The Future of Technology for Smallholder
Farming in Poor Rural Conditions
Bangladesh JOIKKO Social Franchise Case Study
REPORT COMMISSIONED BY VSO INTERNATIONAL
Author: Roger Iles, PhD, MSci
Contact: roger.iles@outlook.com
31st January 2019
Ackowledgements
Thanks to the following interviewees who provided valuable insights
into the future of technology and the reality of smallholder farming in
rural locations in developing countries.
Aniekan Esenam, Starmind International AG, Zurich Switzerland
Eric Seuret, Resonanz Group, Zurich , Switzerland
Sarah Rothrie, Writer, Researcher and blockchain expert, Basel,
Switzerland
Naomi Iles, Syngenta, JOIKKO social franchise cohort member,
Niffer, France
CONTENTS
Executive summary ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 7
The JOIKKO Social Franchise ..................................................................................................................... 7
Status of Smallholder Farming in Bangladesh .......................................................................................... 8
Outlook for Smallholders ........................................................................................................................ 10
Status of Bangladesh’s Information, Technology and Communication .................................................. 10
Agriculture Relevant Technologies ............................................................................................................. 11
Mobile Phones ........................................................................................................................................ 11
5G Network ............................................................................................................................................. 12
Precision Farming Systems (PFS) ............................................................................................................ 13
Internet of Things (IoT) ........................................................................................................................... 13
Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) ..................................................................................................... 16
Digital Anchoring and Tracking ............................................................................................................... 19
Other Technology Devices ...................................................................................................................... 20
Open Source Solutions ........................................................................................................................ 20
Robotics and Drones ........................................................................................................................... 21
Nano-Technology in Agriculture and Food Production ...................................................................... 21
Radio and Video Technology............................................................................................................... 21
Case Studies ................................................................................................................................................ 22
Mobile Phone Services in Bangladesh .................................................................................................... 22
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication (BNNRC) .................................................... 22
Digital Green’s Community Video Learning ............................................................................................ 23
Dodore’s Agri-Wallet powered by Coin22 .............................................................................................. 25
Producers Direct ..................................................................................................................................... 26
Centres of Excellence .......................................................................................................................... 26
WeFarm Farmer’s Social Network ...................................................................................................... 26
MasterCard’s 2Kuze AgTech Platform ................................................................................................ 27
Climate Edge Resilience Building ........................................................................................................ 28
Solar Freeze Cold Storage in Kenya ........................................................................................................ 28
Kilimo Salama Technology Enabled Insurance ........................................................................................ 28
AgUnity’s Blockchain for Smallholder Farmers ....................................................................................... 29
Provenance’s supply chain transparency................................................................................................ 30
SWOT Analysis............................................................................................................................................. 31
Implementation .......................................................................................................................................... 33
Mindset, Education and Awareness ................................................................................................... 33
Stakeholder Management .................................................................................................................. 35
Mobile Payment Services .................................................................................................................... 35
The Way Forward for IoT .................................................................................................................... 36
Getting on the Blockchain ................................................................................................................... 39
Further Findings .................................................................................................................................. 39
Summary and Recommendations ............................................................................................................... 40
Appendix A. Sensor Technology.................................................................................................................. 43
Appendix B. Blockchain Solutions ............................................................................................................... 46
References .................................................................................................................................................. 50
4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report provides a review of current and emerging technologies important to agriculture and
analyses how these technologies may impact smallholder farmers in developing countries. Using
Bangladesh as an example the report outlines the challenges facing smallholder farmers today and
provides recommendations regarding how NGOs, governments and communities can leverage
technology for the betterment of smallholder farming.
In today’s world smallholder farmers face a growing challenge from climate change, low financial
inclusion, limited access to market information, and difficulty in gaining access to a supply chain that has
become increasingly capital intensive, consolidated and vertically integrated. As a consequence
smallholders have become isolated from the benefits of the global market place. To ensure future
success farmers need to find ways to leverage this new era of technology to increase yield, ensure
financial stability and to participate in the wider agri-food system. At the same time the agri-food
system must ensure that the digital rights and data ownership of smallholders is protected.
The rapid advancement in technology provides a great opportunity to developing countries but it is not
without risk. Joining the ag-tech revolution brings a risk from failure of early-technology or exploitation
due to lack of governance, however, there exists a potentially larger risk of being excluded during this
period of rapid development. By way of example, the application of mobile phone technology in subSaharan Africa has in general been very successful, with widespread use of the M-PESA phone banking
system that was pioneered in Kenya now being used by millions of farmers across many developing
countries. Yet a review by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor in Bangladesh found that although
mobile phone ownership is high in Bangladesh, most phones are basic models and less than 20% use
mobile banking services leaving a large number of farmers excluded from the financial system.
Looking forward, new technologies such as 5G, IoT and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) promise to
disrupt the agricultural sector. DLT (also known as blockchain) is poised to integrate the supply chain
from the field to the customer with a full record of information from the point of origin, each processing
step, and each transaction. This transparent and secure source of information provides the opportunity
for farmers to become directly integrated into the food supply chain. The secure nature of DLT also
reduces the risk of corruption and with direct access to the market and with a reduced number of
intermediaries it generates a better return on investment for the farmer. DLT is already being trialled in
a number of developing countries, however, there is a global need for further governance and control
around the implementation and use of this new technology.
The emergence of 5G will in time be a massive enabler of agricultural IoT technology that is set to
revolutionise the way farming is done. Precision farming made feasible through the use of 5G and IoT
will initially only be available in more developed countries where the high investment cost and
necessary technologies and infrastructure are not a problem. It is expected to be a further 5-10 years
before 5G enabled technology starts to become accessible to farmers in developing countries.
Furthermore, growth in technologies such as robotics, drones, continued advancement in nanotechnology, and satellite remote sensing, are driving new ways of farming. To leverage these new
technologies in poorer rural settings will require alternative business models that make use of open
source technology, open data and shared services.
While the technologies mentioned above all require ‘active’ participation in the form of time, effort and
usually financial investment there are existing ‘passive’ technologies that require little time or
investment but can also have a major impact particularly at the lowest levels of development. Solutions
such as community radio or education through community managed video media are useful in initiating
the transition out of poverty.
During the design and implementation of technological projects for smallholders we must consider that
in Bangladesh 13% of smallholders do not have enough money for food, while 49% can only meet their
basic needs. It is therefore unrealistic to expect these families to adopt new technologies without also
receiving education, health and financial support. Agricultural technology should therefore not be
looked at in isolation but from the perspective that considers also the wider needs of the farmer and
his/her family.
Today there is an urgency for the provision of affordable technological systems and tools that have the
potential to empower the smallholder farmer, however, to ensure success it will be essential to also
listen to the wishes of farming communities. This can be achieved through setting up empowered rural
and agricultural stakeholder organisations to ensure policies and programs are aligned and meeting the
needs of the farmers. Working closely with local NGOs and extension workers on the ground is an
important part of this to help understand the culture, capabilities and wishes of the farming community
with regards to technology.
In the future, as in the past, agriculture offers a path out of poverty for a large proportion of the global
population living in poverty. The integration of technology in farming can accelerate this transition and
offers significantly improved prospects for smallholder farmers around the world if managed correctly.
6
INTRODUCTION
The scope of this report is to facilitate the integration of new technology into smallholder farming in
developing countries, with a particular focus on Bangladesh and the JOIKKO social farming franchise
located in the North-Western region of Bangladesh. The intent of the report is to provide a background
regarding adoption of current technologies in agriculture and an outlook of new technologies and how
these might be implemented most effectively in rural smallholder settings. The implementation will look
in some more detail around how these technologies may work in the specific settings of the jointly
founded JOIKKO social franchise.
With a population of 165 million Bangladesh is the 8th largest populated country worldwide and it
continues to grow rapidly, with a rate of 1.2% year on year since 2007. During the same period
Bangladesh has witnessed strong economic growth with annual GDP growth at between 5% to 7.5%. of
which agriculture contributes 16% to the nations GDP while accounting for 47% of the labour force (1).
Poverty is still widespread with 77% of smallholder households living in poverty and over a quarter in
extreme poverty on less than $1.27 per day. Most smallholder households are only just able to meet
their basic needs. Even so, agriculture has been a major driver for the reduction of poverty in
Bangladesh over the last 20 years. Today the use of technology in agriculture provides a major
opportunity for extensive and accelerated poverty reduction in Bangladesh.
THE JOIKKO SOCIAL FRANCHISE
“In 2014 VSO and Syngenta discovered a shared vision: empowering smallholder farmers to increase
their yields and income and create thriving agricultural communities. Initial meetings with smallholder
farmers in North West Bangladesh revealed their struggles with market prices, debt driven cycles of and
a lack of agricultural extension services and knowledge.
Three years on and having engaged 63 volunteers from Syngenta’s business alongside a host of
international and Bangladeshi longer term volunteers, Growing Together is working with 10,000 farmers
and has engaged a range of new partners along the way. The collaboration has co-created a project
based on three areas: community development, agronomic training and access to markets. Pivotal to the
success of the project has been the constructions of six for-profit farmer centers which provide access to
training, machinery, quality inputs and new financial services. The Farmer Centers also facilitate
contracts with national and international buyers. By growing and selling together farmers have improved
the quality and quantity of their yields and are able to negotiate better prices for their collective crops.
Farmer Centers are run by Entrepreneurs and are supported by mobile Agri-Entrepreneurs who take the
services up 5km out into the villages to ensure no one is left behind. The project is advancing its ambition
to form a social franchise that holds a growing network of Farmer Centers to account through a standard
catalog of fee and no fee based services. Central to the model is the nested value chain concept that
encourages interactions and investments in farming communities that benefit the whole market system.
For example, Kellogg’s who source potatoes for Pringles have provided training for Growing Together
farmers through their local consultancy partner Seba. The farmer wins because more of their crop meets
the criteria for Kellogg’s to purchase the potato and Kellogg’s win because they are able to source a
higher quantity of quality of potato from one place. In this way, each actor in the chain has a vested
interest in the success and viability of farming and farming communities.”
The target of this report is to identify and review potential future technologies that can help to
accelerate smallholder farmers along this development path.
STATUS OF SMALLHOLDER FARMING IN BANGLADESH
CGAP’s smallholder household survey identifies four different segments, Farming for sustenance (27%),
Battling the elements (31%), Options for growth (31%), and Strategic agricultural entrepreneurship
(11%). It’s key to understand the position of these different sectors during the design, development and
implementation of technological solutions. To be successful a solution needs to consider which
segment(s) it is targeting and how it will enable smallholders to transition from one stage to the next. It
was also found that financial inclusion is strongly dependent on the segment that is both a threat and
opportunity for new technological solutions.
Farming for sustenance
Battling the elements
Options for growth
Strategic agricultural
entrepreneurship
• Most disadvantaged
and vulnerable
smallholder segment
• Challenged by limited
education, but less poor
and exposed to risk
than Farming for
Sustenance segment
Near universal mobile
phone ownership
• Increased stability and
insulation from
unexpected events,
relative to the first two
segments.
• Engaged in highly
diverse, successful
agricultural activities
• Rely on agricultural
activities for their
wellbeing
• Little education and
limited access to
emergency funds
• Most live in extreme
poverty line
• Least financially
included
• More access to financial
tools, particularly
mobile money, and
more diversity in how
they save
• More live above the
poverty line and have
access to emergency
funds
• Strong reliance on
agricultural income, but
could pivot out of
agriculture
• Mobile phone
ownership is universal
• Most stable and
economically well-off
segment
• Many income sources
and the highest mean
income, with none
living in extreme
poverty
• More financial tools at
hand
Financial Inclusion
Financial Inclusion
Financial Inclusion
Financial Inclusion
29%
38%
59%
69%
Table 1 Adapted from Financial Innovation for Smallholder Households Data Source: CGAP National
Survey of Smallholder Households in Bangladesh (2).
Smallholder farmers in developing countries, including Bangladesh, face many of the same challenges to
lift themselves out of the poverty trap and to establish a secure future for themselves and their families.
Smallholders face risks regarding the reliability of crop yield due to adverse weather conditions
increasingly driven by climate change; post-harvest losses through poor storage and transport; market
losses driven by asymmetry of information; and financial instability with historically poor access to
financial services.
Typically, weather related events, including pests and disease, pose the largest threat to smallholder
farmers. Dealing with these events when they happen tends to be managed through informal
borrowing, such as selling of assets including livestock or stored crops. Also in many cases little or
nothing is done, either due to lack of resources or simply not realising that something can be done.
8
Exposure to price fluctuations, either of market prices or farm inputs, have become the second most
significant threat. In a recent report The Food and Agriculture Organisation (3) also highlighted the
increasing difficulty for small holders to access the supply chain where the market has become
increasingly capital intensive, vertically integrated and consolidated under control of fewer major
players. The use of large scale automation and integration from production to distribution has made it
more challenging for small-scale produces to get a look in.
Risks and challenges facing smallholder farmers include:
•
•
Climate related risks:
o
Risk of catastrophic weather events such as flood or drought
o
Risk from weather driven impacts including crop pests or disease
o
While climate change is driving an increase in the likelihood and severity of these
weather related events
Market Related Risks:
o
Low to no market presence requires smallholders to rely on a chain of intermediaries
which leads to inflated costs, increased risk of corruption, and lack of traceability (4)
o
Cash transactions are slow, costly and labour-intensive, and create cash-flow constraints
for small scale producers (5)
o
Insufficient or unreliable market price information or trends places a high risk of priceloss through the asymmetry of information
•
Risk of poor quality or counterfeit farm inputs
•
Post-harvest losses due to poor post-harvest storage, reliability of transportation and/or
coordination with the market fluctuations
Financial stability is a major issue with less than a quarter of smallholders owning a bank account, most
of them believing they don’t need one as they don’t own enough money or do not make a sufficient
amount of transactions to warrant owning a bank account. This is especially true for women, who
contribute a significant part of the workforce and often lack formal identification and/or recognition
which can make it especially difficult to get access to finance and/or take ownership of financial related
decisions (6) (7). This is an issue as about 2 out of 5 smallholders have outstanding loans which they
take out primarily to deal with emergencies or to buy necessary farm inputs with use of informal loans
that can put smallholders at risk of corruption.
Of the available financial service providers, smallholders consider banks as the most trusted, followed by
friends and family and then micro-finance institutions, while mobile money facilities still need to do
more work to foster trust. Ultimately, the current state of financial inclusion in Bangladesh finds that
less than half (45%) of smallholders have some form of formal financial service integration. With MFIs
now driving the bulk of financial inclusion (31%), followed by mobile money accounts (19%) bank (22%)
contributing each a similar amount.
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OUTLOOK FOR SMALLHOLDERS
In summary, smallholders have become isolated from the benefits of a global market place. Looking to
the future it will be the ability of smallholder farmers to utilise digital data and information in the
management of the farm and access to the food supply chain that will measure the level of their success
and their participation in the agri-food system.
As systems around the globe transition to fully digitised platforms for information and knowledge
exchange, digital market places, financial services and trade and transactions there is a risk that rural
farming will become more isolated. At the same time the digital revolution poses enormous opportunity
for those currently left behind to get immediate and direct access to a wealth of services provided by
the digital economy if some of the initial challenges can be overcome.
The data driven agri-food chain must ensure a symmetry in use of data that is fair and equitable
between all stakeholders and not monopolised by large corporations. There is an urgency for datadriven systems that are ready, available and affordable to smallholders that meet the specific and local
relevant needs of the smallholder. Lastly it is important that the digital rights of farmers are protected
and that the value of data owned and/or provided by farmers is fairly used, distributed and aggregated
with clear representation of smallholder rights (8).
STATUS OF BANGLADESH’S INFORMATION, TECHNOLOGY AND COMMUNICATION
Vision 2021 is Bangladesh’s political vision of the country in 2021, the country’s golden jubilee year. A
key part of this vision, “Digital Bangladesh” is the agenda set out to transform the nations Information,
Technology and Communications (ICT) sector.
The mobile connectivity has grown steadily over the last 10 years with 60% of the population predicted
to have subscribed to a mobile service by 2020.
The mobile network operators in Bangladesh include Grameenphone (45% market share), Robi (29%),
Banglalink (23%) and Teletalk (2%) with Qubee, Banglalion Communications and Ollo operating as 4G
internet service providers (9).
The market is predominantly pre-paid with very low subscriber payments around $3.13 per month.
Coverage is mostly 3G with 90% of the population covered. Smartphone adoption is driven by the local
brands Symphony and Walton which provide comparatively affordable devices.
Mobile internet adoption is low for the region at 33% penetration with affordability barrier being
exacerbated by misconception of the benefits and costs.
The Infrastructure Sharing pilot project is a GSMA led initiative to expand 3G coverage in rural
Bangladesh. The industry will deploy 20 pilot sites across Bangladesh to prove the concept of network
sharing through multi-operator radio access network (9).
A key part of the digital agenda is being driven by a2i, a government programme to drive innovation in
the area of public services and simplification of the government. A2i has provided funding to many
agriculture technology focussed projects and may be a resource in the future.
The Internet of Things (IoT) was formally recognised by Bangladesh in publication of the directive issued
by the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) in April 2018. The commission
10
defines nine sectors, including agriculture, within which IoT can be used1. However, Bangladesh faces a
number of challenges to the implementation of IoT technology, notably, ICT infrastructure, technology
skilled people, unreliable power, and financial investment. However, there is progress and investment is
coming with companies such as DataSoft and Cloudly InfoTech leading the way.
AGRICULTURE RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES
The fourth revolution is generating a plethora of new networked technology that is both a threat and
opportunity to the agricultural supply chain. Not being part of this fast developing area or coming late to
adopt these new technologies risks being left outside of the system making is perpetually harder to
survive and compete. However, on the other side, there is also a risk to adopting new technologies too
soon, especially when the environment is changing so fast it becomes difficult to predict which products
and services will be successful and what will fail in the long-run.
Although there is risk the upside is enormous, with new technologies promising to improve yield, deliver
frictionless trade and market access, greatly reduced costs, and deliver improved education and
information sharing. In the following section new and existing technologies are introduced and the role
they can play to benefit smallholder farmers is summarised.
MOBILE PHONES
Mobile phones have been utilised in supporting smallholders in developing countries for a number of
years now with varied levels of success. Although there is a cost barrier to entry the prices are
continually coming down and the availability of reconditioned phones increases (10). In some cases
NGOs are also making phones available for free to help smallholders make that first step into technology
supported farming. M-Pesa was the first truly successful mobile based payment scheme which was
launched by Vodafone in Kenya in 2007. It is has been tremendously successful in providing access to
finance in developing countries and provides the backbone for further services. The mobile service
allows users to make deposits, withdraw, transfer money and also pay for products and services with a
mobile device. It has expanded into many developing markets and now has over 30 million users in 10
African countries (11). The M-Pesa platform also allows for 3rd party integration of other services thus
providing support for innovation and expansion of new services leveraging new technologies.
In Bangladesh, according to the National Survey and Segmentation of Smallholder Households in
Bangladesh performed by Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (a partnership of organizations at the
World Bank) smallholder ownership of mobile phones is high at 73% , or 92% per household (of these
phones 62% are basic models, 35% feature phones and only 7% smart phones). This has strong
implications for the design and implementation of any digital service, as literacy levels are low making
extensive use of SMS a potential blocking point, yet without the availability of smart phones use of
image based services, e.g. for easy selection of products, creates a potential hurdle to be overcome.
1
Challenges before IoT in Bangladesh, The Financial Express
https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/challenges-before-iot-in-bangladesh-1532880691
11
While awareness of mobile money is high (80%) with many also believing the benefits the uptake of the
mobile money lags severely behind with only 19% of smallholders in fact owning a mobile money
account (2).
According to CGAP (2) in Bangladesh “the most frequent uses of mobile phones for smallholders relate to
communication. Nearly all smallholders with access to a mobile phone made or received calls within the
week before the survey, and 34% texted within a month. Fewer smallholders with mobile phones have
used their phones for financial transactions. Only 5% of smallholders used a mobile phone for financial
transactions within the week before the survey.”
Of those that see the benefits of holding a mobile money account, the major attraction is the ability to
send/receive money to/from family and friends, followed by the ability to save money, and to reduce
time to settle bills for payments. Although there is a positive attitude towards owning a mobile phone
for communications, there remains a wariness towards using the phone for financial transactions
despite the apparent benefits.
5G NETWORK
5G is the fifth generation of the mobile network systems and has been designed to enable the
technological revolution, meeting the demands of society and business to become better connected,
and to facilitate the internet of things, smart cities, and more. 5G is expected to be commercially
launched in 2020 with widespread access becoming available from 2025 onwards. 5G will work in
tandem with the existing 4G LTE network, where devices will connect to both networks, the 4G network
providing control and signal services while 5G provides increased data connectivity.
As with earlier networks, 5G uses radio wave transmission to communicate voice and data, but 5G has
shifted to use shorter wavelengths (higher frequency) allowing for much higher bandwidth and faster
connectivity. As well as greatly increased data transmission speed the 5G network brings much
improved response times or low latency, which has come down from 20-30ms on the 4G LTE network to
4-5ms for 5G mobile broadband and 1ms for URLLC (Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications)
systems.
These enhancements to the mobile network create new possibilities and potential uses of 5G. EMF2
describe three major categories of use case for 5G:
2
•
Massive machine to machine communications – also called the Internet of Things (IoT) that
involves connecting billions of devices without human intervention at a scale not seen before.
This has the potential to revolutionise modern industrial processes and applications including
agriculture, manufacturing and business communications.
•
Ultra-reliable low latency communications – mission critical including real-time control of
devices, industrial robotics, vehicle to vehicle communications and safety systems, autonomous
driving and safer transport networks. Low latency communications also opens up a new world
where remote medical care, procedures, and treatment are all possible
EMF Explained Series http://www.emfexplained.info
12
•
Enhanced mobile broadband – providing significantly faster data speeds and greater capacity
keeping the world connected. New applications will include fixed wireless internet access for
homes, outdoor broadcast applications without the need for broadcast vans, and greater
connectivity for people on the move.
The shift to shorter wavelengths while increasing bandwidth, decreases range (esp. at the mm
wavelengths), thus while utilising the existing macro mobile antenna network 5G will also use small
cells. Clusters of these small cells will provide increased connectivity over the range of 10-100m in
locations where high connectivity is required. “More than just a performance enhancement, mmwave
allows for high resolution and pinpoint accuracy, enabling the type of widescale and precise
interconnectivity required for connected cities, factories and high-density event.” 3
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) that has been available prior to 5G in places lacking in wired fibre-optic
broadband will also be rolled out providing access to consumers in previously remote or unconnected
locations. In time FWA may become an option for rural communities, it was estimated (12) recently that
5G-based FWA could reduce the initial cost of establishing last-mile connectivity by up to 40%, while
also reducing the rollout time compared to fixed-line fibre optic.
In future, the agricultural sector is well positioned to exploit the 5G technology. Currently smart
agriculture utilises Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN) such as NB-IoT, or LoRa to support
connectivity across fields. This will be replaced by 5G systems that will enable high density connectivity
and fast data transmission, allowing for a proliferation of field based IoT integration and farm
automation.
PRECISION FARMING SYSTEMS (PFS)
Precision farming is the use of sensors to monitor and provide feedback on crop growth, disease risk and
soil condition to allow farmers to respond in an accurate and measured way, providing targeted delivery
of farm inputs. This leads to optimised use of farm inputs, maximised yield, and more sustainable farm
management. PFS is being adopted more and more in developed countries to help in efficient farm
management but due to the high investment costs, as well as availability of necessary technologies and
ICT infrastructure it has not been widely adopted in developing countries (13). This may be about to
change with the advent of IoT and the reducing costs to manufacture smart devices.
INTERNET OF THINGS (IOT)
IoT devices provide the link from the digital world to the real-world via arrays of sensors and monitoring
devices that collect and disseminate data automatically over a network. It was recently estimated that
over 125 billion devices will become connected to the internet by 20304. The capability of IoT devices
3
5G Rollout: A Realistic View https://www.networkcomputing.com/wireless-infrastructure/5g-rolloutrealistic-view/1071974019
4
Number of Connected IoT Devices Will Surge to 125 Billion by 2030, IHS Markit Says
https://technology.ihs.com/596542/number-of-connected-iot-devices-will-surge-to-125-billion-by-2030ihs-markit-says
13
will be massively enhanced through the provision of high-density connectivity provided via 5G networks
that will allow the deployment of many ‘low-cost’ devices each able to transmit small amounts of data.
The benefits of IoT in agriculture have been well capture by Beecham Research and Libelium (14).
•
Understanding the factors that govern crop growth and yields, hence improving yields and
reducing crop losses through disease or adverse weather.
•
Saving costs by limiting the use of fertilisers and pesticides and other consumables needed for
production, only applying when necessary. Some national and international regulations limit the
use of fertilizers so farmers have to know their waste to schedule the usage³.
•
Optimising the use of water to reduce waste in order to save resources and therefore costs which
affect an already low-margin business like farming.
•
Offering a better quality of life and reducing hard labour to attract young generations of
farmers. Repopulation in rural areas needs human resources dedicated to agricultural activity, to
that end, it is vital that technological investment provides the best life quality conditions in
saving time and physical presence for the care of crops.
•
Precise scheduling of harvesting. To obtain the greatest benefits from crops, farmers need to
know the right time when the plot is ready to be harvested. By this way, they can plan the
number and time of each yield.
•
Post-harvest and similar techniques could be helpful in the food supply industry, optimising
processing, reducing costs and limiting spoilage as product makes its way to the consumer.
The architecture of a typical IoT ecosystem contains the field sensor, an application interface, the
internet gateway, cloud storage solution, and the computer analysis on which farm management
decisions are based.
Smart farming is enabled through a network of IoT devices that are the senses of a larger feedback
mechanism that bring the farm to life. As information comes into the network it is automatically
processed utilising agronomic insights and in some cases artificial intelligence to extract the value and
knowledge from the data. In some cases this knowledge is acted on automatically in machine to
machine (M2M) networks that trigger an action such as to initiate irrigation in the case that soil
moisture has reduced to levels detrimental to the crop. In other cases, the data is stored and sent to the
farmer or an analyst to do the interpretation, perhaps to gauge the presence of a crop disease and carry
out targeted spraying based on the insights provided by the sensor network. To achieve this requires a
14
communication loop between the IoT sensors in the field and the central computers and humans
performing the interpretation and initiating action as required.
IoT may help rural communities in a wide range of areas not limited to agriculture but also through
improving livelihoods which can indirectly improve rural smallholder farming. Services related to health,
environment, workplace safety and social security should all be considered when seting up an IoT ecosystem (15). How these benefits will be realised is determined by the types of solutions available and
how they can be implemented in rural locations. Intel, who have developed their own IoT platform,
Infiswift5, provides a useful broad set of use cases that demonstrate the potential to accelerate farming
to adopt more efficient agricultural operations.
Common Use Cases of IoT in Agriculture
Food distribution Align harvest availability with transportation to help eliminate
Accurate forecasting
Inventory management
Supply chain and distribution
Weather planning
Process automation
Asset management
Environmental monitoring
Livestock monitoring
Notification and alerts
idle time and improve lot traceability
Monitor actual vs projected harvest in near-real-time
Track status of livestock, levels of stored grain, and more in
near-real-time
Operate more profitably based on market signals and just-intime distribution
Integrate weather data to make better decisions
Take actions automatically based on data (e.g. schedule
sprinklers)
Monitor farm vehicles and machines to optimize operations
and manage preventative maintenance (e.g. optimize
harvester routes using GPS)
Monitor soil conditions, nutrients, irrigation, and growth
patterns; monitor for disease, insect, and week issues to take
preventative measures
Monitor variables such as body temperature, animal activity,
pulse, food intake and GPS position
Send automatic alerts or take action based on predefined
events (e.g. if a cow is ready for reproduction, identify it for
recall from the field)
The sensors that enable agricultural IoT devices are Micro Electromechanical Systems (MEMS). MEMS
are chips that combine electronics, micro-mechanical structures, energy harvesters and sensors
constructed at a microscopic scale to create complete computing units that are micrometres to
millimetres in size. The benefit of MEMS is their low cost to produce, low energy consumption usually
with integrated solar power or other energy harvesting technology, small size, and their ease to install
and robust nature allowing them to survive for years in the field. MEMS not only collect and
communicate data from their environment but also include computing logic that enables the processing
of data to be done in-situ reducing the need to transfer large quantities of raw data.
5
Infiswift https://infiswiftsolutions.com/
15
MEMS sensors include accelerometers, GPS, gyroscope, magnetometers and are able to detect
temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, pressure, soil PH and moisture levels. Movement
detection allows MEMS to monitor plant growth to livestock movement that can be linked to health or a
sign of ovulation in livestock and linked to alerting systems. MEMS may also integrate laboratory
measurements and diagnostics referred to as Lab on a Chip (LOC) technology that can detect the
presence of toxins or viruses and thus can be utilised to detect disease risk (16). MEMS may also be
applied to address wider issues including environmental monitoring (air, water and soil pollution),
logistics and catastrophe monitoring.
At the top end of the market solutions such as that provided by Arable’s Mark6 sensor technology allows
farmers to incorporate a multi-field sensor with over 40 metrics into a single device that is accessible via
cellular connectivity. Other solutions include BeanIoT’s7 sensor that is being employed to monitor the
condition of grain silos. The small device is placed inside the silos and returns information on the
temperature, moisture levels, air quality, gas levels and movement of the grain. On detecting unusual
values an alert is automatically sent to a mobile phone. Development of low-cost IoT is also being
developed for smallholders such as the GreenSeeker®8 sensor which indirectly monitors the level of
available nitrogen through measuring the levels of chlorophyll in the plants. Using this data the device
allows farmers to determine when and also where to apply fertiliser.
The use of satellite remote sensing has been evolving over a number of years and is in active use for a
number of years in developed countries. Although services are beginning to role out across developed
countries it is still not a scalable solution locally due to high up-front investment and computing power
although some pilot schemes are testing the concept such as Earth-i and ACCORD9. A well-presented
overview of IoT technology and its application to rural agriculture has can be found in the paper by
Dlodlo and Kalezhi (17).
DISTRIBUTED LEDGER TECHNOLOGY (DLT)
With the advent of blockchain integrated supply chain management is becoming a reality. In future data
collected by IoT devices on the farm and integrated in the supply chain will be seamlessly and
transparently saved to a distributed ledger that provides a full and immutable record of the crops
growth history, quality, certification (e.g. organic or fair trade), yield and processing information.
Directly available to the market, transactions can take place in a transparent and secure environment,
while at the same time informing a transportation company of the time and point of sale for pick-up
and delivery, avoiding post-harvest spoilage and completing all transactions automatically while
avoiding use of intermediaries and keeping a full audit trail.
6
Arable Mark https://www.arable.com/
BeanIoT http://www.beaniot.com/
8
GreenSeeker https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/8/4/48/htm
9
Earth-i and ACCORD https://earthi.space/blog/drinking-better-coffee-pays-off/
7
16
DLT was first used as the basis of crypto-currencies and can be defined as a distributed, decentralised
ledger that, when combined with a digital transaction validation process, allows for peer-to-peer
electronic transfer of an asset without the need for an intermediary, such as a bank (18). The Distributed
Ledger Technology (DLT) brings many potential opportunities to agriculture.
How it works
To see the potential uses of DLT it helps to understand a little about how it works. As explained further
by (19) there are three qualities of DLT that define its capabilities.
The DLT relies on a decentralised network for the processing, validation, and storage of data entries
compared to existing financial transactions that rely on a central clearing house to manage the process,
to clear, settle and record transactions. This process often relies on manual inputs that are both
susceptible to errors and fraud and is also an inherently slow process that incurs an effort and a cost. It
also introduces a dependence on a single institute that controls the sharing and validation of the data.
The DLT instead relies on a consensus mechanism that requires validators on the network, which can be
any user with access, to verify the entries to the shared ledger according to a consensus algorithm. It is
thus an automated process that is efficient and without the need for intermediaries, greatly reducing
cost and time of transactions.
DLT is based on cryptography. Each data entry or record is timestamped and given a cryptographic
fingerprint. These cryptographic stamps or hashes are linked in sequence, or a chain, and stored
securely across the distributed computers. The cryptographic storage of records across the network
ensures the data remains secure and immutable and any attempt by a single user to corrupt the records
would be immediately visible to all other users across the network.
The data stored on the distributed ledger is accessible to anyone on the network making all entries or
transactions transparent and traceable. The rules of the DLT will determine who has access to view the
data and is managed through the use of private and public keys (20).
17
“For example, if a farmer wants to share their credit history that is registered on the distributed
ledger with a lender such as a bank, then they could use the bank’s public key to encrypt and
send the data to the bank; the bank would use its corresponding private key to decrypt
and read the information. In addition, the bank could verify that the data actually belongs to
the farmer by using the farmer’s public key. Ultimately, access to data in the DLT can be
shared or private, depending on the rules of the DLT (which are based on the purpose of the
platform) and the users’ choices.” (19)
The two types of DLT: Public and Private.
Public DLT is open to everyone, anyone can access the network and view the complete ledger
transaction history, can make transactions and can also participate to the consensus mechanism. The
crypto-currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are both currently based on public DLT. These are truly opendecentralised systems in which no one can control the sharing of information. A disadvantage of such
anonymous access is it potentially allows malicious users to also enter the network (21). Therefore,
these public ledgers may not work in a process that holds sensitive information that is not open to the
public.
Private DLT is permission based with access to the network controlled – users and validators are
identified and known to the ledger. A key difference with the public ledgers, is that instead of
anonymous users, the validation of transactions is performed by already authenticated legal entities
(22).
Lastly there are some important differences in the type of consensus algorithm used to validate entries
to the DLT that should be understood. Public DLTs use either ‘proof of work’ or ‘proof of stake’
methodologies. The ‘proof of work’ algorithm by design utilises very high computing power and takes
time which undermines its sustainability and value to as a business focussed system. The BitCoin
network utilises ‘proof of concept’ which has raised many questions over its potential sustainability with
rapidly increasing energy consumption being used in the consensus validation process which currently is
estimated to consume over 73TWh per year, more than the country of Austria (23). The alternative
‘proof of stake’ algorithm is a more efficient methodology that is being adapted by Ethereum and
others. Private DLTs use either ‘lottery based’ or ‘voting based’ algorithms, the former being highly
scalable but take more time to finalise validations, and the contrary for the latter protocol.
‘Smart Contracts’ can be described as digitally inscribed contracts that trigger automatically according to
a pre-defined and agreed set of principles that have been written into code (20). Although not limited to
DLT the nature of DLT lends itself to the application of smart contracts. Smart contracts remove the
necessity of a central authority to clear and settle transactions on behalf of the participants of the
contract reducing both time and cost. Smart contracts work best when based on relatively simple
statements, such as “if-then”, which trigger automatically based on external agreed metrics. Insurance
contracts are a good fit, for example, a famer may insure his crops against flood damage, the payment is
automatically triggered when the rainfall in the location of his fields exceeds a pre-agreed threshold
level within a given time period. Smart contracts have immense potential both through generating
efficiencies in existing businesses but also provides opportunities for new business models to leverage
DLTs capability to manage smart contracts.
18
DLT may also facilitate social representation through secure voting at local and regional levels. DLT as a
secure means for voting is currently being explored by a number of governments and private initiatives10
that could in future be effectively leveraged in developing countries that may be more quick to adopt
electronic voting as a means to get around infrastructure challenges of traditional voting procedures.
The ability for smallholders to vote via mobile phones would allow a far larger proportion of the rural
population to be represented at local government and steer local or regional initiatives.
In a recent report (24) by Stanford Graduate School of Business in collaboration with RippleWorks it was
found that investments into DLT for agriculture are still in early stages with the majority being invested
in Europe, US and Australia, but with pilots and small scale projects occurring in more than 13 countries.
Currently a selection of large food suppliers, including Dole, Driscoll’s Golden State Foods, Kroger,
McCormick and Neltlé, Tyson Foods and Walmart, are collaborating with IBM on developing and testing
DLT technology. The pilot project demonstrated tracking of mangoes from supermarket to the farm
which traditionally took close to a week was possible in a couple of seconds (25). Other examples of
major DLT projects include IBM’s Hyperledger trade and finance platform (26) and lastly a group of large
banks and corporates are testing the Ethereum-based blockchain solution developed by Provenance
(27).
“Investments in blockchain for Agriculture are early stage. Most initiatives are less than two years old,
and none are currently reaching more than 1,000 beneficiaries; 93% are either in concept stage or have
started a small pilot.” (24)
One of the most recent proposed uses of DLTs is the fractional ownership11 of otherwise indivisible
assets. This is not a new concept but the use of DLT would enable some unique possibilities while also
ensuring robust security. The fractional ownership is recorded on the DLT using the fractional property
of digital tokens. These tokens allow smallholders to purchase and sell part of the asset by signing over
digital ownership. Combined with DLTs ability to manage transactions automatically, often referred to as
smart contracts, provides the prospect of automating the management of the contract, maybe towards
a collective insurance contract.
DIGITAL ANCHORING AND TRACKING
DLT has been identified as the solution to solve traceability issues in the supply chain by creating an
immutable and decentralised database to track products from source to market. Yet to achieve this it is
necessary to uniquely identify and link the product to the DLT or blockchain – this is a critical step to link
the digital world to the real-world reducing fraud and eliminating the possibility to counterfeit or fake
products.
Passive Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) or Near Field Communication (NFC) tags have long been
used for identifying and tracking products, places, and transactions (28). RFIDs work by transmitting a
small packet of data when they come into range of a RFID reader. The passive RFID does not require a
10
Meet the Man With a Radical Plan for Blockchain Voting https://www.wired.com/story/santiago-siriradical-plan-for-blockchain-voting/
11
Fractional Ownership https://www.ethnews.com/collective-fractional-ownership-a-proposedblockchain-use-case
19
battery but utilises the power of the reader to communicate. Passive RFIDs tags are used to track assets
through various check-points at which they identify themselves through a unique identification number.
They are very low cost and widely used.
Crypto-anchors are the future of tracking and traceability technology that when combined together with
DLT will ensure authenticity of products. The DLT alone cannot solve the issue of provenance – it is first
necessary to uniquely identify the product and tie it to the DLT so that it can be securely tracked along
the supply chain. IBM is currently researching different techniques, called crypto-anchors, that enable
the secure labelling of products from start to finish. The crypto-anchor is a tamper-proof, digital
footprint that is securely embedded in the product and then linked to a DLT solution. Cyrpto-anchors
can take different forms, from a micro-computer chip or optical codes.
“For example, crypto-anchors can be embedded into an edible shade of magnetic ink, which can be used
to dye a malaria pill. The code could become active and visible from a drop of water letting a consumer
know it is authentic and safe to consume.
Crypto-anchors are highly secure because they are embedded in the product and consist of cryptographic
mechanisms that provide unclonable identification.” (29)
Some crypto-anchors will take a step further. IBM’s edge designed device is the smallest computer in
the world with capability to monitor, analyse and communicate. The device, that is smaller than a grain
of rice, has the computing power of an x86 processor from the 1990s yet the production costs less than
10 cents. The device can be used to verify authenticity but also how the product has been handled
throughout its journey. In some cases it is not even necessary to label a product with a specific cryptoanchor as the material or DNA of the product itself is unique. AI algorithms have been developed to
work in conjunction with a specialist optical detector on a mobile device (smartphone) that learns to
identify the optical signature of some objects and can even detect the presence of DNA sequences in
minutes.
OTHER TECHNOLOGY DEVICES
Open Source Solutions
Open source resources are becoming more popular as the concept of shared repositories of software,
data or intellectual property have been proven to work allowing for widespread use and contributions
around a common objective. The concept has been around for many years with regards to technology,
in particular software development, but it is now widening out to also include mainstream topics
including agriculture.
The provision of open data to support the development and implementation of new solutions, such as
evidence based climate resilience or crop disease models, which are now also stemming from the
combination of big data and artificial intelligence working together, are being supported by resources
such as the Platform for Big Data in Agriculture12
There is still some way to go regarding open source technology to support IoT implementation suitable
for smallholder farmers but it is worth investigating because the impact of scaling open source IoT in
12
Platform for Big Data in Agriculture https://bigdata.cgiar.org
20
agriculture is potentially enormous. One such case study (30) uses freely available remote sensing data
from the Sentinel-2A satellite combined with software (SNAP Toolbox) that monitors crop biophysical
and growth conditions in Ghana. This case study successfully demonstrates the potential impact of such
integrated solutions and provides recommendations for wider application as a decisions support system
for smallholder farmers in resource-poor settings. A further in depth discussion and implementation
guide for open source technology in sub-Saharan Africa has been provided by (31) that could be taken as
a template for a scalable open source solution for low-cost IoT implementation.
Finally, it is worth to note the UN provides a resource on open source software and technology called
Free and Open Source Software (FOSS)13 as a key driver for their Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).
Robotics and Drones
Other technology used in agriculture or being developed include UAVs/drones and robots. For example,
milking robots have already been used successfully in the dairy industry while harvesting technology is
being developed for use in the field (32). Similarly, drones are being actively used to monitor crop
development and stresses in the field to optimise use of farm inputs and provide warning of disease
stress (33). These technologies require significant investment and/or further development and it is
expected to be some years before they become viable solutions for smallholder farming in developing
countries.
Nano-Technology in Agriculture and Food Production
There exists a whole domain of nano-technology in agriculture and food production that will transform
the way food is produced, processed, packaged, transported and consumed. Although not the remit of
this report it is worth to bear in mind the implications of nano-technology and its role in the future of
agriculture and food production (34) (35).
Radio and Video Technology
Radio is an old technology but it is widely accessible in Bangladesh and thus it is worth mentioning. It is a
proven technology and is a trusted source of information that has been successfully leveraged by NGOs
for community oriented projects14 and has been part of a major national strategy to improve
communications and help contribute to the UN’s SDG. More recently radio has been involved in
catastrophe aversion15 and growing women’s role in community through engagement in community
radio (36). In Bangladesh there currently exist 16 different community radio stations across the country
reaching up to 4.6 million listeners. The radio stations employ over 500 women and youth that are now
working as rural community broadcasters.
Video capture and screening of community relevant best practices is now also a realistic and viable
option. With the advancement in camera technology the cost creating short topic specific films is
13
UN FOSS https://www.un-ilibrary.org/environment-and-climate-change/free-and-open-sourcesoftware-and-technology-for-sustainable-development_4b723edb-en
14
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication https://bnnrc.net/
15
In Bangladesh, radio saves the day
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/ourstories/on-the-air-out-of-danger-inbangladesh.html
21
relatively low, making it a viable option to many communities that can use this technology to share bestpractice and health advice in a friendly format that has been expertly demonstrated by Digital Green16
CASE STUDIES
MOBILE PHONE SERVICES IN BANGLADESH
Bangalink17, a Bangladesh mobile service provider has developed two mobile based services for farmers.
The first called Krishi Jigyasha (7676) provides a call centre for farmers to obtain advice and solutions to
agriculture related problems.
The second service called Krishibazaar (2474) is a virtual market place that is enabled through
application of IVR (interactive voice response) technology. This service provides those registered with
the latest market prices (updated weekly) from 7 of the major markets across Bangladesh. The service
also allows buyers and sellers of agricultural products to login and post or browse agricultural related
products. The service provides information about the products as well as location and puts the buyers
and sellers in direct contact with the option to immediately call to inquire or close a deal.
This service is limited to Bangalink customers only thus limiting the potential range of buyers and sellers
able to access the virtual market place. Furthermore, Bangalink provides the platform but takes no
accountability for information on the products. This leaves space for misinformation and potential fraud,
which may introduce a lack of trust in the service. It does not indicate if there is a ranking or rating of
sellers and buyers as many internet market platforms (e.g. Amazon, Ebay) have adopted in order to
develop trust. Other reasons the service may not be suitable is that calls are charged and in order to be
accessible all the time it is required that registered users keep their phones turned on at all times.
Grameenphone18 has a similar subscription service accessed through calling 27676 for a weekly fee.
Farmers will receive advice from agricultural experts on crop cultivation, raising poultry and livestock,
pisciculture, and nutrition information. There is also an agriculture advice hotline that can be called even
without registration at a higher rate.
Finally, the service provider Robi19 also provides service based on the same setup but includes a wider
scope of expertise not limited to season specific agriculture but also including education and health
information, daily weather forecasts and information on government and NGO facilities.
BANGLADESH NGOS NETWORK FOR RADIO AND COMMUNICATION (BNNRC)
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC)20 is a National Apex Body on
Community Media Development Working for Building a Democratic Society based on the Principles of
16
Digital Green http://www.digitalgreen.org/
Bangalink https://www.banglalink.net/en/about-us/compliance-and-csr/services-for-society/mobileagriculture-service
18
Grameenphone https://www.grameenphone.com/personal/digital-services/other-services/agri-infoservice
19
Robi https://www.robi.com.bd/vas/information-services/robi-krishibarta?lang=eng
20
Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC) https://bnnrc.net/
17
22
Free Flow of Information, Equitable and Affordable Access to Information and Communication
Technology (ICT) for remote and marginalized population.
A very simple yet effective use of a tried and tested technology has been the creation of the Community
Rural Radio Krishi Radio 98.8 (37), which is currently the only government community radio, that was
established by Agricultural Information Service. The station discusses all types of topics including
Agriculture, Trade, Education of the community, Health & Society, Women Rights, Rural Development,
Environment, Weather and Culture. The station also attends events and works with government and
non-government organisations and has a very large following with a large number of listeners calling in
every day. The radio was set up as part of the governments rural radio project and assisted by the UN’s
FAO. Station members and volunteers have also been taking part in training on human rights and
disaster damage reduction.
“Farmers of the community are very much hopeful with Krishi Radio, with one vegetable farmer saying
that no one will be able to cheat them now, as they can know details of the daily market price through
this radio.
Station Manager of Krishi Radio, inormed that as a non profitable organization, the radio broadcast
programs on Agriculture, Trade, Education of the community, Health & Society, Women Rights, Rural
Development, Environment, Weather and Culture.
10 officials and employees from the agricultural division have been working as full time workers at the
station. Moreover, 60 volunteers of the station are being trained by Bangladesh NGO’s Network for
Radio and Communication, and some other organizations.
Krishi Radio is now airing programs between the hours of 9am to 11am and 3pm to 5pm. A news
program, comprising of local, national and international news, is aired everyday at 4pm.” (37)
Challenges still exist though, as despite technical training the radio station lacks skilled manpower,
suffers from electricity disruption as well as high electricity bills, and struggles with low listener levels
beyond the immediate region of Upajilla sadar.
DIGITAL GREEN’S21 COMMUNITY VIDEO LEARNING
Digital Green is an non-profit spin-off of Microsoft’s Technology for Emerging Markets division in India
and is also supported by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, USAID, Google, Oracle, and Cisco. The
ambition of Digital Green is to improve the efficiency of sharing information between smallholder
farmers in rural India and now also in other developing countries around the world. It has adopted a
multi-pronged approach to leverage technology to enable those in poverty. It combines education
through community videos, efficient transport and sale of produce, training support, data collection and
insights, and innovation. Community Videos has disseminated over 6,000 locally relevant videos in more
than 50 languages to more than 1 million farmers in collaboration with grassroots partners, public and
private extension services, and smallholder farmers.
21
Digital Green http://www.digitalgreen.org/
23
Operating Model
Digital Green partners with local extension services already in place that work closely with the
smallholders. They select local people, usually farmers, from the community to train in video production
and sharing. Once trained they create locally relevant videos on farming best practice, financial
inclusion, institution building and also other non-farm practices that is then shared with the local
community. To aid the dissemination of the content local smallholder representatives are provided with
small battery-operated projectors with which they can hold regular screenings of various video content
with small smallholder groups. The videos are produced in sequence to aid learning and feedback is
collected and used to continually improve the content.
Case Study: Manju Devi
Manju Devi, is a resident of Ababkarpur village in Bihar, India. An agricultural labourer, she is the main
income earner for her family of eight, which includes three young grandchildren. Before being exposed to
Community Videos through Digital Green she struggled. “A large portion of my income was spent to
purchase vegetables. I would almost spend 50-60 INR every day at the haat (village market).”
Things turned around for Manju Devi after Sudhir Kumar, a frontline worker associated with the Bihar
Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society and trained by Digital Green, screened a video about sack farming in
2015. Manju Devi resolved to try it and watched many Digital Green videos, she now has six flourishing
sack gardens, which she uses to cultivate vegetables for her family’s household consumption.
It’s been over six months since Manju Devi has had to buy vegetables from the haat; she’s been able to
use the money she’s saved to buy milk and attend to her grandchildren’s medical needs. The vegetables
she grows are healthier, as they don’t require chemical fertilizers or sprays. Manju Devi now motivates
other smallholder farmers in her community to adopt practices she’s seen in Digital Green videos.
“We're identifying these most impactful practices by partnering with researchers and practitioners and
spending time in the field looking at what farmers are already doing and seeing what issues they're
confronted by.”
Further to this Digital Green has developed multi-media training courseware to support the training of
frontline farmers and workers.
Loop is all about facilitating farmers efforts to sell their produce at a fair price at market. Loop leverages
multiple technology platforms to enable efficient marketing of farm produce. Loop selects a farmer to
24
aggregate and manage the sale of the local farmers produce at market that is comparable to a
cooperative or the Farmer Centres within the JOIKKO social franchise. However, with Loop the sale, pick
up and transport of the produce to market is made via the Loop phone application. The farmers then get
an SMS on completion of the sale and a mobile payment. The data collected is also analysed by Digital
Green in order to analyse and improve the process. At present Loop is looking to scale while also
researching how to make the service pay for itself. Loop does not utilize DLT protocols but is an example
of how part of the value chain can be digitised without some of the additional features that DLT
technology offers.
The Digital Green solutions are all provided through the CoCo data collection and analytics software
package that is used to monitor and analyse rural operations. CoCo is a standalone web-based
application that has been designed to work on and off-line.
In India Digital Green is also working with and is supported by National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM),
which is led by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India (MORD, GOI). Looking forward
Digital Green plans to reach a further one million farmers in the next 2-3 years, and in India is also
working with the Mahila Kisan Sashaktikaran Pariyojana (MKSP), an initiative under NRLM, to empower
women in agriculture.
DODORE’S AGRI-WALLET POWERED BY COIN22
Dodore22 focusses on research, development and implementation of mobile based technologies in
developing countries. The company offers expertise and experience in running projects on the ground
and was behind the implementation of Agri-Wallet23 in Kenya together with Coin22.
“Dodore Kenya Ltd develops and implements innovative mobile wallets that help vulnerable people (low
income, women, youth) save money earmarked for specific purposes. The wallets are based on a
combination of internal systems and a virtual currency platform.”
Coin22 is a fintech service provider that enables transparent mobile money payments via blockchain
technology facilitating both local micro-payments and conditional international transactions. Agri-wallet
is COIN22’s token-based mobile payment, savings and loans scheme for farmers and food companies
that was implemented by Dodore Kenya Ltd in partnership with Rabobank and MasterCard Foundation.
Dodore’s implementation of Agri-Wallet is designed specifically to help ease the cash flow issues faced
both by farmers and buyers through providing a common transaction platform. Farmers selling their
produce get paid immediately by Agri-Wallet in M-PESA to their mobile account allowing them to use
that money to pay for new farm inputs. In turn, the buyer is able to postpone paying until the onward
sale of the farm produce has been completed, thus also allowing the merchant to retain cash to pay for
other key costs such as transport.
The transactions all take place through the Agri-Wallet mobile phone application where registered users
are provided an M-PESA mobile money account. A restriction of the service is that money held on the
Agri-Wallet account is only available for spending on agricultural products from suppliers that are also
registered with the service. This has an advantage to encourage farmers to save specifically for
22
23
Dodore Ltd http://dodore.co.ke/
Agri-Wallet https://agri-wallet.com/
25
reinvestment into the farm and to develop a business mindset, yet on the flipside it prevents further
integration of the service and investment into the local community and potentially requires farmers to
set up separate accounts for household and related savings. Agri-Wallet also provides registered farmers
access to finance in the form of an overdraft.
Agri-Wallet leverages mobile technology and goes a long way to addressing many of the issues faced by
farmers in providing a user friendly and trustworthy service that helps provide a greater degree of
financial stability.
PRODUCERS DIRECT
Producers Direct is an organisation of farmers working to support farmers. The organisation focuses on
farmer ownership and leadership, peer to peer training, and building knowledge and expertise in
underserved rural farming communities.
Centres of Excellence
To achieve this Producers Direct has created an innovative social enterprise that leverages a network of
over 600,000 farmers to provide services by farmers to farmers through a global network of Centres of
Excellence (CoE). The CoEs, centred at smallholder producer organisations, create a living, learning
classroom where innovation can be tested and shared across the famer network. The organisation also
strives to incorporate youth and women’s groups recognising the importance of the wider aspects of
rural life while providing a viable future for young communities. Farmers are taken on a multi-stage
journey through the CoE that provides training and information, access to finance and markets, and data
to enhance farm management.
“Our goal is for each CoE to serve as a ‘one stop shop’, providing a complete bundle of support –
including training, funding, market access and data – in a blend of in-person and digital services.”
Producers Direct initiative Digital Farm couples a strong focus on leveraging a range of modern
technologies with their bottom-up approach working with the farmers to develop new solutions.
WeFarm Farmer’s Social Network
WeFarm24 is global farmer social network that was piloted in 2010 in partnership with Cafédirect
Producers Foundation (CPF) and then launched as a social enterprise subsidiary of CPF in 2015. WeFarm
is a for-profit organisation that through partnering at key levels in the supply chain wants to create a
sustainable, transparent and accessible solutions for smallholder farmers. The core service is a peer-to-
24
WeFarm https://wefarm.org/
26
peer mobile SMS based network that enables farmers to post questions and immediately get a response
through the power of crowd-sourced knowledge. The service requires only a basic mobile phone and
does not require internet or for the farmer to visit a farming centre and because is it crowd-sourced the
service is for free. WeFarm is operated in Kenya, Peru, Uganda, Dominican Republic and Haiti.
Case Study: Single parent Clara increased her income
“Early one morning in Kaptumo village in Kenya, a female farmer called Clara was preparing to milk her
two cows, when she saw that one of her cows was struggling to stand up.
The cow had had this problem for the last 3 days, so Clara was worried. The next available person who
she could consult was the mobile Artificial Insemination Officer, who was hardly ever available.
At this point she remembered WeFarm. Clara quickly sent an SMS to WeFarm describing her problem
and within 10 minutes, one of the WeFarm members replied with a solution by SMS, having had exactly
the same problem.
Clara discovered that her cow had a mineral deficiency which was making her bones weak, and was
advised that she should feed the cow with feeds rich with calcium and phosphorus. Another farmer also
sent Clara an SMS with advice on how to grow hydroponic fodder which could help to substitute minerals
in her cow feed, at a cheaper cost.
Clara immediately ordered the feeds with the correct minerals and started to grow hydroponic fodder to
keep her cows healthy. Not only did she solve her problem but also learned a new skill in the process.
One week later: Clara is now the proud owner of two healthy cows with better milk production. She sells
the milk to the nearby market helping to increase her income as a single parent to 5 children.”
WeFarm, 15th March 2015
MasterCard’s 2Kuze AgTech Platform
2Kuze is a mobile market place created by MasterCard’s Nairobi Labs25 for Financial Inclusion with
support from the Gates Foundation26. The phone based application brings together farmers, agents and
buyers on a digital platform. The digital market place allows farmers to directly connect with buyers,
avoiding the need for intermediaries, increases transparency and efficiency in the market place, and
ultimately generates better return for the farmer and increased value in the supply chain.
The service also enables farmers to create and maintain a digital history that provides a record that can
useful in obtaining access to micro-loans while also generating good recognition in the market. 2Kuze
was piloted in Kenya with Producers Direct at their SIREET OEP Centre of Excellence. During this pilot
phase the service has been free to use, however, MasterCard are exploring models for buyer and
financial institution transaction and referral fees toward a commercial product generating a profit.
25
MasterCard’s Nairobi Labs for Financial Inclusion https://www.mastercard.us/en-us/aboutmastercard/corp-responsibility/social-sustainability/the-mastercard-labs-for-financial-inclusion.html
26
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation https://www.gatesfoundation.org/
27
“In addition, by working with youth groups at the Centres of Excellence to provide logistical support,
Producers Direct are creating job opportunities and incentives for young people to stay in rural
communities, rather than emigrate to the city.” Producers Direct27
Climate Edge Resilience Building
Producers Direct is also partnering with Climate Edge28, a UK based start-up that have developed NEXO,
a low-cost weather station deigned for deployment on small scale farms that is being piloted with
smallholder coffee producers in South America.
Operating Model
The station collects air temperature, humidity, soil temperature and moisture, precipitation and leafwetness. The data is then sent via 2G network to their system for analysis and re-distribution to farmers
via mobile SMS. Through increasing understanding of the weather impacts on crop yield they aim to
assist small scale farmers increase yield while also providing increased resilience to climate change that
threatens to adversely impact the crops and livelihoods of local farmers. Climate Edge is working to
bridge the knowledge gap between research into climate impact on agriculture and smallholder farmers.
SOLAR FREEZE COLD STORAGE IN KENYA
Solar Freeze29 is an interesting innovation that aims to reduce post-harvest losses in smallholder farms
in Kenya. Through quickly lowering the temperature of fresh produce immediately after harvest they
can markedly increase the shelf-life of goods. This provides farmers the opportunity to take advantage
of improved market prices. The cold-storage supply chain is effectively non-existent at present due to
the high cost of the technology and unreliable electricity supply. Solar Freeze intend to get around these
issues with a portable, solar powered, cold-storage unit that is easy to use.
Operating Model
The cold-storage as a service allows smallholder farmers and traders the ability to transport smaller
quantities more frequently through leveraging the ‘sharing economy’. Using an Uber type service
farmers can get access to cold storage that does not require internet connectivity or involvement of
logistics companies. Coupled with IoT technology allows farmers and traders to access real-time
monitoring and tracking data that provides important food quality information that can be shared across
the supply chain.
KILIMO SALAMA TECHNOLOGY ENABLED INSURANCE
Insurance has not worked effectively in high risk rural smallholder farming communities where it is
needed most to provide a level of financial stability. The traditional business model relying on in-situ
inspection of claims and upfront premium payments that are often beyond the reach of those who most
need it combines with a low level of trust in an environment that is not familiar with financial services
and for whom paying for the next meal is typically guaranteed by investing in tangible goods such as
livestock or by storing crops.
27
Producers Direct http://producersdirect.org/
Climate Edge https://www.climate-edge.com/
29
Solar Freeze http://www.solarfreeze.co.ke/
28
28
Operating Model
Kilimo Salama (38), meaning “Safe Agriculture” in Swahili, has demonstrated how more innovative
insurance business models coupled with technology can help reach new markets. The smallholders can
purchase the insurance along with their seeds at a price of 5% of the sale price of their crops. The
conditions of the insurance contract are monitored automatically through use of IoT, in this case a
network of remote, unmanned, weather stations. These stations monitor weather parameters, such as
rainfall and temperature, which are used as indicators of local flooding or drought. When weather
conditions reach the contractually agreed limits that are known to cause loss of earnings due to crop
damage the insurance payment is automatically triggered and the farmer immediately receives payment
to his/her mobile M-PESA account.
As a further benefit the weather stations are also used as a climate monitoring and weather warning
system. The more accurate data provided by the weather stations supports the analysis of regional
trends which can be used to inform farmers of weather related risks to their crops. The farmers receive
the information via SMS to their mobile phone providing the opportunity to act and avert potential
losses.
The Kilimo Salama initiative was set up in 2009 by the Syngenta Foundation, UAP Insurance, Safaricom,
and Kenya Meteorological Department, to become the largest agricultural insurance programme in
Africa. The first insurance scheme to utilise mobile phone and IoT technology it has helped rebuild trust
in insurance to reach over 150,000 farmers in countries such as Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and
Nigeria.
AGUNITY’S BLOCKCHAIN FOR SMALLHOLDER FARMERS
AgUnity30 is a company that developed AgriLedger, a mobile based application than uses blockchain
technology to provide services to smallholder farmers and cooperatives. The company, operating in
Indonesia but also with a presence in other countries, obtains funding from NGO’s in order to provide
mobile smart phones with the application installed for free to smallholder farmers and cooperatives.
The start-up now has two entities:
•
•
AgUnity, its commercial arm, which develops and builds the technology and conducts pilot
projects to prove its impact; and
AgriLedger, a charitable trust that allows AgUnity to partner with and get funding from nongovernment organisations (NGOs) in order to roll out and run its pilot programs.
Farming cooperatives are seen as the most effective and equitable way to increase farmer’s incomes by
overcoming inefficiencies in planning, a lack of empowerment and a lack of access to proper farming
resources result in poor harvests, spoilage of crops and poor prices at point of sale.
Operating Model
The application allows farmers to work through a trusted system with cooperatives to coordinate farmequipment sharing, scheduling of farm activities, buying and selling, and manage their money and
30
AgUnity http://agunity.com/
29
transactions in a secure location. The app also includes an online market place for additional equipment
such as solar lights, farm equipment while also providing micro-loan services.
“We allow companies to provide ethical products and services into a new, completely untapped market.
Companies providing these services pay us royalties [of] around 10 percent; however, we ensure the
farmer is always getting better value than they otherwise would have.”
“Farmers can understand with confidence, even if they cannot read or write, that if they hand over their
crops to a cooperative, they will receive payment for these crops for exact amount they provided, and
trust the AgriLedger app.”
Davis Davies, Co-Founder AuUnity
AgriLedger is currently being piloted in projects in Indonesia, Bougainville, Papua New Guinea and Kenya
with plans to roll out AgriLedger in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Cambodia, Ghana, Ethiopia and Brazil.
PROVENANCE’S SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSPARENCY
Provenance31 is all about building trust and transparency in the food supply chain from farmers to
consumers. Provenance enables retailers to provide shoppers with reliable data on the product from its
origin all the way along the supply chain to the shop floor. It has been used to robust digital proof for
sustainably-sourced and slavery-free products, digital certification, proof of fair payment to empowering
small, independent food brands with digital transparency tools.
Working in partnership with FairFood, Provenance was able to verify proof of payment to coconut
farmers while tracking coconuts from Indonesia to Europe.
“Using a grassroots certification approach, we tracked payment one way, product the other way,
registering the harvest via SMS, and verifying chain of custody along the supply chain.”
The purpose of the project was to prove the feasibility to track ethical claims and digitally verify fair
trade practices.
FairFood32 continues its research into the application of blockchain for fair trade in the food supply chain
by partnering with organisations that are developing and utilising blockchain technology in the effort to
ensure that blockchain solutions meet their potential of being truly inclusive. Fairfood partnered with
FairChain Foundation33, a research and development group that is pioneering ideas regarding fair and
inclusive supply chains. FairChain together with Moyes Coffee has recently developed a blockchain
based digital supply chain for coffee farmers in Ethiopia that collects data from harvest to payment
while they are currently working on extending it to include the washing, hulling, roasting, transport, and
sales stages. The FairChain coffee harvest technology implemented by Bext360, a blockchain technology
company focussing on traceability and quantifiable measurements for sustainability.
31
Provenance https://www.provenance.org/
FairFood https://fairfood.nl/en/
33
FoodChain Foundation https://fairchain.org/
32
30
SWOT ANALYSIS
The following SWOT analysis provides a high level overview of the key criteria to be considered when
implementing the following technologies. It should be noted that this SWOT has not been performed
with any particular location or community in mind but rather considers the general position of rural
smallholder farmers. It is recommended that prior to launching a project such a SWOT analysis is redone
that considers the specific conditions of the target location and the community, culture, and local
infrastructure.
Community Radio
Strength
• Regionally relevant community driven
content
• High familiarity
• Good level of trust
• Low expense for farmers
• Low personal investment of time and
effort
• Proven technology
• Availability of broad topics
• Comparatively low ICT infrastructure
• High accessibility, including by illiterate
farmers
• Common call centre for solutions
• Crop specific weather
Opportunity
• Involvement of youth and/or women
groups
• Youth retention
• Use to share information on new
developing technologies
Community Video
Strength
• Locally relevant community driven
content
• Visual demonstration
• Broad topics
• Low expense for farmers
• Low personal investment of time and
effort
• Accessible by illiterate farmers
Opportunity
31
Weakness
• Dependent on existing network of
community radio stations
• High political and investment barrier to
set-up new stations
Threat
• Exclusion of women due to conflict with
home duties
• Requires continuous electricity supply
Weakness
• Medium set-up barrier requiring external
investment in time and effort
• Investment in training in video use and
projecting
Threat
•
•
•
Involvement of youth and/or women
groups
Training of new technologies
Youth retention
Mobile Wallet
Strength
• Good familiarity
• Good remote access
• Existing high penetration
• Single platform can address multiple
problems: cash flow, savings, credit,
insurance, market information, purchase
of farm inputs, etc.
• Proven solution
Opportunity
• Integration with JOIKKO style farm
centres
• Reduce corruption
• Increase trust among farm centres
IoT
Strength
• Optimised use of farm inputs -> reduced
costs
• Real time data -> weather warnings and
spray alerts
• Automated M2M farm management
• Rich data facilitates learning
Opportunity
• Climate resilience building
• Reducing cost of IoT
• 5G connectivity
• Integration with parametric insurance
DLT Solution
Strength
• Facilitates trust
• Greatly reduced corruption
• Efficient transactions -> reduced costs
and time to complete
32
•
•
•
Exclusion of women due to conflict with
home duties
Internet connectivity
Continuous electricity supply
Weakness
• Personal affordability for lowest level
farmers
•
Threat
• Accessibility to SMS for illiterate farmers
• Network penetration in most remote
regions
•
Weakness
• High set-up barrier due to initial
investment costs, time and effort
• Ongoing maintenance of sensors and
network
• Medium to high learning curve
• Internet connectivity requirements
Threat
• Technology may be quickly outdated or
made obsolete (e.g. replaced by satellite
remote sensing)
•
Weakness
• Comparatively untested
•
•
•
•
•
•
Continuous audit record
Access to global markets
Proof of payment
Implementation of smart contracts
Provenance information -> track good
from farm to table
Opportunity
• Build farmers market reputation
• Certification (e.g. fairtrade)
• Social representation platform (e.g.
online voting)
• Food safety improvements
• Insurance via smart contracts
Threat
• Early adopter risk -> many DLT solutions
are still in pilot mode still
• Late adopters may get left behind
•
IMPLEMENTATION
A study by the National Survey and Segmentation of Smallholder Households in Bangladesh found that
13% of smallholders do not have enough money for food, while 49% can only meet their basic needs,
thus leaving little to invest in education or farming (2). It is therefore not realistic to expect smallholder
farmers that grow crops to survive to transition from one day to the next and adopt technologies into
their farming practices without the education, health, and financial support to get them there.
Therefore it is imperative to consider the entire development path from those farming to survive to
those in a position to invest in new technologies.
Mindset, Education and Awareness
Changing mindset from that of growing to survive to farming as a business, and also to then consider
how to utilise technology in that pursuit, is a big shift and requires space to think beyond how to provide
the next meal for your family. This chicken and egg situation, in that the services provided by the
adoption of new technologies that provide access to improved financial resilience, agricultural expertise
and education, as well as fair market access, first require a period of financial stability to enable and
allow for that change in mindset as well as capital creation to pay for the services. Traditionally, before
active new technology can start to be adopted hands-on support is needed to create a foundation of
health and education to allow minimum stability to smallholder families.
However, there is a great benefit to be had now, to join the technology race at the beginning, rather
than to wait which also introduces its own material risks. Developing countries have the opportunity to
leap-frog their developed counterparts as they do not need to re-engineer or re-wire hard or soft
systems to adopt to these new technologies, they can be designed in from the start. This provides a
potential advantage that can be used if ways can be found to implement changes now.
First of all it is maybe worth to differentiate between ‘active’ and ‘passive’ use of technology as it has a
big difference in the pressure put on the speed at which smallholder farmers are required to understand
the implications of new technologies. Here we define ‘active’ and ‘passive’ use of technology at two
ends of a scale described below:
33
•
•
Active use being defined as direct integration of new technology, such as mobile phone
payment, sensors and IoT, into farm management, that requires commitment, a potentially
steep learning curve and investment in technology.
Passive use is far more accessible and would include listening to radio or watching videos, which
does not require personal investment or commitment to technology as in ‘active’ adoption.
It has been shown that often simpler, or passive, technology is often more successful initially and
provides more time for the development of more complex ICT infrastructure needed for more advanced
technologies. Using old and trusted technology, such as radio, especially community radio, as a means to
communicate and champion new technologies has also been found to be effective (39). The
introduction of basic and locally relevant farming best practices through technology, particularly when
shared between community members, may be easily adopted and can quickly lead to small gains in yield
and reduced risk of losses during the growing season and post-harvest (40). In turn, this helps develop
trust while also providing the motivation and resources to continue the pursuit of better farm
management.
It is quite foreseeable to see the benefits of community radio or video broadcast in a common area
providing valuable, and locally relevant, best practices. In the JOIKKO social franchise set up the farmer
centres may provide a logistically sensible location for the sharing of community radio and video34
programs that is accessible by all local smallholders as being only 5km or less from the farm it does not
require a long time away from the field. Coordinating programs with the daily schedule, such as when
the men have free time during tea time, combined with advertising at relevant locations such as the
farm shop or local tea shop would facilitate good participation. Furthermore, reaching out to youth
groups to set up the technology will provide interesting and challenging projects that will provide
training in technology and provide an incentive to remain in the local area and contribute to the future
development of the farming community.
The cumulation of small increases in returns combined with education and health support can provide
the initial step up needed to accelerate the development path through adoption of newer and/or more
powerful technological solutions. At this point mobile phones become a reality. Increasing mobile phone
access and use creates the foundation and familiarity with technology and enhances communication on
which to build upon (41).
Mobile connectivity is already driving improvements in education and digital literacy in hard to reach
locations across Bangladesh. The main mobile network operators all have in place mobile education
initiatives such as the Muukto Paath35 e-learning platform that provides easy access education that is
delivered in partnership with the government agency for technology and innovation a2i Bangladesh36.
Although literacy levels have increased to 73% in 2016 it is much lower in rural areas (42) and in
particular for women. Access to mobile learning can be used to reach these disadvantaged groups
creating easy access to learning facilities to close this gap allowing for learning at home and at lower
34
Digital Green Community Videos http://www.digitalgreen.org/videos/
Muukto Paath e-learning platform http://www.muktopaath.gov.bd
36
a2i government programme to catalyse public service innovations https://a2i.gov.bd/
35
34
cost. Initiatives that already exist include Infolady37 and EDGE38 and are already making a difference
across the country.
Stakeholder Management
Setting up empowered rural and agricultural stakeholder organisations have been proposed (43) as a
fundamental requirement to ensure policies and programs meet the needs of the rural smallholder
farmer that can be facilitated by extension workers and other organisations working on the ground.
“Local communities need to be involved in the design of universal access programs by participating in
decisions about particular information access outlets. Indeed, most studies find that the most effective
way of ensuring the economic success of ICTs in rural areas is to encourage local participation and create
social institutions in support of the new technologies. This can be achieved through a participatory
approach, to complement technical and economic calculations of telephone placement.” Charles Kenny,
an infrastructure economist with the World Bank (Kenny, 2001)
Extension workers may also facilitate this process through engaging with local and regional stakeholders
to voice the needs of smallholder farmers from a policy and regulation perspective. This is a new skill
identified by Richardson, 2007 of extension workers to be able to play the role of broker between
technologists and service providers, government stakeholders, and their clients. As such they need to be
able to assess the appropriateness of technological solutions to work in rural areas with limited
accessibility, cost constraints, language and literacy, age and gender and other local or cultural
considerations. They may then represent smallholders in dialogue with stakeholders that include
technology service providers, regulators and policy makers, local entrepreneurs, NGO’s and other
organisations working with the community. Ensuring reliable power supply and connectivity will be key
to enabling the potential of technology in smallholder farming can be fully realised.
Mobile Payment Services
Mobile payment accounts have be shown to be very successful in rural smallholder farming due to ease
of use, remote access, accessibility and integration with additional farm services, and thus seem an
obvious way forward. An Agri-Wallet service that incorporates the services and products provided by the
JOIKKO farmer centres would reduce transaction costs, increase reliability and auditability of the centres
while also improving trust with the farmers, and would ease cash-flow constraints and reduce pressure
to sell the harvest at poor prices to cover costs.
There already exist a range of digital wallets (44) available in Bangladesh, some of which require just a
phone number to register, others needing up front registration with a bank, however none appear to be
specifically tailored to the needs of smallholder farmers yet. Services, such as bKash39 the most
ubiquitous service through Brac Bank Ltd, allow users to send, receive, request money, pay utility bills
and buy airtime and pay merchants and send remittances. While useful, these services need to be
integrated into the local agricultural ecosystem to provide the most value for money to smallholder
communities.
37
Infolady Social Enterprise Limited https://www.facebook.com/isocialbd/
English and Digital for Girls’ Education EDGE https://www.britishcouncil.org/society/womens-andgirls-empowerment/our-work/edge
39
bKash https://www.bkash.com/
38
35
Furthermore these services do not always consider the literacy constraints in rural Bangladesh which
need to be taken into account during the design and implementation of digital services if they are to
reach out to all levels of the farming community. For this reason in the past call-based services have
been preferred by smallholder farmers to SMS-based services, even when they are automated. The
literacy issue may be partially resolved in the future as the availability of smart phones allows for the
integration of MMS and pictorial based services to aid illiterate farmers. Alternatively, call based service
such as IVR can be very helpful but the call rate can limit use of the service. SMS is therefore more priceaccessible but limited in content.
Working in partnership with the private sector can help strengthen the outreach networks with more
diverse partnerships. In Bangladesh FHI 36040 has partnered with Bank Asia and IFIC to provide the
microcredit service available through their mobile wallet. The loans have a low, more affordable interest
rate and a flexible repayment schedule, so farmers can pay them back in a single payment after six
months, once their crops have been harvested. The FHI 360 Mobile Solutions Technical Assistance and
Research (mSTAR) project in partnership with USAID is a research program that fosters rapid adoption
and scale-up of digital finance, digital inclusion and mobile data that seeks to increase access to and use
of mobile and digital technologies by low-income individuals.
Education on financial services coupled with pilot schemes that allow farmers to see the benefits first
hand have been effective in the past. Utilising a system that is already tested and proven in the field,
such as Agri-Wallet brings a lot of benefits and quick wins. IFDC and 2Scale41 have been very successful
in scaling Agri-Wallet services in Kenya and while Agri-Wallet is not available currently in Bangladesh
IFDC are present in the country with a number of on-going projects and could be seen to play a similar
role bringing expertise to scaling mobile money services in the agriculture sector in Bangladesh.
Looking to the future, more advanced solutions may become feasible such as the e-Farmers’ Hub (eHub)42 developed by Syngenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) that has been tailored to
support agri-entrepreneurs to track transactions, leading to a more efficient and less error-prone
management of the farmer hubs.
The Way Forward for IoT
There still exist a number of challenges to the widescale implementation of IoT in developing countries,
both technological and social, however these boundaries are coming down. This potential for IoT in
developing countries has also not gone unnoticed demonstrated by the World Economic Forum’s IoT for
Sustainable Development (IoT4D)43 project that has created a framework for the acceleration of
research and development into IoT for developing countries.
Types of sensors
Sensors can be developed for monitoring spatial and temporal variations providing measurements of
soils, plants, and animals monitoring for environmental and weather conditions, disease risk, growth
and movement. The choice of sensor needs to be suitable for its intended use and the environment it
40
FHI 360 https://2016annualreport.fhi360.org/highlights/farmers-go-digital-to-shed-debt/
IFDC & 2Scale https://ifdc.org/2scale/
42
e-Hub https://www.syngentafoundation.org/agriservices/whatwedo/digitalsolutions/e-farmershub
43
WEF IoT for Sustainable Development http://widgets.weforum.org/iot4d/
41
36
must survive in. Consider also the number of sensors, the spatial distribution and proximity to the
sensor gateway, the frequency data is collected and the amount of data to be transmitted versus what
can be calculated in-situ, and the power supply required and whether it requires batteries or can be
managed through solar or wind power. A summary of some of the types of agricultural solutions
leveraging IoT have been summarised in the table by (45) copied below.
References
Devices/Technologies Benefits
Smart irrigation system
(46)
MATLAB, wireless
sensor, IOT.
Non Linear Analysis of
Soil Microwave Heating:
(47)
Cucumber Disease
Detection (48)
Microwave antennas,
electromagnetic
heating.
Artificial neural
network, MATLAB.
Identifying and
Monitoring Winter
Wheat Diseases (49)
Support
cloud
service
Optimizes the water usage, Yes
provides a remote
controlling,
monitors the system.
Allows a very effective
No
solution.
Data
capture
in real
time
Yes
Yes
Provides the Accuracy of
80.45%.
No
Yes
Hyper-spectrum
Diseases could be
determined and
Differentiated.
No
Yes
Detection and
Identification of Disease
Stages (50)
ASD
spectroradiometer,
MATLAB.
This SDI exhibited high
accuracy and
sensitiveness.
No
Yes
Mega-Nano Detection of
Foodborne Pathogens
and Transgenes (51)
Quantum dots, DNA.
No
Yes
Leaf disease Detection
(52)
IOT, Zigbee module,
WSN.
Yes
Yes
Robotic disease detection
in green houses (53)
RGB camera, laser
sensor, computer
automation.
Image processing,
pattern recognition.
Established an on-theplant design for detecting
signature
molecules.
Monitoring both the
climate and plant would
give the more
accurate information.
Overcome the threat in the
crops or leaf in the
agriculture.
Monitor the crop for
possible diseases and
avoids upcoming loss of
crops.
No
Yes
No
Yes
Identification and
Classification of Fungal
disease (54)
37
Connectivity considerations
IoT devices in rural farming locations in developing countries require access to a long-range, low-power,
low-cost network (31) to be successful. This rules out short range communication connectivity such as
Bluetooth or standard WiFi, while long-range mobile data connectivity via GSM/GPRS or 2G/3G/4G/LTE
is comparatively costly, has high energy requirements, and also the availability and reliability in rural
locations can be inconsistent. The low-power, short-range Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) such as IEE
802.15.4 radio using multi-hop routing has been successful in smart city environments however they are
generally not practical in rural communities. Rather Low-Power Wide-Area-Networks (LPWAN) such as
Sigfox or Semtech’s LoRa have demonstrated higher suitability to the rural environment with a range of
up to 20km in line of sight or 2km non-line of sight and a cost range of between 2 and 14 Euros per year
(14). The LoRa network is attractive as it can be deployed privately without the need for any service
subscription. The Things Network44 is an example of a community based group that is developing
bespoke IoT services based upon their LoRaWAN that features low battery usage, long range and low
bandwidth. In future 5G may replace the need for LPWAN but this will most likely not become available
in rural locations until 2030 or later.
Connection to the internet for the purpose of uploading data to the cloud can be a problem in rural
locations, however, this can be managed with various technologies that allow for continued offline
working and storing of data locally on the gateway and synchronising as and when the connection
becomes available. As IoT data is typically of use where it is measured leveraging the aggregation and
analysis of the data locally mitigates issues of erratic internet access (55).
Other Important Consideration for IoT Implementation
The development of local expertise in rural locations is an issue that needs to be addressed to ensure
that the technology continues to run even when the extension services have left. This requires
investment but may also create an opportunity to create new operating models through the creation of
public-private partnerships that bring together government, private sector but also academia, to
support the creation of localised centres of excellence through education and vocational training. Such
initiatives could provide incentives for youth to remain in the area to get involved in projects that
provide valuable life and business skills and a brighter future outlook. Replicating the social platform set
up by WeFarm with a focus on farming technology may provide a valuable source of community
knowledge on use and implementation of agricultural technology.
Design considerations should incorporate the need to be robust and energy efficient, able to run on lowcost batteries or solar or wind power for months on end. IoT devices now often integrate energy
harvesters, such as solar or wind, that allow them to work indefinitely. While reliability is critical, it is
also important for the system to be aware when the an IoT devices disconnects from the network for
whatever reason so that an alert can be sent to the farmer to check the device.
The cost of devices and the supporting infrastructure remains one of the main constraints limiting the
accessibility of IoT in rural locations in developing countries. This can be partially overcome through use
of open source technology, NGO or crowdfunding routes, and partnership models such as that
implemented by AgUnity.
44
The Things Network https://www.thethingsnetwork.org/
38
Getting on the Blockchain
There are a host of new blockchain based services (Appendix B. Blockchain Solutions) coming into
existence at the moment in the agricultural space, the question is which model is most suitable and
relevant to smallholder farmers, and which will continue to be successful bearing in mind most
companies are in very early stages of development. Which service to implement depends also on what
type of service is needed; the current blockchain implementations seek to solve different parts of the
food supply chain puzzle. Some are focussed on removing inefficiencies in the local food distribution and
marketing, such as Foodshed.io that links small scale producers to chefs, supermarkets and institutional
buyers within a 250 mile radius. Then there are companies such as Ripe.io that are creating a food
quality network that maps the food throughout its entire journey. And companies like Avenews-GT are
creating an integrated market place and full ecosystem around commercial trade with all stakeholders in
one place. Some of these companies are more focussed on long term sustainability and are specifically
focussed on supporting smallholder farmers whereas others are about redesigning the global supply
chain system or providing blockchain technology as a service. For a list of existing DLT solution providers
see Appendix B. Blockchain Solutions.
Ethics should also enter into the decision making process. It is well known that some of DLT solutions are
based on technology protocols, known as “proof-of-work”, consume vast amounts of energy to validate
entries that cannot be considered a sustainable solution. In addition, although the DLT protocol is based
on a democratised system where everyone has access to the entries one must also consider the
underlying business model of the service. It needs to be asked what is the motivation and ethics of the
organisation(s) that own the DLT framework that you are considering to partner with as in almost all
cases it will be developed countries selling services to the developing world.
Utilising local focussed service may provide the easiest way to integrate the new technology into local
farming set up and provide short-term gains quickly. AgUnity or Lokaal are blockchain services that bring
experience regarding how to implement the system in local environments that may be more applicable
to the JOIKKO social franchise. However, by not directly integrating into a global supply chain system it
may limit scalability and remove options further down the road. Understanding the future plans of the
blockchain service will be important in order not to limit potential future growth opportunities.
It is generally considered that blockchain in agriculture is still three to five years away from feasible
scalability (56) with most implementations currently in trial or pilot phases.
Further Findings
In achieving effective intervention in technology driven projects Richardson, 2007 highlights the need to
incorporate not just agriculturally specific ICT but to widen the scope.
“Any ICT intervention that improves the livelihoods of poor rural families will likely have significant direct
and indirect impacts on enhancing agricultural production, marketing and post-harvest activities – which
in turn can further contribute to poverty reduction.” (43)
Richardson, 2007 suggests that technological interventions in this context will be successful if they have
the potential to:
•
39
free up time for agricultural work through information or services which help improve family
health and well-being;
•
•
provide access to household capital which can be leveraged for agricultural production or postharvest improvements; and
enable rural families to better take advantage of remittance economies for enabling family
members to live elsewhere and send capital home to improve agricultural work and other
livelihood activities.
It is worth to note some of the key findings of the cross-sectorial USAID workshop on the introduction of
sensor technology in rural farming in the box below.
Technology Relevant sensor technologies exist and the market is already addressing issues inhibiting
developing context applications including data transmission challenges and cost. However, there may be
a role for donors in accelerating the reduction in cost for sensors and related technologies and for local
development partners in testing and refining technologies for context-specific applications.
Adoption A major challenge facing sensor applications for agriculture is the need to catalyze context-led
innovation that integrates sensor technology (and/or resulting data) into locally appropriate products
and services that address specific problems affecting smallholders. Donors, entrepreneurs, development
and private sector actors all have a role to play in promoting adoption by creating and disseminating
actionable information to smallholders and others along the agricultural value chains.
Ecosystem There is a rapidly growing community of entrepreneurs, academics, development
professionals, donors and others working on sensors and agriculture that are, for the most part,
disconnected. Participants see tremendous value in growing an inclusive network that cuts across
disciplines and can have access to varied expertise and centralized funding and collaboration
opportunities to support smallholder farmers, thus enabling a more coordinated approach and more
impactful actions.
Local connectivity remains a major obstacle to the rollout of many technological solutions in rural areas
that needs to be addressed as part of any future solution. Identifying and supporting local champions,
such as local entrepreneurs who also have a vested interest to advance the use of technology in
agriculture, can be a key driver for success (57)
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The report has demonstrated that the rapid acceleration in technology will have a material impact on
agriculture in developing countries and has the ability to empower and enable smallholder farmers.
Here we present the main findings and key recommendations that must be considered during the
planning, selection, and implementation of new technologies in rural farming communities in
Bangladesh and similar developing economies.
To be successful it is necessary to recognise that the different stages of development identified by CGAP
(2) require different technological solutions and ultimately any solution should consider the how to help
transition smallholder farmers successively through these stages. In doing so we propose distinguishing
between ‘passive’ and ‘active’ use of technology when selecting the appropriate use of technology for a
selected demographic. Smallholders farming for sustenance may benefit most from passive
involvement, such as attending community radio or educational video sessions that do not require
40
significant investment in time, effort or money. More active involvement which may involve a steep
learning curve or financial investment such as implementation of IoT technology should be targeted
towards the higher end of development for smallholder farmers that already farm as a business and
have already developed a more entrepreneurial attitude.
The advancement in technology will create many opportunities but there are two areas that are
expected to bring the most significant changes, that is 5G enabled IoT and the implementation of
distributed ledger technology. Development in 5G and IoT will allow for a proliferation of technologies
applicable to agriculture that in time will become available to smallholder farmers, however, it will likely
be 5-10 years before this becomes a viable option due to cost and limitations on ICT infrastructure. Yet
there is still potential to start with simpler technologies, such as low power wide area networks, that are
already in use and often leverage open source solutions.
Distributed ledger technology is already being prototyped under various different use cases. DLT offers
great opportunities for the digitalisation of the agricultural and food supply chain which will bring
benefits of secure transactions, reduction in the number of intermediaries, and new levels of data
provenance. In turn farmers may expect higher returns, see a reduction in corruption, and have better
access to market information and global buyers. However, a word of caution is needed as this future
vision is not without risk, it will be critical to ensure the appropriate governance is put in place together
with any technological solution to protect smallholder farmers.
Successful introduction on technology should consider the following:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Identify the current level of technology penetration in the area and the main stakeholders to
include during implementation or to lobby to support scaling of new solutions.
Determine how the use of technology and related services may change depending on the
demographic.
Design technological solutions that meet the needs of the specific demographic while
considering how this can lift smallholders from one level or demographic to the next.
Use existing or ‘passive’ technological solutions to support the introduction of new or more
advanced technology through increasing awareness and familiarity with new concepts.
Develop stakeholder organisations with the aid of NGOs and extension workers that are on the
ground and understand well the culture and attitudes prior to design phase.
Utilise the application of new technology in agriculture as a means to keep the younger
population involved and interested in agriculture.
Leverage the enthusiasm and capability of women to drive change and to help create an
inclusive society.
Ensure that the necessary governance and data protection are in place to protect the data
ownership and rights of local smallholders.
Assess the appropriateness, ownership, and sustainability of any proposed technological
solution.
Assess the long-term viability of any technological solution before implementation.
As the rate of technological development accelerates it is advisable to prototype these new solutions
and to fail-fast and develop a continuous learning environment that allows one to identify criteria for
41
success as an ongoing process rather than to put all eggs in one basket in what is an early adopter
environment.
Finally, it is important to recognise that improvement in smallholder livelihoods depends on an
integrated approach that also considers the education, health, financial stability, as well and the
adoption of farming best practices, to ensure a healthy and resilient community.
42
APPENDIX A. SENSOR TECHNOLOGY
Table A.1 Descriptive list of smart agricultural sensors and solutions taken from (58)
Sensors
Location Sensors
Optical Sensors
Electrochemical
Sensors
Mechanical Sensors
Dielectric Soil
Moisture Sensors
Airflow Sensors
Agricultural
Weather Stations
Solutions
43
Location Sensors use signals from GPS satellites to determine latitude,
longitude, and altitude to within feet. Three satellites minimum are required
to triangulate a position. Precise positioning is the cornerstone of precision
agriculture. GPS integrated circuits like the NJR NJG1157PCD-TE1 are a good
example of location sensors.
Optical Sensors use light to measure soil properties. The sensors measure
different frequencies of light reflectance in near-infrared, mid-infrared, and
polarized light spectrums. Sensors can be placed on vehicles or aerial
platforms such as drones or even satellites. Soil reflectance and plant color
data are just two variables from optical sensors that can be aggregated and
processed. Optical sensors have been developed to determine clay, organic
matter, and moisture content of the soil. Vishay, for example, offers hundreds
of photodetectors and photodiodes, a basic building block for optical sensor
Electrochemical Sensors provide key information required in precision
agriculture: pH and soil nutrient levels. Sensor electrodes work by detecting
specific ions in the soil. Currently, sensors mounted to specially designed
“sleds” help gather, process, and map soil chemical data.
Mechanical Sensors measure soil compaction or “mechanical resistance.” The
sensors use a probe that penetrates the soil and records resistive forces
through use of load cells or strain gauges. A similar form of this technology is
used on large tractors to predict pulling requirements for ground engaging
equipment. Tensiometers, like Honeywell FSG15N1A, detect the force used by
the roots in water absorption and are very useful for irrigation interventions
Dielectric Soil Moisture Sensors assess moisture levels by measuring the
dielectric constant (an electrical property that changes depending on the
amount of moisture present) in the soil.
Airflow Sensors measure soil air permeability. Measurements can be made at
singular locations or dynamically while in motion. The desired output is the
pressure required to push a predetermined amount of air into the ground at a
prescribed depth. Various types of soil properties, including compaction,
structure, soil type, and moisture level, produce unique identifying signatures.
Agricultural Weather Stations are self-contained units that are placed at
various locations throughout growing fields. These stations have a
combination of sensors appropriate for the local crops and climate.
Information such as air temperature, soil temperature at a various depths,
rainfall, leaf wetness, chlorophyll, wind speed, dew point temperature, wind
direction, relative humidity, solar radiation, and atmospheric pressure are
measured and recorded at predetermined intervals. This data is compiled and
sent wirelessly to a central data logger at programmed intervals. Their
portability and decreasing prices make weather stations attractive for farms
of all sizes.
Yield Monitoring
Yield Mapping
Variable Rate
Fertilizer
Weed Mapping
Variable Spraying
Topography and
Boundaries
Salinity Mapping
Guidance Systems
Smartphone
Applications
Camera
GPS
Microphone
Accelerometer
Gyroscope
Disease Detection
and Diagnosis
Fertilizer Calculator
44
Yield Monitoring systems are placed on crop harvesting vehicles such as
combines and corn harvesters. They provide a crop weight yield by time,
distance, or GPS location measured and recorded to within 30cm.
Yield Mapping uses spatial coordinate data from GPS sensors mounted on
harvesting equipment. Yield monitoring data is combined with the
coordinates to create yield maps
Variable Rate Fertilizer application tools use yield maps and perhaps optical
surveys of plant health determined by coloration to control granular, liquid,
and gaseous fertilizer materials. Variable rate controllers can either be
manually controlled or automatically controlled using an on-board computer
guided by real GPS location.
Weed Mapping currently uses operator interpretation and input to generate
maps by quickly marking the location with a GPS receiver and datalogger. The
weed occurrences can then be overlapped with yield maps, fertilizer maps,
and spray maps. As visual recognition systems improve, the manual entry will
soon be replaced by automated, visual systems mounted to working
equipment.
Variable Spraying controllers turn herbicide spray booms on and off, and
customize the amount (and blend) of the spray applied. Once weed locations
are identified and mapped, the volume and mix of the spray can be
determined.
Topography and Boundaries can be recorded using high-precision GPS, which
allows for a very precise topographic representation to be made of any field.
These precision maps are useful when interpreting yield maps and weed
maps. Field boundaries, existing roads, and wetlands can be accurately
located to aid in farm planning.
Salinity Mapping is done with a salinity meter on a sled towed across fields
affected by salinity. Salinity mapping interprets emergent issues as well as
change in salinity over time.
Guidance Systems can accurately position a moving vehicle within 30cm or
less using GPS. Guidance systems replace conventional equipment for
spraying or seeding. Autonomous vehicles are currently under development
and will likely be put into use in the very near future.
Provides pictures of leaf health, lighting brightness, chlorophyll measurement,
and ripeness level. Also used for measuring Leaf Area Index (LAI) and
measuring soil organic and carbon makeup.
Provides location for crop mapping, disease/pest location alerts, solar
radiation predictions, and fertilizing.
Helps with predictive maintenance of machinery.
Helps determine Leaf Angle Index. Also used as an equipment rollover alarm.
Detects equipment rollover.
Photos taken of suspect plants can be forwarded to experts for analysis.
Soil sensors and leaf colour can determine what nutrients are needed.
Soil Study
Capturing soil images, as well as pH and chemical data from sensors, allows
farmers to monitor and adjust to changing soil conditions.
Water Study
Determining Leaf Area Index from photos and brightness logging can help
farmers determine water needs.
Camera photos with UV and white lights accurately predict ripeness.
Crop Harvest
Readiness
45
APPENDIX B. BLOCKCHAIN SOLUTIONS
Summary of existing blockchain solutions loosely grouped by their main focus area.
Local and smallholder focus
Lokaal
https://www.lokaal.market/
We designed our currency, the LOKA, to support local farms,
food-makers, and small businesses.
You can purchase LOKA on our site and use it in our
marketplace, or donate it, either through our Lokaal support
fund or directly to specific farms or foodmakers listed on our
funding pages.
Foodshed.io
Foodshed.io is a mobile marketing app and logistics platform
http://www.foodshed.io/
that connects small-scale producers to chefs, supermarkets
and institutional buyers within a 250 mile radius. For farmers,
it is a simple platform for accessing urban markets, and
responding to local demand and opportunities.
AgUnity
AgUnity Streamlines Co-Operative Operations By Putting A
http://agunity.com/
Simple Distributed Cryptoledger Mobile App Into The Hand Of
Every Small Farmer.
BlockCommodities
Using blockchain’s dynamic structure, Block aims to
http://www.blockcommodities.com/ incorporate all market participants into an efficient
ecosystem, facilitating the commercial operation of the
agricultural production cycle. The pilot project starts in
Uganda in partnership with Wala, the blockchain-enabled
financial platform for emerging markets, and Dala. The project
will expand to the rest of the sub-Saharan region in due
course.
GroceryX
GroceryX is a platform built for communities to have their
https://icoholder.com/en/groceryx- own local system of food distribution - unreliant on massive
1211
transportation chains and corporate practices that waste
billions of tons of food. GroceryX is a platform where farmers
can regrow their profits, and communities can prosper.
Supply Chain Mapping
Provenance
We enable great businesses to build trust in their goods and
https://www.provenance.org/
supply chain. Provenance powered data helps shoppers
choose your product. Powered by mobile, blockchain and
open data, our game-changing software enables retailers and
producers to open product data, track the journey of goods,
and empower customers with access to knowledge. The
Provenance platform is free for many organisations that help
make supply chains more sustainable, to reinforce equitable
data sharing between businesses and shoppers.
Bext360
Bext360 provides comprehensive and measurable
https://www.bext360.com/
accountability for critical supply chains. The SaaS platform
provides unsurpassed blockchain traceability and quantifiable
measurements for sustainability.
AgriLedger
http://www.agriledger.io
Ripe.io
http://www.ripe.io/
TE-FOOD
https://ico.tefoodint.com/
Arc-net
https://arc-net.io/
Blockgrain
https://blockgrain.io/
FarmShare (59)
Retailer Supply Chain
FoodLogiQ
https://www.foodlogiq.com
Market Place
FoodCoin
https://www.foodcoin.io
47
Bext360 focuses on supply chains such as coffee, seafood,
timber, minerals, cotton and palm oil to provide a traceable
fingerprint from producer to consumer.
AgriLedger works with companies, governments, non-profits
and other organizations to address challenges on a worldwide
scale. Providing the Right Tools for the Participants in the
Agricultural Supply chain.
Ripe.io is altering the trajectory of the food system through
blockchain technology and the Internet of Things. By designing
a radically transparent digital food supply chain, ripe.io
harnesses quality food data to create the Blockchain of Food –
an unprecedented food quality network that maps the food
journey to answer what’s in our food, where it comes from,
and what has happened to it.
TE-FOOD is a farm-to-table fresh food traceability ecosystem
on blockchain, covering all logistics and food quality activities
and data management of the supply chain. It provides cost
effective software and identification tools to make livestock
and fresh food supply information transparent.
arc-net connects every step of your product's journey to
deliver supply chain transparency and product security. The
arc-net toolset provides an easy to use scalable platform,
powering the strategic insights that unlock profit .
Australia’s BlockGrain has the vision is to be the largest
industrywide platform for managing the agricultural supply
chain; connecting sellers and buyers, providing full paddockto-plate traceability and allowing bulk logistics companies to
manage and grow their operations.
FarmShare is a decentralized community-supported
agriculture platform built on Ethereum, the world’s first
distributed world computer. Agricultural blockchain service
which aims to rebuild the broken food system, starting at the
community level, by adapting an existing business model (CSA)
and leveraging the Ethereum network’s potential for
distributed governance, platform cooperativism, and
planetary-scale computation.
FoodLogiQ provides traceability, food safety compliance and
supply chain transparency software solutions - integrating
with your existing systems and data using FoodLogiQ Connect
APIs.
FoodCoin Ecosystem is a blockchain ecosystem, architecturally
designed to create a global marketplace of food and
agricultural products based on our experience with the active
Avenews-GT
https://www.avenews-gt.com/
INS Ecosystem
https://ins.world/
Commodity Trading
AgriDigital
https://www.agridigital.io/
The Seam
https://www.theseam.com/
OSI Trade
https://www.ositrade.fr/
Blockchain & IoT Integration
Ambrosus
https://ambrosus.com
PavoCoin
https://pavocoin.com/
Blockchain Integration for Supply
Chain Tracking
OriginTrail
https://origintrail.io/
48
1000 EcoFarms platform. FoodCoin Ecosystem will be based
on the Ethereum technology
Avenews-GT provides a platform for the commercial trade of
agricultural produce where industrial sellers and buyers can
conduct the entire trade process in a secure and transparent
environment.
Users create their digital ecosystems. The ecosystems
streamline communication between business networks with
common characteristics. Within their ecosystems, users can
interact with their network in real-time, share data, send
notifications, and transact with multiple entities in one go.
INS is developing a platform to enable direct interaction
between brands and consumers. Reaching the next generation
audience via data-driven mass personalisation. The team
consists of a large global collective of professionals with solid
industry experience.
AgriDigital's cloud-based commodity management platform
makes your supply chain simple, easy and secure from farmer
to consumer. Manage your contracts, deliveries, inventory,
orders, invoices and payments all in one place and in real time.
With blockchain, The Seam is able to provide its customers
with a secure online environment that allows buyers and
sellers to trade with confidence on a playing field that is
levelled by technology, transparency and anonymity.
Re-invent trust in Ag-trade. A new way to securing business
from farm to fork. Online (cloud based, SAS) platform.
Buyers and sellers post their price (binding). Buyers set their
Quality specs (base «Contracts de Paris»). Pick, click, done.
Securely Automatic clearing when delivery is called. Delivery
acceptance release the contract. All documents from the
supply chain are securely bounded to the contract, automatic
traceability.
Ambrosus is a blockchain-powered IoT network for food and
pharmaceutical enterprises, enabling secure and frictionless
dialogue between sensors, distributed ledgers and databases
to optimise supply chain visibility and quality assurance.
By bringing together the cutting-edge technologies of IoT and
blockchain, and our vast experience in crop cultivation we are
serving an agriculture ("Ag") ecosystem focused on highly
technologized crop growing, processing, and distribution.
OriginTrail is a unique solution allowing IT providers in supply
chains to set up blockchain supported data sharing in multiorganizational environment. It helps them build transparency
beyond the “one step down, one step up” traceability
principle. Furthermore, it improves the integrity of product
data and drives efficiencies for stakeholders.
49
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