Using the Android platform to enhance data collection on organic farms in Zambia

     The Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia (OPPAZ) is an entity that aims to formalize the certification of organic products in Zambia by providing a framework, recommendations and specifications in order for a product to be certified as organic. As the case has been in a lot of African countries, this process was carried out using extremely laborious and inefficient methods. Excel sheets were used in order to collect information and paper work was becoming a huge headache. The institution then setup an online management system that replaced their paper based system but there were still a couple of issues that needed improvement.

1). Improving the collection of field data
2). Obtaining the coordinates of farms and plots because plots must be monitored for usually a minimum of four years (crop rotation is used on organic farms hence one plot may have differing crops from year to year)
   
    It was very important to perform a comprehensive system analysis in order to determine what enhancements could be added to the then current system.

     In order to further enhance the system of organic products certification, cheap Android devices with GPS support were included into the IT enhancements. The idea is to have a mini PDA with each inspector so that they may record data on the go and synchronize the collected data with the main server. An application to run on the android devices was developed and is currently in the beta stage of development. It is an application that runs both in client/server mode and as a standalone application. Because of the nature of mobile networks and the lack of guaranteed reliability in terms of connectivity, some important data from the server may be stored locally within the application context so that data accesses may be performed from a local store, the communication between the client and the server is done using XML. Farm and plot mapping may also be made easier due to the fact that any individual in possession of the mini PDA may simply stand at points at which they wish to map out and press a button in order to save the current GPS locale. Multiple GPS locale are obtained and a topology of the area is then created using XML or to be more specific the Google KML format. In this way, many farms may be mapped out and details of each plot recorded within the same application. The application has essentially done away with the need for field inspectors to move with bulky GPS devices and heavy laptops. One Android device is all that is required. Internet connectivity on the Android application is not a constant requirement because the application may be used offline and later on, when data connectivity becomes available, the locally stored files may be synced with the main server or simply copied from the SD card to a computer of flash. The files that are generated from the field survey can be opened using Google earth and the map of the particular area will be displayed within the earth browser. As a future enhancement, the web version of the application will incorporate the maps using Google maps.
     
    My walk into the world of Android programming was a venture into a new field of mobile and touch screen device programming. I was so absorbed into the programming because the realm was an entirely new one for me and for Zambia as a whole. In my opinion the future is in the hands of a huge part of the world population, mobiles are so popular now that it is essential for developers to try and target those platforms or at least port some applications to mobile devices. Apple and Android seem to be the future for mobile platforms but even if that were to change, it is evident that mobile tablets, PDA’s and cloud computing are the future of the information age. That knowledge gave me enthusiasm during my entrance into the unknown and now I have my first ever mobile application.

   Android programming is java with a different framework. If an individual wanted to start programming for the android, the most important thing is to understand how the device and the OS function. This is explained on the Android developers page. A thorough understanding of this is a prerequisite to becomming a proficient Android developer. The rest is just java, creativity and a little innovation.