Kenya to get 15,000 smart weather stations in African farming project

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Kenya is expected to receive 15,000 smart weather stations under a plan by an Austrian agricultural technology company to install 100,000 units across Africa.

The stations will collect localised data on rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture and leaf wetness, which farmers can use to guide decisions on planting, irrigation, fertiliser application and pest and disease control.

The data will be available through FieldClimate, the company's digital platform, which provides weather forecasts and crop disease information through online and mobile applications.

Pessl Instruments founder and Chief Executive Gottfried Pessl said access to field-level weather information would help farmers make decisions based on conditions in their specific locations.

"Smallholder farmers need reliable, localised information to make better decisions throughout the farming cycle. By combining field-level measurements with weather forecasts and disease models, we can help farmers anticipate risks, improve resource utilisation and increase productivity," he said.

AgriMet Data Kenya will serve as the local implementation partner, handling the distribution, installation and maintenance of the stations, as well as farmer training and technical support.

Austrian Ambassador to Kenya Simone Knapp said the project would strengthen cooperation between Kenya and Austria in the application of agricultural technology.

The initiative also proposes organising farmers into production clusters linked to agricultural advisers, input suppliers, financial institutions and produce buyers.

Under the model, Digital Farm Advisors will help farmers interpret weather and crop data, select farm inputs and coordinate production based on market demand.

The arrangement is intended to address challenges including fragmented production, limited access to technical advice and difficulties meeting the volume and quality requirements of commercial buyers.