The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), which is an agency of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), has highlighted the launch of a programme to deploy localised weather stations to support South African agriculture. This is part of the EUREKA Climate Smart Agriculture initiative, which is an intergovernmental project of which South Africa is an associate member, and which supports market-driven research and development in the agricultural and related sectors.

Although only formally launched recently, the programme has already seen the deployment of more than 200 such localised weather stations, as well as 14 CropView cameras, across the Western Cape province. These weather stations were developed by Metos SA, which is also a partner in the programme, as is a global consortium composed of TerraClim, Pessl Instruments, and Geosmart Space.

The stations allow individual farms, or small numbers of adjacent farms, to monitor their own highly localised weather. This will allow them to detect and record any changes resulting from climate change, and also allow them to optimise their crop and livestock choices, crop planting, protection from pests, harvesting and so on. This will increase agricultural production and food security, and help maintain phytosanitary standards.

“The importance of technologies such as the localised weather stations cannot be overemphasised,” affirmed TIA agriculture head Sibusiso Manana. “The benefits of this innovation are far-reaching, as they go beyond just the food produce but can extend to animal feed. The result is agricultural produce that meets export regulations, thus impacting the [gross domestic product]. Agriculture is key to food security for the country, but with technologies such as this, we can produce better quality food, which means a healthier society.”

“The DSI is proud of the work that has been achieved by all the partners involved in this initiative,” said DSI director: global projects Toto Matshediso.