Collecting Farm-sourced Data on Pest and Disease Pressure

Contact: Michael Gifford, NIAB <Michael.Gifford@niab.com>

Farmers routinely provide data on crop disease and pests but not in real-time, as they are discovered in the field, due to problems of ease-of-use and concerns around how data will be used after being reported. Accurate, timely reporting could significantly reduce crop losses, use of crop protection chemicals, and produce better understanding of how crop diseases and pests develop and spread, geographically and temporally. Your challenge is to develop a mobile reporting app with an intuitive and rapid user interface, based on an understanding of the incentives and barriers farmers face in reporting issues.