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Tag: technology
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Seven ways in which data can empower field officers
Call me old fashioned, but I firmly believe that the best way to support small farmers is through field officers. These staff are the crucial link between an agribusiness and rural farmers and the relationship that they build is critical for successful contract farming models. Half-hearted attempts to provide support, with field officers too thinly…
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Lean data: Big benefits for smallholder supply chains
Our Smallholdr customised mobile app and web-based dashboards empower our clients to better manage their smallholder supply chains and deliver ‘lean data’. Lean data, a concept developed by Acumen, puts the voice of the customer at the heart of impact measurement; it is the collection of high quality impact data to demonstrate social change with…
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Great outgrower software solutions start with excellent requirements capture
At Smallholdr we want our clients to stay with us for the duration, and we believe that the groundwork we put in to get to know them in the beginning is the key to a long and happy relationship. The reason that outgrower (and other agricultural) digitisation projects often fail is down to poorly executed…
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Smallholdr’s mobile app for GNA’s Private Extension Agents (PEAs): supporting real time data collection at lead farmer level
Seed multiplication by smallholder farmers is the core business model of Good Nature Agro (GNA), a Zambian seed company based in Chipata near the western border of the country. It therefore follows that provision of hands-on extension is a vital part of the company’s business; multiplying certified seed requires a very specific set of farming…
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What does the dramatic slowdown in global growth of internet access mean for agritech?
A recent Guardian article reported a dramatic decline in internet access growth suggests digital revolution will remain a distant dream for billions of people. With a proliferation of technology solutions aimed at improving the livelihoods of poor farmers it is a challenge to evaluate which options are the ones that will really endure and make…
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Private sector extension: a sustainable agri-retailer model for improving smallholder productivity?
Central to the challenges of food security and poverty alleviation in Sub-Saharan Africa is the need to increase the productivity of smallholder farmers. Access to better inputs and agronomic advice via extension services is therefore vital. A Malawian agri-retailer is rising to these challenges by customising fertiliser blends for smallholders, using extension as a marketing…
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Spreadsheets are where data go to die
The data problem and opportunity 570 million smallholder farms, using less than two hectares of land, account for roughly 12% of the world’s agricultural land (World Development, 2016). These farms supply around 30% of our global food commodities, but are hard to reach and often with little formal organisation. It is a challenge for larger…