Newslex Point News in Uganda, Uganda news
How Kuzi works;
Kuzi uses satellite data, soil sensor data, ground meteorological observation, and machine learning. It uses all these to predict the breeding, occurrence and migration routes of desert locusts across the horn of African and Eastern African countries. It also uses deep learning to identify the formation of locust swarms. Furthermore, Kuzi sends farmers and pastoralists free SMS alerts 2-3 months in advance of when locusts are highly likely to attack farms and livestock in their areas.
However, without preventative measures, a swarm of 80 million locusts can consume food equivalent to that eaten by 35,000 people a day. This can devastate food stocks for vulnerable communities. Putting in place early detection and control measures, critical in desert locust management, will offer farmers and pastoralists a vital tool in the fight against world hunger and food insecurity.
Where can it be used;
Alerts are only currently available for Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda. This is all in the regional languages of Kiswahili, Somali and Amharic. Over 200 million people across Eastern Africa speak these languages.
“The first international anti-locust conference was held in Rome in 1931. Yet Africa continues to experience locust invasions almost 100 years later. The worst locust invasion in 70 years occurred in 2020. This threatened food supplies for millions of people across Eastern Africa. Therefore, there has to be a better way to do this, one that has the local communities being central in the fight against locusts,” said John Oroko, CEO of Kuzi’s creator, Selina Wamucii.
“A new wave of locust upsurge now threatens millions across Eastern and Southern Africa, exacerbating food insecurity for already vulnerable communities, amidst the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. We also have a responsibility to develop and deploy locally bred solutions that address these challenges faced by our vulnerable rural communities”. Oroko added.
The free tool is currently available to only users in Somali, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. There are also plans to roll out to cover the rest of Africa.
Farmers can sign up for the free SMS alerts with any mobile device, with or without an internet connection, capture the GPS location of their farm, and they are good to go, without any charges.
Check also;
- Artificial Intelligence Is Revolutionising Agriculture
- Uganda Receives Billion Items For Locust Control
- Agriculture Is Not Only Feeding Us, But Earning $2 billion For Us Annually – Museveni
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![[dropcap]A[/dropcap] section of women in Bugongo parish and Nawangaiza parish in Nawandala Sub County, Iganga District have decried the near-impossible terms set for them to access GROW funds. They have now petitioned their woman member of parliament for Iganga Hon. Kauma Sauda Alibaawo to ask the government for revised terms and conditions. This is to enable them to benefit from the program. The disgruntled women accuse the implementers of the program of charging the money. They are also asking for their land titles and land agreements. They said that such properties are governed by their husbands. These, therefore want the government through their woman MP to intervene and revise the requirements for one to benefit. The women were on Wednesday at Namabwere primary school in Nawandala Sub County. They had gathered in their respective groups to receive over 300 chickens from Hon Alibaawo in her campaign to improve the livelihood of women in Iganga district. Each group was given 50 chicken as start-up capital in their journey to prosperity. Read what some leaders said; Ms Naigambi Lydia from Nawandala Trading Centre says, “They solicited money from us through opening bank accounts and depositing Shs80,000. They also asked for land titles and land agreements from us yet we don’t have such things. I was informed that I needed to have a business with a capital of Shs4m yet my capital was very small.” The chairperson Kisoboka Saving Group in Nawandala Ms. Nakagolo Faith said they were not able to join the program. This is given the many conditions attached. She also asked their woman MP to raise their concerns to the relevant offices. The MP condemned the mode of implementation of the program. She cited that it has turned to benefit the well-off class of women other than the intended group. She further asked the government to intervene saying the current strings attached to the programme are very tight to accommodate a common woman. GROW project is a Government of Uganda initiative that arose out of the need to respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs. This is especially those who want to grow their businesses, sustain their self-employment and create more jobs. Check Also; Iganga District NRM Leaders Urge Museveni To Fulfill Election Promises Of 2021 International Women's Day: Celebrating Progress Towards Equality](https://i0.wp.com/newslexpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Iganga-women-decry-tough-terms-to-access-GROW-funds-e1731738339732.jpg?resize=300%2C160&ssl=1)
