In his book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need,” Bill Gates singled out CGIAR centers, which have been at the forefront of supporting the world to feed itself through research including developing improved higher-yielding varieties of important staples such as maize and rice, as doing work that is “indispensable in creating new climate-smart crops and livestock for the world’s poor farmers.”
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In the book, Gates mentions some of the other innovations that CGIAR centers have developed to help smallholder farmers cope with the climate crisis. This includes a smartphone app that allows farmers to use the camera on their phones to identify specific pests and diseases attacking cassava, an important food and cash crop in Africa.
IITA, one of the CGIAR centers, has been addressing the threats posed by climate change to income and food security for smallholder farmers using a multi-pronged approach. This includes identifying and promoting crops that can build farmers’ resilience to climate change, such as drought-tolerant varieties and crops.
IITA’s basket of digital tools to tackle climate change
The Institute has, in collaboration with its partners, developed or co-developed a series of digital tools to boost productivity of important staples for smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. These tools address some of the most important challenges faced by farmers including lack of knowledge on good agronomic practices that can optimize yield, attack by pests and diseases and access to seeds of improved varieties. These digital tools include:
- Cassava SeedTracker—an innovative web-based app linking cassava seed producers and farmers, which also facilitates quality control through electronic seed certification conducted by national authorities.
- Akilimo—a set of tools developed to support farmers in making informed decisions on various agronomic practices such as fertilizer use, optimal planting dates, intercropping, and optimal weed management strategies.
- PlantVillage Nuru—an artificial intelligence platform for detecting cassava pests and diseases and providing advice on how to control them.
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