On November 3rd, 2023, the Rwanda Agriculture and Animal Resources Development Board (RAB), in partnership with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and other partners, held a Stakeholders' Workshop for Multi-Platform Delivery of Digital Innovation for Sustainable Banana Production in Rwanda.

The workshop focused on the sustainability of deployed digital tools for banana agronomy and marked the official closure of the ICT4BXW project, which has been dedicated to developing and deploying digital tools for banana disease control and monitoring.

RAB has partnered with IITA and other partners (including IAMO, Viamo, ARIFU, and Linking Pin Africa) to develop and deploy an ICT-based tool for sustainable banana production in Rwanda. Under the auspices of the ICT4BXW project (www.ict4bxw.com), funded by German Development Cooperation (GIZ), the partners have leveraged multiple platforms to deploy five (5) digital tools for agile extension delivery, surveillance, and control of Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) disease, and timely provision of proven banana agronomic information to support farmers across all districts in Rwanda.

Collectively, the tools have empowered over 325,000 farmers across Rwanda, trained approximately 1,200 Farmer Promoters, and tracked incidences of BXW disease across over 4,500 smallholder farms. The tools produced under the project include:

• BXW App: An Android-based smartphone application that guides users to diagnose BXW-infected banana plants, prevent and control BXW, and access proven agronomic information for banana cultivation.
• Agile Remote Training (ART): Deployed via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) platform to remotely train over 1,000 Farmer Promoters on extension delivery, control of BXW control, and banana agronomic practices.
• BXW Surveillance Dashboard: Provides near-real-time access to all diagnosis data collected through BXW-App, with summary insights, to inform RAB and the Ministry of Agriculture (MINAGRI) on BXW incidence status and dynamics across the country.
• Banana Agronomic Advisory Tool (BAAT): Set-up and deployed on a messaging (USSD) system that sends periodic banana agronomic advice to farmers through the mobile 8-4-5 service platform. Irrespective of the phone type, farmers can dial 845_yes and *845# and follow the steps to access desired agronomic information on banana production.
• BXW Chatbot: A WhatsApp-based bot designed as an alternative tool for users (farmers and farmer promoters) to diagnose BXW-infected banana plants, access guidance on prevention and control measures for BXW, and glean verified agronomic information for banana cultivation.

The ICT4BXW project has made a significant contribution to the development of the banana sector in Rwanda. The tools that were developed under the project will continue to be used by farmers and extension agents to improve banana production and control BXW disease.

The ICT4BXW project is a testament to the power of digital technology to improve agriculture. The project has shown that digital tools can be used to reach farmers in remote areas and provide them with the information they need to improve their livelihoods.