Growing food security with smart technology
CELUXOLO Dlamini could not afford to travel to this week's capping ceremony to receive his Master's degree cum laude in Environmental Science.
But the 23-year-old is driven by determination and has already registered at UKZN to do his PhD, which he aims to complete by the time he is 25 years old.
For his Master's degree, Dlamini used remotely sensed data from unmanned aerial vehicles – drones – and machine learning techniques to predict maize yield. This means that farmers, particularly small-scale farmers, would know exactly how much they could expect to harvest.
The information was simplified and then shared with them, he said.
“In that way, you know how much you'll get if you're going to sell that maize and how much you'll roll out to people if you're going to be feeding people with that maize. It's a very good model, especially with the shrinking (food) baskets we have.”
Dlamini said they also collected landscape data and passed it on to small-scale farming systems that have challenging terrain. The data can guide the farmers on what areas to avoid, which areas they could capitalise, and how much water would be needed.
For his PhD, Dlamini plans to use a thermal remote sensor to determine the phenology (life cycle) of sweet potatoes.
“Nobody has ever done the phenology of sweet potatoes. After I've determined the phenology of sweet potatoes, I want to predict the difference between the below- and aboveground biomass of sweet potatoes to determine the yield of sweet potatoes.”
As with his Master's degree, his PhD study will continue looking into precision agriculture – the use of new, cutting edge technology to improve crop production at low costs. He believes this is a novel and crucial area of expertise to minimise food insecurity.
After completing his Master's degree in two semesters rather than four, he also wants to complete his PhD in three years.
“Nothing is impossible with the right mindset,” he says.
“You need to tell yourself from the beginning what you want and you don't just say it, you need to do it as well. I operated on three principles: dedication, passion and sacrifice.”
Originally from Pongola, as the oldest son he is responsible for taking care of his seven siblings and his 5-year-old son.
Dlamini said that when he completed his Honours degree his mom wanted him to find a job so he could take care of the household, but he convinced her it was best to first complete his studies.
He credits much of his success to his supervisors and mentors: Dr Trylee Matongera, Professor John Odindi and Professor Onisimo Mutanga, for supervision and for the funding of his Master's degree.