RootSense
A Scalable Early Warning System for Agricultural Drought in Sub-Saharan Africa
Enhanced Soil Moisture Monitoring • Real-Time Insights • Proactive Response
Dr. Catherine Nakalembe
Principal Investigator • The Xylem Institute
NASA Harvest Africa Lead • 2020 Africa Food Prize Winner
The Agricultural Drought Crisis
People affected by drought in Horn of Africa (early 2023)
of Sub-Saharan Africa agriculture depends on rainfall
Too late: when vegetation indices show drought stress
Lost annually to crop failures
Why Soil Moisture is the Game-Changer
Earlier detection than vegetation indices
Direct measurement of plant-available water
Precision guidance for individual farms
Continuous monitoring vs. periodic snapshots
The RootSense System
An integrated network combining ground-truth sensors, satellite observations, and machine learning to deliver unprecedented drought monitoring capabilities.
📡 Sensor Network
- Multi-depth soil moisture sensors (0-100cm)
- Real-time cellular/satellite connectivity
- Solar-powered sustainable systems
- 15-minute automated measurements
🛰️ Satellite Integration
- NISAR & SMAP data validation
- Region-specific algorithm development
- High-resolution soil moisture mapping
- Cloud-independent monitoring
🤖 AI & Analytics
- Machine learning predictive models
- Multi-source data integration
- 1-14 day drought forecasting
- Automated alert systems
Technical Innovation: Beyond Traditional Approaches
🌧️ vs. Rainfall Data
RootSense measures: Actual plant-available water, accounting for soil properties, evapotranspiration, and water losses that rainfall data ignores.
🌿 vs. Vegetation Indices
RootSense delivers: 2-4 weeks earlier detection, predictive capability, and cloud-independent monitoring focused on root zone moisture.
📊 vs. Drought Indices
RootSense provides: Field-level precision, actionable irrigation guidance, and strong correlation with crop productivity.
AI Methods & Delivery Innovation: The Real Game-Changer
RootSense leverages AI-powered crop condition prediction using soil moisture data, revolutionizing how we transform satellite observations into actionable agricultural intelligence.
🧠 AI Crop Prediction
- Soil moisture → crop stress prediction models
- Machine learning algorithms trained on ground-truth
- Real-time crop condition forecasting
- Yield impact assessment 2-4 weeks early
🛰️ Satellite Recalibration
- Ground sensor network validates satellite data
- Region-specific recalibration algorithms
- Enhanced accuracy for local conditions
- Scaling precision across entire continents
📱 Smart Delivery Systems
- Farmer-friendly mobile dashboards
- Automated SMS/voice alerts
- Government policy integration platforms
- Multi-language, context-aware interfaces
🎯 Proven Model Performance
📊 : Ethiopia Pilot Results
Soil moisture predicting crop condition prediction accuracy
Results from a single location in Ethiopia with limited training data:
Root Mean Square Error
Average prediction accuracy within 32% of actual values
Mean Absolute Error
Typical prediction off by only 20%
Potential
Scale precision through satellite recalibration
Crop condition prediction from soil moisture
Dashboards, mobile apps, SMS, voice alerts
Transforming global data into local action
Strategic Partnership Network
🇹🇿 Tanzania
Sokoine University of Agriculture🇺🇬 Uganda
Makerere University🇰🇪 Kenya
World Resources Institute🇪🇹 Ethiopia (Upcoming)
Drought Hazard Monitoring Center🇿🇼 Zimbabwe (Upcoming)
University of Zimbabwe🌍 Regional & Technical
The Xylem InstituteNASA Harvest
Transformative Impact Potential
🌾 For Farmers
2-4 weeks advance warning enables crop protection strategies, irrigation optimization, and informed planting decisions.
🏛️ For Governments
Evidence-based policy for resource allocation, disaster preparedness, and national food security planning.
🤝 For Aid Organizations
Rapid deployment of assistance, improved targeting, and coordinated response through shared platforms.
of farmers with access to field-level drought insights
in prevented crop losses and reduced emergency response costs
initial deployment across Sub-Saharan Africa
framework for continental expansion
Funding Requirement: Critical Phase Deployment
Sensor Network & Deployment
50 multi-depth sensors, connectivity systems, installation across 6 countries, maintenance
AI Platform & Analytics
Cloud infrastructure, ML model development, satellite integration, mobile dashboards
Partnership & Scale Preparation
Training programs, government integration, impact measurement, sustainability planning
Total: $2.25M for 24-month catalytic deployment
Implementation Timeline
Months 1-6: Foundation
- Partner agreements finalized
- Initial sensor procurement & testing
- Site selection & preparation
- Platform development begins
Months 7-12: Deployment
- 50 sensors deployed across 6 countries
- Real-time data collection operational
- ML model training & validation
- Farmer training programs launched
Months 13-18: Optimization
- System performance evaluation
- Algorithm refinement
- Government integration pilots
- Impact assessment begins
Months 19-24: Scale Preparation
- Proven impact documentation
- Scaling strategy development
- Sustainability planning
- Next phase funding secured
The RootSense Mission
Transforming agricultural drought response from reactive crisis management to proactive resilience building.
Dr. Nakalembe's track record: 370K+ lives impacted, $11M+ saved in food aid
Technical framework complete, partnerships established, deployment plan finalized
Every drought season without early warning costs lives and livelihoods
Foundation for continental drought resilience transformation