AgriCloud in the media: Pula Imvula Magazine
In Pula Imvula Magazine’s June issue of 2019, the article ‘Get this weather app on your cell phone‘ by Nico Kroese (Manager Research and Development at South Africa Weather Service) will be published.
In the article the AgriCloud Portal is explained: an online weather based agricultural advisory system that supports farmers and agribusinesses in their day-to-day work to make weather-optimized decisions.
Grain SA
The Grain SA Farmer Development Programme (FDP) is an initiative that was introduced in 2000 by GRAIN SA (a grain producers organisation in South Africa) with the objective to support developing farmers to harvest the optimal yield from the land they are farming, irrespective of size. They are using different approaches to achieve this goal, one of which is the publication of a monthly magazine called “Pula Imvula” which is specifically directed at the developing farmer. The magazine has a circulation of ±19 500 and is translated in seven different languages: English, Afrikaans, Sesotho, Setswana, isiZulu, isoXhosa and Sesotho sa Leboa.
In Sesotho “Pula” translates to ‘rain’ and similarly the word “Imvula” means ‘rain’ in isiZulu. Thus “Pula Imvula” = RAIN, something farmers cannot farm without. The magazine provides useful information to small scale farmers (SSF’s) on grain and oil seed production to ultimately assist in the development of farmers to become sustainable commercial farmers. Pula Imvula is available in printed and digital format and is distributed through study groups and a provincial coordinator network.
Rain4Africa
The Rain4Africa Project (R4A) as part of the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) initiative has the objective to put essential information and decision support services within reach of SSF’s, allowing them to make informed decisions about managing their crops. Cooperation with GRAIN SA and the publication of information on the AgriCloud Application in the magazine serves the objectives of all the role-players in enhancing the knowledge and sustainability of farmers at all levels.
