Young entrepreneurs are already turning the wheels of the agricultural
revolution. They are driving the paradigm shift in facilitating access
and communication of agricultural information and knowledge.
They are not just creating a buzz in ICT for Agriculture (ICT4Ag),
but fervently transforming the practice of agriculture with innovative
ICT solutions such as web and mobile applications. With increasing
interest and support from various stakeholders in empowering these young
ICT4Ag entrepreneurs, the digitisation of agriculture is beating odds,
responding positively to concerns such as sustainability, nature and
quality of information provided and engagement of youth and women.
While the beginning of these initiatives was mainly inclined to the
provision of information to support farmers at the production stage, the
overwhelming support has so far seen the rebirth of approaches and
innovations crossing the borders of provision of information for
production only to as far as supporting financial transactions. Behind this success story is a great model: the AgriHack Championship Initiative.
Conceptualised by CTA in 2013, the AgriHack Championship,
a model hackathon with a difference has been a learning and
entrepreneurial exercise, bringing together young people interested in
developing ICT solutions for agriculture. The hackathon and its
accompanying activities were spread over the space of a year, with
preparation and follow-up activities to support participants.
Some activities included national level competitions, which led to the selection of finalists. The finals were held during CTA’s 2013 ICT4Ag Conference.
A clear roadmap was used to strengthen the AgriHack model to produce
concrete results with a real impact for young entrepreneurs and
small-scale producers. From mentorship, to discussions and training, a
range of stakeholders had put efforts together. At this event, a range
of solutions hacked by young entrepreneurs emerged, and the regional winning innovations
were Ensibuuko, AgriVAS and Agrinfo. Some winning innovations have
thrived to be model, youth-led enterprises, providing some of the most
promising ICT solutions in agriculture.
Taking part in the CTA Agrihack Championship proved to be an opportunity for David Opio and Gerald Otim to develop the Ensibuuko app and galvanise contacts with Kiva,
an online crowd funding platform to which David and his team had turned
for capital. When Ensibuuko was named winner of the regional finals,
the award brought the team valuable visibility and credibility.
A pilot phase signed with Kiva has enabled Ensibuuko to provide
finance to 42 rural smallholder producers, mainly model rural farmers
who commit to mentoring other farmers in the community. So far, the
six-strong Ensibuuko team has raised more than US$15,000 (€10,800) and
is well on its way to its immediate target of raising another $5,000
(€3,600). Ensibuuko
is a mobile and web application that integrates automated SMS and
mobile money services to enable Saving and Credit Cooperative Societies
(SACCOSs) to handle savings and make loans to smallholder farmers.
A Kenyan ICT4Ag application showcased at the regional finals of the
CTA Agrihack Championship has proved a winning idea, with commercial
potential. Farmdrive, a platform that connects farmers and lenders, has attracted the interest of a Japanese investor,
who was present at the hackathon, held in November 2013. He approached
the Farmdrive team at the event and indicated he had found the idea
interesting. Since then, he has been working with the team to perfect
the App, so as to explore the feasibility of applying the same idea in
Japan.
The ICT4Ag Agrihack Championship was not an end in itself, rather it
was the ignition of successful innovations that would see the paradigm
shift in access and communication of agricultural information and
knowledge amplified, proving the initial Agrihack concept a success.
This initiative is on the right track to responding to the timely
call to a rethink in ICT4Ag applications. It also tackles among others,
issues such as... Read Full Article Here
No comments:
Post a Comment