As the Internet of Things increasingly gains popularity in Africa, some experts say Rwanda has the potential to benefit from the new technology trend that involves connecting devices to solve problems.

Experts define IoT as ways to connect objects by using different technologies so as to analyse, measure and do different things easily. Some local projects that apply IoT include agriculture — referred to as smart farming and connection to hardware devices.

Recently, Carnegie Mellon University hosted a panel of experts who debated various aspects of IoT focusing on African context and the initiatives currently underway to develop innovations that leverage IoT in Africa.

Panellists who included representatives from global tech companies and academics cited agriculture as a sector that can reap from IoT in Africa.

Zain Khan, who teaches ICT at Carnegie Mellon University, said there are many ways IoT can be applied in Rwanda.

“Internet of Things application will be perfect in a coffee plantation where we put sensors as to when the high grade coffee is ready, the moment it is ready it can be picked, taken to the washing station and exported,” said Mr Zain.

Sensors are connected to computers to send useful information from the farm such as water, plant growth and quality of soil, among others.

"I went to Musanze there were 14 or 17 farms, but there are only 3 washing stations! So the serious question is transporting them from the farming station to the washing station to the parking station," observed the lecturer.

“With the Internet of Things you know the probability of which seed is ready, especially the highly priced seed, not the local consumption ones.

“So once you know the exportable kind they are ready they will be prioritized to go to the washing condition and get exported while they are still in the best condition,” Mr Zain said.

In Rulindo District, there is an ongoing smart farming project for tomatoes and green pepper where computer system is connected to the farm to monitor soil fertility, water and temperature, and other useful information to increase agricultural yield and minimise risks.

Sources close to the project told Rwanda Today it is partly donor funded because it requires heavy investment.

Some experts say connectivity issue should be first addressed, but Mr Khan said current network is no major shortcoming to IoT application in Rwanda.

More than 4,500 kilometers of fibre optic cable has been rolled out across the country so far, with investment estimated at $120 million. The country targets 95 per cent network