The Transformational Tech sequence highlights Cisco’s nonprofit grant recipients that use expertise to assist remodel the lives of people and communities.
Greater than 84 % of agricultural producers are smallholder farmers, based on Our World in Knowledge; which means their farms are lower than two hectares. Whereas they produce one-third of the world’s meals, lots of them expertise poverty themselves and, paradoxically, usually don’t have sufficient meals to feed their households. The excellent news is, progress in agriculture might be as much as two to 4 instances more practical in elevating incomes amongst the poorest, in comparison with progress in different sectors.
With the audacious objective of fixing world poverty in thoughts, One Acre Fund (OAF) has been working since 2006 to produce smallholder farmers in Sub Saharan Africa with the assets they should enhance their harvests, increase 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 discipline officers, throughout 9 international locations, OAF gives versatile financing whereby farmers can buy 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 progressive merchandise and applied sciences.
Initially, OAF supplied 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 known 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 yr spherical. To-date, OAF has opened 110 dukas throughout Kenya, with the objective of getting 220 by finish of yr. Their objective is to increase 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 international locations wherein they work.
Tupande Goes Digital
With the assist of Cisco’s International Affect Grant program, OAF has developed the Tupande cellular software, which went dwell in Kenya in April 2022. The app allows farmers to browse OAF’s product catalog, examine costs, view merchandise pictures and descriptions, decide what’s in inventory at their native duka, and order – all from their cell phone. “The digital penetration is so much increased in Kenya than it’s in lots of the different close by international locations,” defined Claire McGuinness, Senior Analyst of OAF’s Technique and Partnerships. “It’s space for us to check, be taught, and roll out [new technologies] to farmers.”
Julius Tovesi, an entrepreneur who helps his household and broader neighborhood of their farming endeavors, stated “I first heard concerning the cellular app by way of an Officer on the Tupande Kakamega duka who walked me by way of how you can navigate it. I appeared by way of it, in contrast costs and merchandise on provide 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 select up their merchandise, or they will have them delivered straight to their properties.
The app will not be solely handy for farmers, but it surely additionally considerably improves OAF’s operations by decreasing the period of time discipline 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 discipline officers can serve extra folks,” defined Claire. “As a result of the extra individuals who could be served by one discipline officer, the extra environment friendly this system turns into, and the extra folks you’ll be able to attain. [The Tupande app] got here to us because the logical subsequent step of reaching much more farmers. It gives farmers much more flexibility, as a result of whereas they will place an order with their discipline 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 manner for OAF to higher interact with a rising technology of younger farmers who grew up with tech and like tech-led options. As older farmers are retiring, OAF is targeted on leveraging expertise to draw and retain this youthful technology of farmer.
Gearing up for scale to feed a rising inhabitants
Whereas it’s nonetheless an early-stage pilot, the Tupande cellular app might allow OAF to succeed in 50,000 to 100,000 solely new Kenyan farming households throughout 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 succeed in so many extra folks 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 extra farmers.”
That is particularly necessary since it’s estimated that the world’s inhabitants will develop by at the very least two billion folks by 2050, and rising smallholder farmers’ yields might be a essential a part of making certain there might be sufficient meals to go round. Cisco is proud to assist organizations like One Acre Fund which can be utilizing expertise to assist to scale back poverty, improve meals safety and construct thriving resilient communities.
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