for developing both fossil-based and renewable sources of power such as solar powered micro grids but until governments step up their efforts to mobilize resources and deepen the capacity to plan and implement, the power supply will increase in small doses when a Big Push is the need of the day.

Rainfed agriculture is hostage to the vagaries of nature and with climate change likely to magnify the variability of precipitation, conserving and efficiently allocating water will require investment in irrigation, the creation of institutions and the use of pricing policies. In addition, farmers would benefit from improved weather forecasting now feasible with the help of advanced computing technologies and models as well as the data provided by satellites and ground-based sensors.<sup>19</sup> These initiatives will need to be combined with other measures such as greater mechanization aimed at industrializing agriculture. As observed by Fuglie and Rada (2013), irrigation can close to double crop yields, however, the best and most costeffective results come from providing plants with the exact amount of water needed at each stage of the growing cycle regarding soil and environmental conditions. To do that calls for the kind of water distribution and application technologies (e.g. drip irrigation using polyethylene tubing and micro spray heads<sup>20</sup> ) that delivers a metered amount of water to the root system with the minimum losses from evaporation and overwatering. How much water is needed at any time depends on the information collected by the imaging and sensing techniques that are diffusing in advanced countries.

Water management would go hand in hand with the optimal application of fertilizer using the appropriate mix. Too much is not only wasteful, it pollutes watercourses as well. One promising approach is the so-called deep placement technique that inserts a briquette of fertilizer some centimeters under the soil to slow the release of nitrogen, loss through leaching (if excess water is applied) and surface volatilization as nitrous oxide or ammonia gas.<sup>21</sup> East Africa can also potentially 19 Accurate forecasts can help farmers decide when to sow and harvest crops, when to apply fertilizer and of what type, when application of weedicide is desirable and how to prepare for a prolonged dry spell. https://www.ametsoc.org/ams/index.cfm/about-ams/ams-statements/statements-of-the- <u>ams-in-force/weather-analysis-and-forecasting/; http://web1.adas.co.uk/cranfield/Documents/Weather%20forecasting.pdf</u> ; Access to remote sensing data from online US government portals and other commercial sources is a major advance. <u>https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-03924-9.</u> Low earth orbit (LEO: 240-400 mile high) small satellites with frequent revisit times, high spatial resolution and the multi-spectral sensors can provide daily coverage at an affordable cost and help farmers track pest infestation, nitrogen sufficiency, crop yields and other indicators of farm conditions. <u>http://observer.com/2017/05/small-satellite-technology-capabilities-space/. Flocks of</u> such satellites are already in operation.

<u>https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/flock_1;</u> http://www.xyht.com/enviroag/satellite-imagery-precision-agriculture/ 20 The initial higher material and installation costs are more than offset by the saving in water and reduced soil erosion and expenditure on weedicides. See Seth Seigel, (2016). _Let There Be Water_ . Thomas Dunne Books.

21 Farmers in Burkina Faso and Niger are using deep placement, for example. It can increase yields of rice by as much as 30 percent.

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