The Transformational Tech sequence highlights Cisco’s nonprofit grant recipients that use know-how to assist rework the lives of people and communities.
Greater than 84 p.c of agricultural producers are smallholder farmers, in line with Our World in Information; that means their farms are lower than two hectares. Whereas they produce one-third of the world’s meals, a lot of them expertise poverty themselves and, paradoxically, typically don’t have sufficient meals to feed their households. The excellent news is, development in agriculture could possibly be as much as two to 4 instances more practical in elevating incomes amongst the poorest, in comparison with development in different sectors.
With the audacious purpose of fixing international poverty in thoughts, One Acre Fund (OAF) has been working since 2006 to provide smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa with the assets they should enhance their harvests, elevate their incomes, undertake environmentally pleasant farming practices and diversify crops to extend resilience to disasters. Amongst their companies that are facilitated by over 6,000 area officers, throughout 9 nations, OAF provides versatile financing whereby farmers should purchase high-quality seeds and fertilizers on credit score and repay a greenback right here or a greenback there as they get cash; supply of inputs to areas inside strolling distance of each farmer; coaching; insurance coverage; and entry to modern merchandise and applied sciences.
Initially, OAF provided a once-a-year supply of seeds, fertilizers, and different farming merchandise from centralized warehouses to farmers’ rural villages, simply in time for planting season. In 2019, they launched the Tupande program in Kenya, which features a one-stop store for high quality farm provides within the type of vivid yellow transport containers referred to as dukas (Swahili for “store”), arrange within the rural villages nearer to the farmers. These dukas are transformative as a result of farmers can now entry the provides they want domestically, all 12 months spherical. To-date, OAF has opened 110 dukas throughout Kenya, with the purpose of getting 220 by finish of 12 months. Their purpose is to develop to 330 dukas by mid-2023, with every scaled to serve about 1,500 Kenyan farmers; and in the end launch this system in different nations through which they work.
Tupande Goes Digital
With the assist of Cisco’s World Impression Grant program, OAF has developed the Tupande cell software, which went stay in Kenya in April 2022. The app allows farmers to browse OAF’s product catalog, examine costs, view merchandise images and descriptions, decide what’s in inventory at their native duka, and order – all from their cell phone. “The digital penetration is so much greater in Kenya than it’s in most of the different close by nations,” defined Claire McGuinness, Senior Analyst of OAF’s Technique and Partnerships. “It’s a superb space for us to check, study, and roll out [new technologies] to farmers.”
Julius Tovesi, an entrepreneur who helps his household and broader neighborhood of their farming endeavors, mentioned “I first heard in regards to the cell app by means of an Officer on the Tupande Kakamega duka who walked me by means of navigate it. I appeared by means of it, in contrast costs and merchandise on supply with these on the duka, and I used to be impressed, and haven’t stopped utilizing it since!” As soon as an order is positioned from the app, farmers can both go to their native duka to choose up their merchandise, or they will have them delivered straight to their properties.
The app is just not solely handy for farmers, nevertheless it additionally considerably improves OAF’s operations by lowering the period of time area officers spend dealing with orders. With this time financial savings, they will interact with extra farmers to ship coaching and different value-added companies. “The purpose of leverage for us, traditionally, has been fascinated about how our area officers can serve extra individuals,” defined Claire. “As a result of the extra individuals who may be served by one area officer, the extra environment friendly this system turns into, and the extra individuals you possibly can attain. [The Tupande app] got here to us because the logical subsequent step of reaching much more farmers. It provides farmers much more flexibility, as a result of whereas they will place an order with their area officer, in addition they don’t have to attend for them to return round to put an order.”
The Tupande app can also be a approach for OAF to higher interact with a rising era of younger farmers who grew up with tech and like tech-led options. As older farmers are retiring, OAF is concentrated on leveraging know-how to draw and retain this youthful era of farmer.
Gearing up for scale to feed a rising inhabitants
Whereas it’s nonetheless an early-stage pilot, the Tupande cell app may allow OAF to achieve 50,000 to 100,000 solely new Kenyan farming households inside the subsequent few years.
“The app is a good way to leverage belief that we’ve constructed over time and permit us to make use of it to achieve so many extra individuals a lot extra effectively.” Claire went on, “There are 50 million smallholder farming households in Africa. We’re laser centered on the thought of scale and the way we will get to these further farmers.”
That is particularly essential since it’s estimated that the world’s inhabitants will develop by no less than two billion individuals by 2050, and rising smallholder farmers’ yields might be a essential a part of guaranteeing there might be sufficient meals to go round. Cisco is proud to assist organizations like One Acre Fund which are utilizing know-how to assist to scale back poverty, improve meals safety and construct thriving resilient communities.
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