Abstract:
Droughts are the most common type of natural disaster in Africa and the problem is
compounded by their complexity. The agriculture sector still forms the backbone of
most economies in Africa, with 70% of output being derived from rain-fed smallscale
farming; this sector is the first casualty of droughts. Accurate, timely and relevant
drought predication information enables a community to anticipate and prepare
for droughts and hence minimize the negative impacts. Current weather forecasts are
still alien to African farmers, most of whom live in rural areas and struggle with illiteracy
and poor communications infrastructure. However, these farmers hold indigenous
knowledge not only on how to predict droughts, but also on unique coping strategies.
Adoption of wireless sensor networks and mobile phones to provide a bridge
between scientific and indigenous knowledge of weather forecasting methods is one
way of ensuring that the content of forecasts and the dissemination formats meet local
needs. A framework for achieving this integration is presented in this paper. A system
prototype to implement this framework is also presented.
