AA International has developed methodologies (Pictorial Evaluation Tools or “PETs”) that improve the quality and speed of assessments of crop yield at harvest time; the body condition of livestock; or the state of forage.
PETs were first developed as hard-copy manuals of annotated photo-indicators for rapid appraisal, prepared for and used in Crop and Food Security Assessments.
PET Crop manuals have been produced for 6 different countries within East and the Horn of Africa, with more recent versions covering an extensive range of field crops.
PET Livestock manuals have been produced for 4 different countries and include camels, cattle, goats and sheep.
PET App - More recently PET has been developed into a mobile PET App suitable for use on Android devices.
To read more about PET and the PET App please dlownload our leaflet (pdf) outlining the key features of the PET App here
PET Crops allows the collection and analysis of yield estimates of standing crops at harvest. Data are collected by matching fields, seen during either walking or driving transects, with photo-indicators presented in the manual or app.
When using hardcopy PET-Crops manuals, these observations are entered by hand for later compilation and analysis.
The PET-Crops App allows more rapid scoring of the fields, with the datasets being sent to a server for analysis when internet connections are available.
Use of the PET-Crops approach requires use of simple hand-held tools, for visual scaling and sampling. This PET equipment consists of 1m2 quadrats and spring-balances. AA International manufactures and sells quadrats that can be easily folded up for easier storage and transport. We can also procure simple hand-help spring balances suitable for crop sampling.
PET Livestock allows the collection and analysis of Body Condition Scores of livestock by matching the rapid observation of a single site on the body with photo-indicators presented in the manual or app. Herd modes and individual scores observed during driving and walking or transects are recorded. The app allows these data to be sent to a server for analysis.
Development of the PET approach has been supported by FAO and WFP, with donor funding variously from EU, UKAID, World Bank, Qatar Charity, and Japan Official Development Assistance. As well as being used in the CFSAMs in which AA International has previously been involved in, PETs are currently used by FAO for food security monitoring purposes in South Sudan and Somaliland; as well as for ground-truthing and monitoring purposes in Uganda (UK Space Agency funded Drought and Flood Mitigation Service).
To find out more about PET follow the links below:
