Can Satellite Images Replace Soil Sampling on My Farm?
Satellite and soil sampling aren't rivals. Each sees what the other can't, and the real power comes from combining them.
Satellite images don't fully replace soil sampling — they complement it. Satellites reveal vegetation health and conditions across a whole field over time, while soil samples reveal the chemical and physical properties of the ground itself. Hekitari deliberately fuses both, because together they give a far more accurate read of your land than either alone.
What each method reveals
- Satellite: vegetation health (NDVI), crop stress, and change over time across the field
- Soil samples: the actual chemistry and structure of your soil
- Together: soil quality scoring that reflects both the ground and the growing crop
Why fusion matters for your land
'Same village' doesn't mean 'same land' — soil chemistry, drainage, and slope can shift dramatically from one plot to the next. Hekitari fuses remote sensing with soil samples collected across Rwanda and runs them through an XGBoost model to score crop suitability down to the village level. The satellite tells you where to look; the soil tells you what's really there.