Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


Tiny Analyzer Promises Boost for Coffee Growers, Their Soil

Reuters

   ROME - A piece of paper no bigger than a business card could enrich
   struggling coffee farmers and their soil, a growing challenge as
   temperatures rise and prices fluctuate.

   Enveritas, a U.S. nonprofit, signed an agreement with International
   Business Machines Corp.(IBM) on Thursday to pilot theAgroPad, which
   analyzes soil samples remotely and quickly.

   Powered byartificialintelligence, theAgroPadcan perform a chemical
   analysis in 10 seconds, reading nitrate or chloride levels from a drop
   of water or small soil sample, said IBM.

   Enveritasplans to provide the devices for free to farmers in
   coffee-growing regions of Latin America and Africa,and IBM said it aims
   to make them affordable for everyone. Its target production cost:less
   than 25 cents.

   The nonprofit, which works with 100,000 farms, mills and estates in
   Latin America and Africa, did not say how many would be in the pilot
   but, if successful, "the plan is to scale it out," CEO David Browning
   toldReuters.

   Coffee farmers have been struggling with a slump in global prices while
   climate change is threatening vast swaths of land in Latin America,
   Asia and Africa.

   Enveritas, which verifies the sustainability of coffee farmers, said
   most of its growers live on less than $2 a day.

   Chemical analysis of soil is vital to improve yields but is
   complicated, expensive and time-consumingbecauseitrequireslaboratory
   equipment, said Mathias Steiner from IBM Research-Brazil.

   AgroPadcosts less and could reduce the use of fertilizers, which would
   save money and help the environment, said Steiner, one of its
   inventors.

   Last week, engineers from Britain's Brunel University also unveiled an
   AI device for farming:small red pods, costing £92 ($118) each, that
   could be planted into the soil.The pods collect datahourlyand would
   show farmers what the soil needs.

.