Digital dialogues for agrifood systems transformation

Bringing farmers to the fore with Virtual Reality Field Trips

In the rapidly advancing digital landscape, emerging technologies like Virtual Reality (VR) have the potential to revolutionize the way we perceive agrifood systems and communicate development work. VR enables us to engage with high-resolution video, spatialized audio, and panoramic images from a 360-degree view. Statista projects that VR and similar technologies could boost the USA's GDP by over $150 billion by 2030, a potential boon for African partners working with digital innovations in food value systems. With 70 percent of Africa's population relying on agriculture for their livelihood, technological innovations are particularly relevant.

Taking advantage of VR and the possibilities of more immersive and sustainable digital platforms, the CGIAR Initiative for Diversification in East and Southern Africa (Ukama Ustawi), led by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), constructed a VR world to amplify the voices of farmers and agricultural businesses in Africa, which are often hard to reach in remote or fragile settings. Accessible via mobile phones, desktops, laptops, tablet computers, and specialized head-mounted displays (HMDs), virtual field trips (VFTs) offer an immersive experience of remote and otherwise inaccessible locations. A significant plus is the environmental benefit VFTs offer by minimizing the carbon footprint of travel, thereby promoting sustainable practices.

The voices of our farmers in our VFTs are equally important to us. Agnes Ndia, smallholder farmer in Kenya:

"I feel pleased to have many people learn from my farm, I feel that I am somebody who can stand in front of many people. I know people have gained knowledge through my farm." - A farmer

Research on extended reality (XR), including VR, is also on the rise. A review of applications of XR in agriculture, livestock farming, and aquaculture revealed over a 50 percent increase in studies from 2001 to 2021. VR's capabilities allow research organizations to demonstrate their interventions and impacts to stakeholders, partners, and potential investors effectively. VFTs using VR enable key players in the agricultural sector to immerse themselves in these environments, offering firsthand insights and encounters with the smallholder farmers they are supporting.

Dr. Mitchell McTough and Nicole Langa from IWMI conducting VFT Demonstrations at the ICTforAG Conference 2024. Credit: Sander Zwart

No innovation is without its intrinsic challenges. Ethical concerns arise regarding data privacy and the potential misuse of sensitive information captured during VFTs. Furthermore, the immersive nature of VR can sometimes create a false sense of presence, leading to misinterpretations of on-ground realities and the risk of oversimplifying complex agricultural issues. As we embrace these technological advancements, it is crucial to address these ethical and practical challenges to ensure that the benefits of VR are equitably distributed and truly serve the needs of smallholder farmers by creating new spaces for their voices, focusing on complexities and interdependencies.

Dr. Dennis Choruma (IWMI-Zimbabwe), a regional researcher specializing in land-water and soil solutions, works primarily on agroecology and water resource management. He collaborated extensively with smallholder farmers to tackle climate change challenges, which have manifested as rising temperatures and decreased rainfall. The Makonde region is anticipated to experience more frequent droughts. In response, Choruma worked with farmers to develop water-efficient crop production techniques to combat water scarcity and climate change. For the VFT, specific farms in this region were selected from prior irrigation suitability mapping, which considered factors such as slope and soil composition. The VFT demonstrates the impact of IWMI's work on a few farms in the Makonde region after the installation of drip irrigation systems for farmers who previously used buckets to water their crops. The VFT also serves as an interactive educational tool on the drip irrigation system.

IWMI Researcher Nicole Langa conducting a VR Interview with farmers Ms. Mellisa Chibhema and Mrs. Mandeya, in Makonde, Zimbabwe. Credit: Dennis Choruma

Investors often gravitate towards larger markets like Kenya, creating significant competition for new opportunities. Agriculture contributes about 26% to Kenya's GDP, with an additional 27% through linkages with other sectors. Although technology adoption in Kenya's agricultural sector remains slow, there are real opportunities to develop stronger agricultural innovation systems within the country.

In response, a VFT for Nyota Limited, a Kenyan agribusiness manufacturer, was developed. The VFT showcases the entire production value chain from farm to factory and supermarket, providing investors with a comprehensive understanding of the business and its scaling needs. This is especially valuable since investors often cannot physically visit all potential sites for validation. Additionally, VFTs help mitigate land degradation caused by frequent site visits.

Tigray is home to over 950,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and shelters 96,000 Eritrean refugees. Fragile and conflict-affected environments, such as the Tigray region of Ethiopia, are settings where VFTs can have a profound impact. They offer a valuable alternative to on-the-ground presence by providing critical insights and filling gaps where direct access is not feasible to researchers, donors, and practitioners alike. Dr. Mitchell McTough (IWMI-Ethiopia), a postdoctoral fellow specializing in water, conflict, and resilience under the CGIAR Fragile, Conflict and Resilience initiative, developed a VFT in Tigray focusing on IDP hosting communities to capture these insights. Importantly, in such contexts, upholding the ethical standard of fidelity and maintaining the Do No Harm humanitarian principle are critical to ensuring the work is conflict sensitive. This VFT used 360-degree videography to capture community transect walks during citizen science mapping exercises, along with individual testimonies about the impacts of displacement on hosting communities.

In partnership with the CGIAR Digital Innovation initiative, a VFT has also been developed to highlight the Olifants River within the Limpopo River Basin (LRB). This immersive tool allows users to explore one of Southern Africa's most vital river systems, supporting diverse communities, industries, and rich biodiversity. During this VFT, you will embark on an exploration of the river's unique landscapes and ecosystems. Discover how cutting-edge technologies are being used to monitor and manage the river basin and learn about the innovative approaches scientists are taking to ensure the sustainable future of this critical waterway.

The VFT is part of a research and prototyping effort under the Digital Twin project, an advanced virtual representation of the LRB. This initiative aims to enhance water management and conservation by integrating VR, real-time data and forecasting capabilities into a comprehensive digital platform for informed decision-making and environmental stewardship.

In an interview featured in the VFT, Prof. Gordon O'Brien, Director - Rivers of Life, discusses the ongoing challenge of balancing utilization and conservation of the river. "The Olifants river has got multiple stresses. The river flows through an important area with coal mining and other mining activities. There is an extensive amount of coal, gold, major industries and urban communities. This river is very vulnerable. The river is also used extensively for water abstraction for agriculture. The river is affected by upstream mines, agriculture, industries and abstraction. It is one of the countries hardest working rivers," he explaines.

He emphasizes the need to achieve this balance to ensure future generations benefit from the river. The VFT's impact is projected to be substantial, providing critical insights for high-level decision-making among public and private stakeholders. Additionally, it serves as an early warning system to predict floods and droughts, potentially transforming water resource management in a river ecosystem that supports the lives of 18 million people across Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The use of technology will assist with making the river more accessible to researchers and stakeholders.

"The difficulty is we can't get people into these remote but important areas and that's where digital innovation is so important because we have the ability now in real time remotely to monitor the depth of water using smart technology so that we can accurately determine how much water is flowing past particular sections of river at any given time." - Prof. Gordon O'Brien, Director - Rivers of Life

Thus far, the feedback received from the VFTs is overwhelmingly positive, reflected in audience reception and stakeholder engagement during networking sessions. IWMI continues to enhance user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) for these multi-sensory virtual realities through continuous adjustments and upgrades.

VFTs utilizing VR represent a groundbreaking tool for agriculture and related sectors, significantly extending the reach of scientific and technical knowledge beyond the limitations of traditional written and verbal communication. By capturing real-world environments, experiences, and conditions critical to the livelihoods of Africa's food producers, VFTs enhance the visibility of these landscapes, offering users an opportunity to explore and engage virtually. This technology marks a paradigm shift in how we view, interpret, monitor, and share information about land, water, and food systems to accelerate the scale of IWMI's operations. VFTs offer an immersive, interactive experience that can propel the agricultural sector forward by visualizing impact from a grassroots perspective.

We invite you to immerse yourself in our VFTs and share your feedback through this short survey.

Click to explore the IWMI VR World: IWMI Virtual Field Trips

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