Advanced Coffee Crop Optimisation for Rural Development (ACCORD) ACCORD will improve the livelihoods and incomes of smallholder coffee farmers in Rwanda and Kenya, by delivering advice from satellite Earth Observation to help them make significant improvements to crop quality and yield. This allows farmers to achieve higher incomes for their work, improving quality of life for their families. 

Coffee is the second most traded commodity globally, with revenues directly benefitting farmers in developing countries.  Despite this, in Kenya and Rwanda 67% and 80% of people respectively live in poverty, including most smallholder coffee farmers. Unpredictable weather, pests, diseases, nutrient depletion and other factors limit earning potential by hitting coffee quality and quantity. 

Coffee farmers must make 25-30 critical decisions per year, such as whether and when to apply fertilisers, pesticides or fungicides, mostly by guesswork.  Correct advice makes a huge difference to the effectiveness of their decisions and enables increases in income.  The increase in income justifies commercial service provision, ensuring sustainability. 

ACCORD provides farmers with access to timely, geo-targeted advice through a simple mobile application.  The unique and proven method employed by the consortium combines high detail mapping satellite imagery, regular medium resolution satellite imagery and ground observations along with a custom high resolution localised weather forecast model, in a cost-effective manner.  All the data is integrated and analysed then advice is provided through an agronomic advice platform made accessible to networks of agronomists and farmers.  Access to this highest quality advice is not available at scale through any other method. Coffee is the second most traded commodity globally, with revenues directly benefitting farmers in developing countries.  Despite this, in Kenya and Rwanda 67% and 80% of people respectively live in poverty, including most smallholder coffee farmers. Unpredictable weather, pests, diseases, nutrient depletion and other factors limit earning potential by hitting coffee quality and quantity. ACCORD will deliver advice from satellite Earth Observation to help smallholder coffee farmers make significant improvements to crop quality and yield, providing them with access to timely, geo-targeted advice through a simple mobile application.  This will allow smallholder farmers to achieve higher incomes for their work, improving quality of life for their families.