Mobile Interfaced Crops Diagnosis Expert System (MICDES): a case for rural Kenyan farmers
Date
2012Author
Ochieng, Daniel Orwa
Waema, Timothy Mwololo
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
This paper describes a prototype case-based reasoning expert system
that enables farmers to get assistance with crop diagnostics and other extension
services through the web via a dynamic website or through mobile phones. It is
also voice enabled to support visually impaired people. Mobile Interfaced Crops
Diagnosis Expert System (MICDES) was motivated by the lack of extension
services to farmers in the rural areas of Kenya, a situation compounded by
poor communication infrastructure. The system conceptualisation, design and
development were based on contextual inquiry putting the user and culture at
the centre. The design, implementation and testing was done based on studies
carried out on two rural agricultural self-help groups and schools in Kenya. The
diagnoses currently performed are major tropical diseases and pests affecting
rice, tomatoes, bananas and sweet potatoes. The system automatically alerts a
human expert via SMS in cases where it fails to diagnose a case presented by
the user.
Citation
Int. J. Services, Economics and Management, Vol. 4, No. 1Publisher
Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. School of Computing and Informatics