METOS Targets 100,000 Smart Weather Stations across Africa, Starting with 15,000 in Kenya
NAIROBI, Kenya, 30 October 2026 – Austrian agricultural technology company Pessl Instruments plans to deploy up to 100,000 Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled weather stations across Africa, beginning with 15,000 in Kenya, as part of a new initiative aimed at improving smallholder farmers' productivity, climate resilience and access to agricultural markets.
The initiative, known as UpYield4Africa, was launched in Nairobi on Friday, bringing together technology providers, agricultural businesses, financial institutions and other industry stakeholders to explore how real-time weather intelligence and data-driven farming can transform agricultural production and commercial viability.
The weather stations, developed under Pessl Instruments' METOS brand, will collect field-level information including rainfall, temperature, humidity, soil moisture and leaf wetness. The data will be transmitted to FieldClimate, the company's digital platform, where farmers can access weather forecasts, crop disease models and other agricultural insights through online and mobile applications.
Pessl Instruments founder and chief executive Gottfried Pessl said the technology would help farmers move from relying largely on traditional weather patterns to making informed decisions based on accurate, location-specific data.
The information is expected to support decisions on irrigation, planting schedules, fertiliser application, pest and disease management, crop protection and preparation for extreme weather conditions.
"Smallholder farmers need reliable, localised information to make better decisions throughout the farming cycle. By combining field-level measurements with weather forecasts and disease models, we can help farmers anticipate risks, improve resource utilisation and increase productivity," said Mr Pessl.
Pessl Instruments will work with AgriMet Data Kenya as its local implementation partner. The company will support the distribution, installation and maintenance of the weather stations, alongside farmer training and customer support.
Austrian Ambassador to Kenya, H.E. Dr Simone Knapp, said the initiative reflected growing cooperation between Kenya and Austria in applying agricultural technology to address food security and productivity challenges.
"The launch of UpYield4Africa in Kenya strengthens the partnership between Kenya and Austria in supporting agricultural productivity. METOS weather intelligence technology will provide smallholder farmers with real-time data to improve decision-making, anticipate weather patterns and strengthen pest and disease management. Through such partnerships, Austrian agricultural technology companies can contribute to advancing food security and building more resilient agricultural systems in Africa," said Dr Knapp.
Linking farmers to markets and finance
Beyond the deployment of weather stations, Upyield4Africa seeks to establish a commercially sustainable community farming model that connects smallholder farmers to agricultural advisory services, input suppliers, shared infrastructure, financial institutions and produce buyers.
Under the model, farmers will be organised into production clusters supported by Digital Farm Advisors, who will serve as the link between technology and farming operations. The advisors will help farmers interpret weather and crop data, make agronomic decisions, access suitable inputs and coordinate production in line with market requirements.
The approach is designed to address persistent challenges facing smallholder agriculture, including fragmented production, limited access to technical expertise, unpredictable weather, inadequate financing and difficulties meeting the quality and volume requirements of commercial buyers.
By linking production to offtakers, the initiative aims to improve consistency in agricultural supply while giving farmers greater visibility of market demand before and during the production cycle.
The commercial model also seeks to generate revenue through crop sales and paid agricultural services, with the proceeds supporting the continued operation and maintenance of the technology and advisory network.
Proposed financing structure
Financing is another component of the initiative, with a proposed bank-to-bank arrangement involving Austrian financing institutions and a Kenyan banking partner.
Under the proposed structure, a cluster company or produce offtaker would access financing against eligible equipment and crop purchase arrangements. This is intended to reduce the need for individual smallholder farmers to provide land or personal assets as collateral.
The proposed arrangement remains subject to lender due diligence, eligibility requirements and the necessary approvals from the participating financial institutions, including Austria's OeKB. KCB's participation is provisional, and final financing terms have yet to be confirmed.
Industry partnerships and technology demonstration
The Nairobi launch brought together representatives from across the agricultural value chain, including Safaricom, Bayer Crop Science, Lindsay, HZPC and Viazi, X Green Capital, FreshCrop Limited and SAI Platform.
Eyal Azar of AgriMet Data Kenya presented the proposed Kenyan deployment, while discussions focused on the practical application of agricultural data, farmer adoption, commercial viability and the integration of different technologies across the farming ecosystem.
Four panel discussions examined the role of field-level data in agricultural decision-making, the economic value of the model to farmers, technology integration and the financial sustainability of community-based farming systems. A live METOS technology demonstration also formed part of the programme.
The initiative comes amid growing interest in digital agriculture as African countries seek to improve food production, strengthen climate resilience and make smallholder farming more attractive to commercial investment.