Agricultural Market Coordination App

 Of the 525 million farms worldwide, 85% are less than 2 hectares in size. Many of these smallholder farms are situated in hard-to-reach, remote communities, where connectivity to markets is low. With some 1.5 billion people dependent on smallholder agriculture – including approximately half of the world’s undernourished people  – the need for agricultural services and products remains high. With mobile phone penetration in the developing world exceeding 70% in 2010 and expected to reach 100% by 2014, the potential impact of mobile agriculture services is considerable.



 Small scale farmers often do not know their expected yields, total water needs vis a vis field size, lifespan and conditions for keeping certain seeds or harvests, weather forecasts, etc. Seed and crop choice is an important decision for farmers, however farmers often lack the necessary information to make optimal choices. There is also often a lack of coordination between suppliers of inputs, farmers and the buyers of the produce.



 There is a need for distribution of such information to farmers in real time as well as coordination between stakeholders to increase yields, efficiency and profit for all parties.





 Team



 



<h2 class="font_8" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">Potential Solution:

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">A SMS-based agricultural marketing tool for remote communities, providing up-to-date information on:

<p class="font_8" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">
 * <p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Agricultural input prices
 * <p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Market prices of various crops to inform growing decisions
 * <p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Which are the best markets for their produce

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Such an application is particularly relevant to out-grower farmers by providing them with information in real time to assist them in making decisions and getting support.

<p class="font_8" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Such an app would require a third party to coordinate between these parties and distribute information in real time to all relevant stakeholders.

<p class="font_8" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:14px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;"> <span class="color_15" style="outline:0px;color:rgb(0,0,0);">Such a platform would need to be flexible and scalable for different contexts and able to  integrate agricultural suppliers, farmers and markets and allows them to communicate with each other by SMS.

<p class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">

<h2 class="font_7" dir="ltr" style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;outline:0px;font-size:15px;line-height:normal;font-family:arial,helvetica,sans-serif;color:rgb(102,102,102);text-align:justify;">Wanted: (Expertise/team members still required)