The Longterm Problem

By 2050 the world’s population will reach 10 billion people. To meet the world’s needs, food production will need to roughly double. Modern agribusiness, with its environmentally destructive techniques of chemicals, deforestation and mono-culture, will attempt to fill this gap, but there is an alternative.

Small-holder farms in sub-Saharan Africa number around 33 million, representing 80% of all farms in this massive region. Through the use of simple SMS technology (which most farmers have), these farmers can self-organize and coordinate to operate like large-scale farms, unleashing the advantages of economies of scale, providing much needed income. That is the power of Small Scale Farms.

The Immediate Problem

Farmers across sub-Saharan Africa face the challenge of getting their crops to market and fetching a fair price. Often these subsistence farmers eat what they grow, trade it, try to sell it at local markets or by the side of the road, or ultimately let it go to waste. They lack both the means and the volume to transport the crops to city markets where they could get fair prices and much needed cash.

While African farmers have made great strides in increasing productivity through seeds, fertilizers and cultivation techniques (see Africa’s food system needs a better class of middlemen ) the logistical side of the equation, the side that actually generates money, remains a hurdle – until now.

The Solution

Small Scale Farms, a collaboration between Global Roots and Till Mobile, uses inexpensive SMS Technology and on-the ground logistical experts and equipment to organize farmers, collect and tag their crops, transport crops to market, sell, and pay the farmers immediately via MPESA, the African equivalent of Venmo.

We have proven this project works!

Earlier this year, with $25,000 in funding, we conducted a six-month pilot with 20 farmers in the Kisii Region of Kenya, and we accomplished the following:

- We set up a legal business in Kenya
- We fielded an effective on-the-ground team in Kenya
- We handled all logistics: farm > collection > transport to market > broker > buyer > customer
- We sold at market
- We developed and field-tested software to organize farmers, record crop collections as unique lots, and - track sales and payments through MPESA
- We garnered tremendous word-of-mouth interest among farmers (over 700 signups with no advertising)
- We gave farmers much needed higher prices (40% higher, if they can even sell at all)
- On average, each farmer netted an additional $60 per month

The Benefits

$60 a month makes a real difference to a small-holder farmer. Consider what he or she can buy with this extra money. For example, the farmer could pay the school fees for three students ($17 each per month) and buy health insurance ($5 per month). Keep in mind that this $60 is the sole monthly income for most of the farmers we serve!

Hear about the benefits directly from Rose Chepkomai, a Kenyan farmer who participated in last spring’s pilot program.

The Technology

During our first phase we developed and deployed the core farm.tillmobile.com platform to enable reliable farmer communication, manage crop collections, payments, and sales accurately and securely at scale. Our solution includes Till Mobile's patent pending conversational two-way SMS technology, integrated label printing, and automated mobile payments for farmers.

To support our next phase we are developing and launching a buyer facing portal to gather demand for our crops powering improved planning and forecasting.

Phase 2: expand the program from 20 to 240 farming groups 

The next step for Small Scale Farms is to grow from 20 farmers to 240. For a period of six months, we will use our four-ton refrigerated truck to capacity, six days/week. With the increased volume of food, we will command more power at the market in Nairobi and our farmers will earn more money.

We will also launch an on-line Small Scale Farms Marketplace, where customers (smaller local produce markets, small grocery stores, hotels, schools, commissaries, etc.) will be able to place orders directly. We will translate those demand signals into more efficient growing and crop collections, and by eliminating several layers of middlemen, we will achieve better prices for our top-grade, organic, local produce. That means more money for our Small Scale Famers!

In subsequent phases we aim to expand to thousands of farmers in Kenya, and beyond. We also plan to add features that will allow us to:

- Organize planting to better meet demand
- Provide location-specific agronomist advice
- Ability to share tractors and other equipment- 
- Provide time-sensitive weather alerts
- Generate big data analytics