AN AMBITIOUS project to use space technology to improve the productivity of rice and oil palm farmers in Colombia is being led by UK agri-science powerhouse Rothamsted Research.

Fewer than one in ten of Colombian farmers have access to technical assistance to help them manage their land more efficiently,but the South American country is now looking to agriculture to improve its economy.

"Colombia’s agriculture is subject to challenges from climate change,” said Rothamsted's Integrated Solutions Lab chief John Crawford. “So, productivity increases have also to be met against the threat of weather extremes.”

The new project, known as EcoProMIS, is designed to create a commercially viable solution for sustainable agriculture in Colombia by April 2021 – a solution that will be free to farmers and funded by industrial stakeholders.

EcoProMIS aims to combine space data with in-situ observations from smart sensors and deliver that information to farmers in near real-time and in a way that enables them to increase productivity and minimise the environmental footprints of their oil palm and rice crops.

“Through outreach programmes, smallholders and land managers will develop their skills and understanding of how crop management affects productivity, income and ecosystems,” said Mr Crawford. “Smartphones will communicate data and knowledge directly from and to farmers in the field.

“The system will also allow risk to be better managed and monitored, making it easier to provide financial services, such as loans and insurance, in a country where the vast majority of farmers cannot access these services.”

The 38-month project is being supported by a grant of £3.9million from the UK Space Agency, under its International Partnership Programme, a £152 million fund launched in 2015, to use UK organisations’ space knowledge, expertise and capability to provide a sustainable, economic or societal benefit to undeveloped nations and developing economies.

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“This exciting project in Colombia will help farmers to improve their land management to diversify the country’s economy and stabilise food supplies,” said the UK Space Agency's Graham Turnock. “Innovations from space, like Rothamsted’s EcoProMis, have the ability to expand skills and technology at home whilst bringing benefits abroad; I’m delighted to see this project progressing.”

Rothamsted signed the contract with the UK Space Agency in February, and then appointed Agricompas, a data analytics company based in the UK, to jointly forge and manage a public-private partnership, which was established in mid-May.

While Rothamsted excels in project management and crop science, Agricompas is experienced in analysing data to develop services that support decision making. At the end of the project, Agricompas will own all the resulting intellectual property, and will be able to commercialise it in Colombia and elsewhere in the world:

“Revenues, crucial for the system’s maintenance, will be generated from services to processors, financial institutions and governments,” said the company’s chief executive, Roelof Kramer.

“We are very proud to bring public and private partners together in a holistic approach that improves crop productivity while it reduces environmental impact and improves the socio-economic conditions of the stakeholders,” he added.