Development of a Knowledge Management System to Support Intelligent Rice Farming

Abstract

Rice is a staple food worldwide. It is most common in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In Ghana, the annual rice
consumption is about 1.5 million metric tons. However, about 60% of this demand is imported majorly from
Asia. This high reliance on imported rice is one of the contributory factors that weaken Ghana’s foreign
exchange reserves. Hence, there is a need to encourage local rice production. However, the efforts by local
farmers are thwarted by many challenges, including pest infestations, bird interference, insufficient technology
for efficient fertiliser and herbicide applications, and the absence of reliable systems for predicting rainfall
patterns. Additionally, inadequate access to modern agricultural extension services and the lack of advanced
storage facilities exacerbate these difficulties. Although numerous intelligent agriculture systems exist that could
address these issues in an environmentally sustainable manner, farmers in this region remain largely unaware of
such technologies and persist with outdated and inefficient methods. This study sought to address these
challenges by developing a customised Knowledge Management System (KMS) aimed at facilitating knowledge
dissemination and supporting intelligent agricultural practices in rice farming. The research used a system
prototyping methodology to produce a prototype KMS, which the System Usability Scale (SUS) evaluated for
usability. The system achieved an average score of 70.025, surpassing the threshold for "Acceptability
Usability," which denotes that the KMS meets the minimum standards for practical application. This result
highlights the potential for the KMS to enhance agricultural practices and improve productivity within the
community.