{"id":122600,"date":"2026-03-14T05:29:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:29:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/899355218"},"modified":"2026-03-14T05:29:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-14T08:29:40","slug":"dsti-intros-smart-tech-for-ecape-farmers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/03\/14\/dsti-intros-smart-tech-for-ecape-farmers\/","title":{"rendered":"DSTI intros smart tech for ECape farmers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) has unveiled an initiative to drive modernisation in the agriculture<\/span><\/span> sector in the Eastern Cape. <\/p>\n

Named the South African System of Systems for Agricultural Modernisation (SASSAM), the initiative looks to enhance resource efficiency, while addressing uncertainties posed by climate change.<\/p>\n

The SASSAM pilot, funded by the DSTI through its entity the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), has resulted in a platform designed to equip farmers with climate intelligence, spatial data<\/span><\/span> and digital<\/span><\/span> decision-support tools, the department explains. <\/p>\n

The platform provides suitability and soil analysis, field event logging, pest and disease identification, weather forecasting, and artificial intelligence-driven forecasting that answers questions based on uploaded farm data. <\/p>\n

Multilingual support is expected to be added; for now, the platform operates in English and isiXhosa, according to the DSTI. <\/p>\n

Led by TerraClim<\/a>, in partnership with the Agricultural Research Council<\/a> (ARC), the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture, SASSAM\u2019s first demonstration took place in Umtata, OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape. <\/p>\n

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The demonstration marked the first of five district-level pilot rollouts planned for the province.<\/p>\n

TerraClim CEO Dr Tara Southey says the initiative will introduce digital agricultural tools and integrated climate-smart technologies to 50 farms across the province, beginning in OR Tambo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are taking credible knowledge from the ARC, CSIR and government \u2013 as well as universities conducting research, field trials and development \u2013 and bringing it into a connected system that informs decision-making.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southey adds that the next phase of the project will expand to other technology partners and provinces, including adding grain crops in KwaZulu-Natal, with the long-term goal of representing all major crop types in SA on the platform. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a foundational start. Our vision together is how we accelerate modernisation in agriculture in South Africa.\u201d <\/p>\n

The DSTI notes the pilot focuses on priority crops, including maize, potatoes and dry beans. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe Eastern Cape\u2019s Department of Agriculture is facing many challenges, including climate change, which has brought a lot of uncertainty for farmers due to frequent drought. Farmers are no longer sure about ploughing windows,\u201d comments Mxolisi Mtyobile, crop production scientist at the Eastern Cape Department of Agriculture at OR Tambo District.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn January, we had the highest temperatures recorded in the Eastern Cape, ranging from 38\u00b0C to 43\u00b0C. We have also experienced persistent disease outbreaks that have hampered crop productivity. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are hopeful that initiatives such as SASSAM will bring technology to smallholder farmers for future adverse climate conditions and assist them in their planning.\u201d<\/p>\n

Halalisiwe Msimango, portfolio manager for agriculture at TIA, adds: \u201cThe idea is that in the next two to three years we should roll it out throughout South Africa for different crops.\u201d <\/p>\n

Msimango urges farmers to share their information and experiences. \u201cTell the SASSAM team what you need and how to improve what they have already built.\u201d<\/p>\n

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… -driven forecasting. The Department of Science, Technology<\/span> and Innovation (DSTI) has unveiled … by the DSTI through its entity the Technology<\/span> Innovation Agency (TIA), has resulted … project will expand to other technology<\/span> partners and provinces, including adding …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-122600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122600"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122600\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}