Publication Type
Journal Article
Journal Name
Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
Publication Date
2-1-2024
Abstract
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technologies offer effective solutions to reduce the negative effects of crop pests while considering human and environmental health. However, disseminating these technologies faces several barriers, with one of the most significant being the lack of farmer awareness regarding their availability, deployment, and uptake. Digital tools are perceived as a new form of leverage for overcoming these barriers. This study analyzes current IPM digital tools and their potential to boost farmers’ awareness of the deployment and adoption of IPM technologies. From a software engineering perspective, this study aims to emphasize the critical functionalities and limitations of various IPM dissemination tools. It provides valuable insights to improve the adoption process and streamline the dissemination of IPM technologies. Through a systematic search in Google, Scopus and Web of Science for journal articles, over 32 dissemination tools were identified. The study thoroughly assesses these tools and identifies 5 main limitations hindering their regular use, especially in developing countries. Among the most significant limitations are the inadequate representation of tools developed in developing countries, lack of agroecological customization, and insufficient offline functionalities. Building on these findings, a user-centered design is employed to propose a software architecture for a novel Decision Support System (DSS) tailored to farmers and experts. The architecture comprises a local database for offline access, a mapping engine for data visualization, a conversation module with a triangulation engine for knowledge sharing, and an agroecology engine for technology recommendation based on an agroecological classification of the user's landscape. Drawing from the review, identified limitations, and the proposed architecture, we illustrate how the resulting novel DSS is anticipated to improve the dissemination of IPM technologies.
Keywords
Adoption, Agroecology, Digital tools, Dissemination, Software architecture
Funding Statement
The study received financial support from the USAID/OFDA through the project titled ‘‘Reinforcing and Expanding the Community-Based Fall Armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) Monitoring, Forecasting for Early Warning and Timely Management to Protect Food Secu- rity and Improve Livelihoods of Vulnerable Communities-CBFAMFEW II’’ grant Number ‘‘720FDA20IO00133’’. Additional funding was ob- tained from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), commissioned and administered through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Fund for International Agricultural Research (FIA), Germany, grant number 18.7860.2–001.00. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the finan- cial support for this study by the following organizations and agencies: the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida); the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC); the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; and the Government of the Republic of Kenya. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the donors.
Recommended Citation
Tonle, F., Niassy, S., Ndadji, M., Tchendji, M., Nzeukou, A., Mudereri, B., Senagi, K., & Tonnang, H. (2024). A road map for developing novel decision support system (DSS) for disseminating integrated pest management (IPM) technologies. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 217 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compag.2023.108526