Kampala, Uganda –
In a bid to make modern farming tools more accessible to smallholder farmers, Dr. Johnson Mwebaze of Makerere University’s College of Computing and Information Sciences (CoCIS) has developed an innovative, low-cost smart farming system designed to boost food security, improve climate resilience, and promote sustainable maize production.
“The technologies out there are very expensive; they’re not accessible. So I was looking for something more cost-effective and accessible to everybody,” Dr. Mwebaze explained. His solution uses Internet of Things (IoT) technology to monitor soil moisture and environmental conditions, enabling precise irrigation scheduling that conserves water, prevents soil erosion, and reduces energy waste.
The system’s affordability and scalability make it a promising model for smallholder farmers across Africa. By optimizing resources and providing real-time agricultural data, the initiative addresses critical challenges such as water scarcity and low crop yields in climate-vulnerable regions.
