Maize, the staple crop of Southern Africa, is dependent on the highly variable summer rainfall, especially the start of the rainy season. Every growing season, farmers decide about when to plant their crops. Agrometeorologists use climate and weather information to assist such decisions and engage farmers and other stakeholders to fill gaps in the relevant information. Modern electronic communication technologies can distribute real-time information pertinent to the farmers' current situation. The Rain for Africa consortium developed a mobile phone app, AgriCloud, giving updated information on a daily basis to extensionists and small-scale farmers. AgriCloud advisories are for a specific location in a selected local language on an android phone. AgriCloud has enabled farmers to use rainfall in a more sustainable way as they plan land preparation and planting according to weather forecasts for their own farm. Advantages are that users eagerly obtain daily updates with farming-relevant advice, in their own local language on their own phone in their hands. AgriCloud includes the unique aspect of crowdsourcing to collect qualitative weather observations from users. AgriCloud mobile app is used to access integrated information from current short-term forecasts regarding maize planting recommendations by farmers for their specific farm location.

中文翻译：

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通过移动应用程序为南非小农提供增值天气咨询*

玉米是南部非洲的主要作物，它依赖于变化很大的夏季降雨，尤其是雨季的开始。每个生长季节，农民都会决定何时种植庄稼。农业气象学家使用气候和天气信息来协助此类决策，并使农民和其他利益相关者参与填补相关信息的空白。现代电子通讯技术可以实时发布与农民现状相关的信息。Rain for Africa 财团开发了一款名为 AgriCloud 的手机应用程序，每天向推广人员和小农提供最新信息。AgriCloud 建议适用于在 android 手机上以选定的本地语言提供的特定位置。AgriCloud 使农民能够以更可持续的方式利用降雨，因为他们根据自己农场的天气预报规划土地整备和种植。优点是用户可以在他们手中的手机上用他们自己的当地语言急切地获得与农业相关的建议的每日更新。AgriCloud 包括众包的独特方面，以从用户那里收集定性天气观测。AgriCloud 移动应用程序用于访问来自当前短期预测的综合信息，这些信息涉及农民针对其特定农场位置的玉米种植建议。AgriCloud 包括众包的独特方面，以从用户那里收集定性天气观测。AgriCloud 移动应用程序用于访问来自当前短期预测的综合信息，这些信息涉及农民针对其特定农场位置的玉米种植建议。AgriCloud 包括众包的独特方面，以从用户那里收集定性天气观测。AgriCloud 移动应用程序用于访问来自当前短期预测的综合信息，这些信息涉及农民针对其特定农场位置的玉米种植建议。