Austrian agricultural technology company Pessl Instruments has announced plans to install 15,000 smart weather stations in Kenya. This is the first phase of a wider rollout targeting 100,000 units across Africa. The project, known as UpYield4Africa, aims to help small-scale farmers use local weather and soil data to improve farming decisions.
The weather stations, sold under Pessl’s METOS brand, will collect information on rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture, and leaf wetness. The data will be available through the company’s FieldClimate platform, which provides weather forecasts and crop disease alerts. This information will help farmers decide when to plant, irrigate, and apply fertilizer, as well as manage pests and diseases and prepare for extreme weather.
Pessl Instruments founder and Chief Executive Gottfried Pessl stated that the technology would give farmers access to location-specific information to guide decisions throughout the growing season. The initiative will also seek to connect farmers to agricultural advisers, input suppliers, financial institutions, and produce buyers.
AgriMet Data Kenya will serve as the local implementation partner, handling distribution, installation, and maintenance of the stations, as well as farmer training and support. Farmers will be organised into production clusters and supported by digital farm advisers who will help interpret the data and coordinate production based on market demand.
The model is intended to address challenges such as fragmented production, limited access to farming advice, unpredictable weather, and difficulties meeting the supply requirements of commercial buyers. The project also proposes a financing arrangement involving Austrian financial institutions and a Kenyan banking partner.
The financing arrangement, which involves a Kenyan banking partner, will allow cluster companies or produce buyers to access loans backed by eligible equipment and crop purchase agreements. This will reduce the need for individual farmers to provide land or personal assets as security. Austrian Ambassador to Kenya Simone Knapp said the initiative would strengthen cooperation between the two countries in agricultural technology and food security.
The Nairobi launch brought together companies including Safaricom, Bayer Crop Science, Lindsay, HZPC, and Viazi, X Green Capital, FreshCrop Limited, and SAI Platform. The project is expected to have a significant impact on small-scale farmers in Kenya, providing them with the tools and information they need to improve their farming practices and increase their productivity.
Key points
- Pessl Instruments plans to install 15,000 smart weather stations in Kenya as part of a wider rollout across Africa.
- The project aims to help small-scale farmers use local weather and soil data to improve farming decisions and manage climate risks.
- The initiative will also seek to connect farmers to agricultural advisers, input suppliers, financial institutions, and produce buyers.
