As part of the AGRIDI initiative supported by the ACP Innovation Fund, WASCAL (one of its 10 third-party entities) officially launched on 1 June 2022 in Burkina-Faso its pilot project ” Precision pest and disease management system based on multidimensional Big Data” (PPEDMAS)

The project, launched in collaboration with Burkina Faso’s Ministry of Agriculture, Animal and Fisheries Resources and Afrique Geosciences, addresses a major problem in agriculture: pests, whose attacks can cause a loss of yields of up to 80-100%, and consequently a drop in farmers’ income.

PPeDMaS will offer a precision pest and disease management system, based on an internet and data massive field data collection (via mobile phones, multi-spectral drones, high-resolution gridded data on climatic and environmental variables as well as biophysical parameters of crops). Farmers will have access to a digital early-warning application, an expert advice system, and a mobile application that will provide them with immediate solutions.

The workshop provided all stakeholders with information about the 2-year pilot project and gathered their input, in order to gain their buy-in to the project and make it successful. If the results are as expected, the project could be scaled up for the benefit of all farmers in the country.

The Accelerating Inclusive Green Growth through Agri-based Digital Innovation in West Africa (AGRiDI) initiative is funded by the European Union through the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. It aims to support the development of innovations to address key challenges related to climate change, sustainable use and management of biodiversity, and responsible production and consumption among West African farming communities.