IBM Research, Hello Tractor - Blockchain and IoT in Kenya Agriculture

IBM Research has announced a collaboration with the American company Hello Tractor to implement Kenya's new agricultural technology. It's about using blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence to make farming more efficient.

At present, Hello Tractor has a mobile platform that facilitates equipment coordination and information sharing. IBM Research will integrate a range of advanced tools that will enable industry to simplify cultivation, help with economic predictions and also provide information on Kenya's government investment regulations.

Integrated tools include a blockchain system that will allow for collation of information from network members. These data and those from the IoT system will be stored in the IBM cloud.

The Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture will also be implemented on the basis of Artificial Intelligence.

The new Hello Tractor system

will practically represent a kind of "digital wallet for farmers" that will have the ability to instantly transmit data among all members of a particular business network.

The pilot project aims to streamline a set of processes in the agricultural industry, improving both production and financial results. For example, platform users will be able to get estimates of individual crops, manage fleet management and benefit from predictive maintenance solutions.

In addition, the platform will be able to compile the credit portfolio of farmers and equipment owners. It will also provide information on government regulations and changes much faster.

According to IBM, sub-Saharan Africa is currently facing a food production crisis. High performance machines are used in less than 20% of the crops in the region, which significantly reduces the efficiency of agricultural business. The amount of food needed is steadily rising, as the region's population grows on average by 11 million inhabitants per year.

Moreover, about half of farmers annually lose significant amounts of crops due to inappropriate plantings.

National authorities in Africa have begun to resort to various blockchain and IoT solutions to improve farming activity. For example, earlier this year, the Ethiopian government initiated a collaboration with Cardano to implement blockchain technology in the country's agro industry.