aWhere partners with the government of Kenya to empower farmers with weather services

Date:01-26-2021

aWhere, Inc, a leading provider of agricultural weather data and analytics, announced a new agreement with the government of Kenya. Under the terms of the agreement, the Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) will gain use of aWhere's 6,787 virtual weather stations in Kenya for the next two years to provide advanced weather data and analytics that support climate-smart agricultural decisions as Kenya adapts to climate change.

KALRO launched a pioneering weather services platform in 2020, the Kenya Agriculture Observatory Platform (KAOP, https://www.kaop.co.ke/ ) to provide real-time access to local weather forecasts, observed rainfall and temperatures to inform farm operations. The platform also offers the ratio of precipitation to potential evapotranspiration (P/PET) that indicates if a crop is under water stress. These are critically important inputs for farmers dependent on rainfed agriculture.

"KALRO is continuously pushing the frontiers of agriculture science and innovation to empower Kenyan farmers. We are pleased to build on the past success of the Kenya Agriculture Observatory Platform to ensure farmers across the country have access to the latest weather forecast and know the amount of rainfall their farms have received to maximize their production and profitability against the backdrop of increased weather variability Kenyan farmers have experienced this past decade," said Boniface O. Akuku, Director ICT, Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).

 "aWhere is excited to expand its partnership with Kenya. Weather drives agriculture and we are excited by how KALRO is applying modern weather science to support farmers. As the atmosphere warms, weather variability in Kenya has increased dramatically, as it has for most countries. Having accurate weather data and analytical tools to generate actionable insights for the food sector positions Kenya as a leader in climate adaptation," said John Corbett, CEO, aWhere.