer management practices
Partners and users requested a tool providing more than nutrient management
Nutrient Manager for Rice was upgraded Rice Crop Manager
Released nationwide in the Philippines and Bangladesh in 2013 through the national agricultural
research and extension systems
Indonesia – Nationwide release expected in early 2014
Crop Manager is under development and testing for a number of countries
Beta versions now undergoing field testing in South Asia
Maize for Bihar and Odisha will be developed and tested in 2014
• Rice–wheat in Bihar and eastern Uttar Pradesh
• Maize in Bangladesh
• Rice in Odisha
Cloud based serverCrop Manager model
• Nutrient management calculator
• Decision making calculator for crop management
Databases and spatial information
• Variety traits • Statistics on rice yields• Variety- and management-
adjusted yield targets
User interface: Obtain information
from farmer
Personal computerSmartphone
Actionable advice
Printed guidelines
SMSImage on
Smartphone
Operation of Crop Manager
1. User interface: Obtain information from farmer
An extension worker, crop advisor, or service provider interviews a farmer.
Information from interview• Location• Variety• Field size• Sowing/planting date• Past yield• Soil characteristic• Landscape position• Residue management• Irrigation use
Cloud based serverCrop Manager model
• Nutrient management calculator
• Decision making calculator for crop management
Databases and spatial information
• Variety traits • Statistics on rice yields• Variety- and management-
adjusted yield targets
User interface: Obtain information
from farmer
Personal computerSmartphone
2. Calculate customized recommendation
After the interview, collected information is transmitted to ‘model’ residing on a cloud based server and interfaced with databases and spatial information.
3. Actionable advice
• Nutrient management- Source, rates, and times
for field size
- N timing adjusted for water availability
• Crop establishment- Seed source
- Seed rate
• Crop protection- Weed management
- Insect management
• Irrigation
Recommendations provided to farmers through printouts and mobile phones.
Greatest uncertainties with information from farmer interview
Information from interview• Location• Variety• Field size• Sowing/planting date• Past yield• Soil characteristic• Landscape position• Residue management• Irrigation use
Crop yields and field sizes provided by farmers are often inaccurate
Valuable information needed from sources in addition to a farmer:•Target yield for upcoming season•Field size
User interface: Obtain information
from farmer
Cloud based server
Actionable advice
Printed guidelines
SMSImage on Smartphone
Crop Manager model
• Nutrient management calculator
• Decision making calculator for crop management
Databases and spatial information
• Variety traits • Statistics on rice yields• Variety- and management-