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[View \| Download]	Maize Innovation in Rwanda - Maize Maize is an important staple crop in Rwanda with the potential for export if production can be significantly increased. Here we report on how the Research into use Programme is working with a network of local partners to achieve that aim through a Maize Innovation Platform in Rwandas Eastern Province. Gahne Jringhica farms one hectare of land sown with maize in the Nagartare district of Rwandas Eastern province. Like 83% of Rwandas working population he lives in a rural area and survives on subsistence agriculture. This year, thanks to improved yields of Maize, he has for the first time, been able to send his children to school erect a semipermanent dwelling and purchase a cow. Mr Jringha is amongst a group of farmers in the district who have seen an increase in their livelihoods which have been made possible by access to new seed varieties, improved access to market and training in different planting methods through a cooperative set up by the Research Into Uses (RIU) Rwanda country team as part of its innovation platform work. The Maize platform was created in June 2008. It was one of four* identified by the National Innovation Coalition which the RIU programmed established in Rwanda as a vehicle for strengthening an innovation approach to agriculture. The innovation platforms bring together a network of partners who work together on a common theme to use research knowledge in ways it has not been used before, to generate goods or services for the benefit of the poor. Connecting everyone in the agricultural value chain in the district from the processors to the buyers, the transporters and knowledge producers is a one of the main aims of the platforms members. Butera Rembo is the Maize Platform Chairman and the farmer responsible for training Mr. Jringhica in new farming techniques. He farms 40 hectares in a remote area in the Nagartare district. Explaining the typical problems and challenges the farmers in his area face and the Maize platform must work to overcome he said: There are three major problems faced by farmers in this sector. Firstly there is a lack of good quality seed, secondly fertilizer is very expensive and farmers do not really know how to apply it correctly. Thirdly there is climatic change. This place is prone to severe drought which destroys their crops. After I was trained by RIU and other organisations such as the Rwandan Development Organisation in how to apply fertiliser and other best agricultural practices like planting in lines, I came here and started to train other local farmers in small workshops. Besides the introduction of new seed varies which grow much quicker ( 90 days compared to 150) in districts like Nagartare which has short rainy seasons , the platform have also introduced other technologies, are working on a system for sharing and transmitting new knowledge and improved access to finance. The Rwandan Development Organization, for example, targeted the introduction of Oxen to womens groups for the cultivation of their fields. This technology has proved very popular mainly because it has greatly reduced farm chores and significantly increased their household incomes as a local farmer Moomba Jane explains. Before the introduction of oxen we used to use hand hoes which would take a long time and we couldnt cover a large area. We used to cultivate one hectare but now we can cultivate three hectares in one month, she said. I can also earn extra more money by ploughing other farmers fields with my oxen. The oxen also use a bigger hoe which allows us to dig deeper into the soil which is good. We also use them for bringing water home and Oxen can carry 100 Gerry cans compared to only one Gerry can per person. We only used to harvest three tonnes of Maize but now with the oxen we can harvest 30-50 tonnes of Maize. Another platform member involved issuing finance loans is the Duterimbere Womens Organisation. The Duterimbere branch manager Rutabayriu Appolinaire describes how their initiative works: Traditionally women are good managers compared to men who just get the money from farming and start drinking it. When women come here first of all they must belong to a group who provide a collective guarantee so that the women can be given loans. After benefiting from the group the women can set up their own farm and then deal with us directly and pay back the loan herself without the help of the group.(672) Mr. Kabagame Chairman of National Innovation Coalition sums up his hopes for the results of the platforms work: In the next three years we are expecting a lot of change. First well produce a lot more quantity of produce. Second we want to improve the quality of products and all agricultural infrastructures in terms of transportation, storage and processing. We expect to see an increase in product, price, product selling and packaging in the market initially. Tags: Maize, RIU, Research into Use, Rwanda, access, access to market, climate change, drought, export, fertilzer, finance, hand hoe, innovation, methods, network, new seed varieties, oxen, planting, platform, poor, quality seed, staple crop, training, value chain, yield 1 Downloads - Last from: (Your Blog here!)
[View \| Download]	Robotic Farmer: Prospero This is just a short video of the hexapod robot, Prospero, planting. Prospero is an autonomous robotic farmer that would be used as part of a group or swarm of identical robots. Imagine a hundred of these robots walking across a field, planting and working together like a colony of ants or bees. For more a longer video that goes more in depth, search for "vanmunch36" and look for the other Prospero videos. Prospero is the working prototype of an Autonomous Micro Planter (AMP) that uses a combination of swarm and game theory and is the first of four steps. It is meant to be deployed as a group or "swarm". The other three steps involve autonomous robots that tend the crops, harvest them, and finally one robot that can plant, tend, and harvest--autonomously transitioning from one phase to another. Prospero is controlled with a Parallax Propeller chip mounted on a Schmart Board. Its body is designed by Lynxmotion and the orginal programming allows it to walk autonomously in any direction while avoiding objects with its duel ultrasonic Ping))) without turning it's body. An underbody sensor array allows the robot to know if a seed has been planted in the area at the optimal spacing and depth. Prospero can then dig a hole, plant a seed in the hole, cover the seed with soil, and apply any pre-emergence fertilizers and/or herbicides along with the marking agent. Prospero can then talk to other robots in the immediate proximity that it needs help planting in that area or that this area has been planted and to move on via IR (currently represented with a green and red LED ). The more seeds it plants, the more the "green" LED lights up, the more it draws other robots nearby (+2). The more it detects planted seeds, the more it repulses other robots with the "red" LED (-1) Why small, autonomous robots? Robotics in Agriculture Despite its quaint reputation, agriculture has always been an early adapter of technology. This is evident from the beginning of mechanization with the cotton gin, McCormick's Reaper, tractors, hybrid seed, to genetically engineered plants that protect themselves and grow in arid environments. Yields have grown quickly, but demand from developing countries and population growth are growing faster We know that we need to continue to find ways to increase the productivity of land on a per unit basis. Agriculture has started to add computerization and automation to the current machinery with things like GPS based precision farming systems that can autonomously drive tractors, monitor yield, and apply fertilizer. However, these aftermarket add-ons are built around the single most expensive and awkward part of the equipment. The person controlling the tractor. Today's agricultural equipment has been designed around a person sitting in a chair. It cost a lot to employ a single person so the equipment grew larger in order to maximize the productivity of that one person. However, this method has its drawbacks. Farming decisions have to be made at the field level. Nature is chaotic and dynamic. Soil nutrients and moisture change from foot to foot. Having equipment that allows a single person to plant a thousand acres in a day comes at the cost of productivity per acre as a result of treating all those acres as the same. A swarm of small robots like Prospero would have the ability to farm inch by inch, examining the soil before planting each seed and choosing the best variety for that spot. This would maximizing the productivity of each acre, allow less land to be converted to farm land, feed more people, and provide a higher standard of living for those people because they would spend less of their money on food. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks! Tags: Farming Robot, Hexapod, Hexapod robot, Lynxmotion, Parallax, Parallax Propeller, Robotic Farmer, Schmart Board, ant, ants, corn, electronics, farmer, farming, future, game theory, insect behavior, planting, robot, swarm, swarm robot, swarm theory, technology 1 Downloads - Last from: http://www.scienceprog.com/let-the-robots-take-care-of-your-garden/ (Your Blog here!)
[View \| Download]	Landscaping Ideas for a Beautiful Yard : Tips for Planting Flowers Planting flowers is easy with these tips, get expert tips and advice on plants, yards, and gardening in this free video. Expert: Carolyn Holt Bio: Carolyn Holt owns her own landscaping business, Carolyn's Gardens, and has been a professional landscaper for over 30 years. She also has a degree in horticulture. Tags: backyard, care, fertilizer, free, grow, ideas, landscaping, plan, planting, plants, video 1 Downloads - Last from: (Your Blog here!)