CultivateX
Sri Lanka
CultivateX is a mobile app based platform developed by the International Water Management Institute, Fruit and Vegetables for Sustainable Healthy Diets (FRESH), in collaboration with the CGIAR Initiative on Climate Resilience (ClimBeR) which provides real-time climate information and agronomic advisories to Sri Lankan farmers straight on their mobile phones. This is enabled by good digital infrastructure, including mobile phone penetration, usage, internet coverage and the high level of farmers’ literacy. On a pilot scale, 75 farmers received context-specific local weather alerts twice a week (at intervals of 3-4 days) and weekly agronomic advisories throughout the cultivation season. The provision of weather and agronomic advisories was designed to build the farmers’ climate resilience and capacity to understand climate variation and enhance knowledge of recommended agronomic practices.
Digital Solution (DS) Category
Digital Agriculture
Digital Solution Type (sub-category)
Farm advisory services, Weather forecasting
Delivery type (format)
Mobile app
DS supplier-user category
Business to business
Business to consumers
Type of entity (ICT developer-supplier)
Multi-partners
Name of supplier/developer
International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Primary Users
Farmers , Agribusiness / private company
Digital Solution Development Stage
Commercial stage (broad use use locally)
Number of users or subscribers
Measurable positive impact(s) by Digital Solution (DS) on target users and/or audience
Samaraweera, Kulatunge and Jinasena are three tomato farmers aged 48-55 in Balangoda area. During the 2023 dry season, Kulatunge and Jinasena received climate advisories through a family member’s phone and from his friend, respectively. All three farmers mentioned that the climate advisories provided were accurate and guided them to decide the appropriate days for fertilizer and agrochemical application (rain-free days to avoid washaway) to make use of limited resources efficiently. Ratnasiri is a 74-year-old experienced farmer cultivating 0.25 acres of land in the same area said the weather forecasts he received helped him to plan 3-4 days ahead, including the hiring of labor and off-farm work. This has helped to save LKR 6,000-8,000. Silva confirmed that climate and agronomic advisories helped her to save money by applying the right inputs at the right time and deciding the right labor requirement, saving LKR 4000. A 41-year-old farmer said that the agronomic advisories helped him to identify many pests and diseases correctly and that he shared the messages received to his phone with many of his friends. Source: Developer website
Digital Solution Geographic scope
All over Sri Lanka
Name of Digital village(s), districts, communes where DS is used/deployed
On-line resource links (Web-page links, links to videos, links to reports, etc)
DS Links to FAO, UN and other Development agencies projects, initiatives and programmes