Boosting Lending Potential With Satellite Imagery System GRID
Improving the lending potential of credit providers to small holder farmers in southern Africa through satellite imaging.
Funded by the European Space Agency, this £200,000 project, known as GroWise, paved the way for the implementation of ‘GRID’ technology. GRID is a Crop Growth Index (CGI) service that uses synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) data, optical satellite data and precision weather information to model a variety of common African crops on a crop-specific basis.
GRID is the first tool on the market specifically allowing farmers and financial providers to track crop performance. CGI provides credit providers and insurers with daily updates of the crop’s growth stage, the biomass of the crop and the Leaf Area Index (LAI). Collecting and interpreting these three growth metrics allows credit providers to assess crop performance.
Agri-EPI Centre deployed project managers to assist project partners and allowing those with the technical expertise to focus on delivering results. We are delighted to have contributed to the emerging success of the GRID product, and we are particularly pleased that Agri-EPI Centre’s contribution was valuable in providing up to 1000 jobs shared between the UK and Africa.
This project aimed to give banks and credit providers the confidence to lend money against a patch of land rather than an individual. By having access to information about the predicted crop yield, incoming weather patterns, and land conditions, credit providers can better manage risk. This project also aimed to give small holder farmers access to key funding and legitimate credit so their business can thrive.
Unleashing satellite technology to improve credit lending to Southern African smallholdings
