Technological innovations have opened new avenues for community and environmental development. This is especially true of smart phone applications which are low-cost and impactful, even in rural communities which only have intermittent access to electricity.
Smart phones do not only benefit farmers, but also our field officers. For example, we are in the process of digitising our project field data with a smartphone application called Mergdata which was developed by the Ghanaian IT company Farmerline. This is a cornerstone of our deforestation risk assessment and EUDR compliance, which require comparisons between GPS mapped farms and satellite data. This produces valuable data which we can then model in order to produce key insights which allow us to drive meaningful action in our environmental stewardship projects.
In addition, new technologies allows us to remain in continuous contact with farmers. Through ETG’s One Stop Solution (more information below) smartphone app, farmers can receive live updates around weather and growing conditions.
Smartphones not only provide access to information, but also give access to key services, such as tractor sharing services and drones for more efficient crop monitoring.
Projects
A sample of our technology-powered innovations is highlighted below: