Providing a marketplace to famers.

Providing a Digital Hybrid-Marketplace platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders.

The specific problem that the project is trying to solve is to create a digital hybrid market platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry.

The problem that this platform aims to solve is the lack of direct connection and transparency between farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry, which can lead to inefficiencies, lack of trust, and difficulties for farmers to sell their products. The proposed solution is to create a digital platform that connects farmers with consumers and other stakeholders, such as distributors and retailers, in a more efficient and transparent way. This platform can also help in reducing intermediaries, increase the profit margin for farmers, and help consumers to have access to fresh and organic products.

Agromindz came up with a solution to implement a project on Covid Recovery. Profit from insights collected from stakeholders and project staff and help to design a technical solution for specific real-life problems of Gambian farmers.

Rural horticultural farmers need a way to reach potential customers as they currently lack access to market information, limiting their sales and productivity. At the same time, buyers (hotels, hospitals, etc.) need a new way to source qualitative and affordable horticultural produce because they currently cannot get enough domestic supplies.

The government of The Gambia needs a sustainable way to collect horticultural data (production & prices) for planning and policy because their current approach of collecting data through extension workers is under-collecting and too costly.

We used power apps to build the application since it is a cloud base application. Access to the application can be anywhere so you are connected to the internet.

The solution serves farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry. Providing a digital hybrid market platform will make it easier for farmers to connect with consumers and other stakeholders, such as distributors and retailers. This will likely have a number of positive impacts on their lives, including:

• Making it easier for farmers to sell their products directly to consumers, which could increase their income
• Making it easier for consumers to access fresh, locally-sourced produce
• Improving transparency and traceability in the food supply chain could increase trust in the system
• Facilitating communication and collaboration between farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders could lead to more sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.

It will also help in reducing intermediaries and increase the profit margin for farmers and also help consumers to have access to fresh and organic products.

I and the team went for 15 days of data collection in a rural area to understand the needs of the farmers and how this solution may impact their life. 

Ebrima Konteh(Team Leader) is a google certified in digital marketing and e-commerce. 

I and my teammates are well-experience developers. From data analytics, Front-end developers, and back-end developers.

We identified all the key stakeholders who are affected by the solution including farmers, consumers, distributors, and retailers.

We understand the pain points of the stakeholders by studying the current challenges faced by them. 

• For farmers, some of the pain points include difficulties in finding buyers for their products, low-profit margins, and lack of access to information about market trends and consumer preferences. This platform will connect them directly with consumers and other stakeholders, farmers will have a more efficient way of selling their products and potentially increase their income.
• Consumers face challenges such as limited access to fresh, locally-sourced produce, lack of transparency in the food supply chain, and difficulties in finding information about the origin and quality of the products they are buying. This platform can provide a solution for these pain points by connecting them directly with farmers, providing them with access to fresh, locally-sourced produce, and increasing transparency and traceability in the food supply chain.
• Distributors and retailers face challenges such as a lack of access to reliable suppliers, difficulties in tracking the origin and quality of products, and difficulties in forecasting demand. By connecting them directly with farmers through the platform, they will have a more efficient way of sourcing products and will have access to more information about the origin and quality of the products they are buying.
• The platform also helps to improve collaboration and communication between all stakeholders, which can lead to more sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.

A digital hybrid market platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry. Our solution is innovative because of the following reasons:

1. Direct connection: The platform creates a direct connection between farmers and consumers, which can increase efficiency and transparency in the food supply chain. This will lead to a more sustainable and efficient agricultural industry, by reducing intermediaries and increasing the profit margins for farmers.

2. Traceability: By providing traceability of products, the platform will increase transparency and trust in the food supply chain. Consumers can easily access information about the origin and quality of the products they are buying, and farmers can more easily prove the authenticity of their products.

3. Locally sourced produce: The platform will make it easier for consumers to access fresh, locally-sourced produce, which will increase the availability of healthy food options and support local farmers.

4. Customizable: The platform will be customized based on the specific needs of the target population, which will increase its effectiveness and adoption.

5. Data-driven: By using data gathered from the platform, farmers and other stakeholders will make more informed decisions about production, pricing, and distribution, which will increase efficiency and profitability.

6. Multi-stakeholder: The platform connects not only farmers and consumers but also other stakeholders such as distributors and retailers, which will lead to more efficient and effective supply chain management.

7. Accessible: The platform will be accessible via various devices and platforms, which will increase its reach and adoption.

Overall, the solution is innovative because it addresses specific pain points and challenges faced by farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry, using technology to create a more efficient, transparent, and sustainable food supply chain.

The impact goals for next year are:

1. Increase in direct sales for farmers: By connecting farmers directly with consumers, the platform will help to increase the number of sales for farmers and potentially increase their income.

2. Increase in the availability of fresh, locally-sourced produce: By making it easier for consumers to access fresh, locally-sourced produce, the platform will help to increase the availability of healthy food options and support local farmers.

3. Increase in transparency and traceability in the food supply chain: By providing traceability of products, the platform will help to increase transparency and trust in the food supply chain.

4. Increase in collaboration and communication between stakeholders: By connecting farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders through the platform, the platform will help to improve collaboration and communication, which will lead to more sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.

5. Increase in the number of registered farmers, consumers, and stakeholders: By providing an easy-to-use platform, the solution will increase the number of registered farmers, consumers, and stakeholders on the platform.

To achieve these goals, the solution will be implemented in several ways, such as:

1. Marketing and promotion: By promoting the platform to farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders, the platform will increase awareness and adoption of the platform.

2. User-centered design: By involving farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders in the development process, the platform will be more likely to meet their needs and be adopted by them.

3. Data-driven decision-making: By using data gathered from the platform, farmers and other stakeholders can make more informed decisions about production, pricing, and distribution, which will increase efficiency and profitability.

4. Continuously gathering feedback: Once the solution is deployed, continuously gather feedback from the users and adapt the solution accordingly.

5. User-friendly interface: By providing an easy-to-use interface for the platform, the solution will increase the number of registered farmers, consumers, and stakeholders on the platform.

PowerApps is a low-code platform that allows users to create custom business applications that can run on the web or mobile devices. It is part of the Microsoft Power Platform, which also includes Power BI for data visualization and Power Automate for automation. The core technology of PowerApps that powers a digital hybrid market platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry can include several different components, such as:

1. User interface: PowerApps allows users to create custom user interfaces using a drag-and-drop interface, which can be tailored to the specific needs of the platform.

2. Data connectors: PowerApps has a variety of built-in connectors to various data sources, such as SharePoint, Excel, SQL Server, and more, which can be used to connect the platform to data sources and retrieve or update data.

3. Business logic: PowerApps allows users to add custom business logic to the platform using formulas, which can be used to perform calculations, validation, and more.

4. Integration: PowerApps allows for easy integration with other Microsoft services, such as Office 365 and Dynamics 365, as well as other third-party services, such as Salesforce and Google Drive.

5. Mobile-friendly: PowerApps is mobile-friendly and allows users to create mobile-optimized apps that can run on iOS, Android, and Windows devices.

6. Low-code: PowerApps is a low-code platform which means that it allows users to create apps without writing a lot of code and it's a faster way to create a solution.

Overall, the core technology of PowerApps provides a flexible and powerful toolset for creating a digital hybrid market platform that can be customized to meet the specific needs of farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders in the agricultural industry.

The current number of people we are serving is 100.

The number of people we are targeting next year is 1000.

There are several barriers that may exist that could prevent the goals of a digital hybrid market platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry from being accomplished:

1. Adoption: One of the biggest barriers to achieving the goals of the platform is getting farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders to adopt and use the platform. This is due to a lack of awareness of the platform, lack of trust in the platform, or resistance to change.

2. Funding: Developing and maintaining the platform will be costly, and the platform may require ongoing funding to support its continued operation.

3. Connectivity: Farmers and other stakeholders in rural areas may not have access to reliable internet connectivity which will prevent them from using the platform.

4. Limited technical skills: Some farmers and other stakeholders may not have the technical skills required to use the platform which may prevent them from using it.

5. Lack of standardization: Lack of standardization in the agricultural industry may prevent the platform from being adopted by all stakeholders.

None.

Our business model is a subscription base model.

subscription-based model, farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders would pay a recurring fee, typically monthly or annual, to access the platform and its features. This could include access to a marketplace for buying and selling products, access to data and analytics, and access to other value-added services.

The path to financial sustainability for a digital hybrid market platform for farmers, consumers, and stakeholders in the agricultural industry includes:

1. Diversifying revenue streams: By having multiple revenue streams, such as subscriptions, commissions, advertising, and sponsorships, the platform will reduce its reliance on any single source of income and increase its overall revenue potential.

2. Building a large user base: By growing the number of farmers, consumers, and other stakeholders using the platform, the platform will increase its revenue potential through subscriptions, commissions, and advertising.

3. Adding value-added services: By offering additional services such as data analytics, consulting, or training, the platform will increase revenue by charging for these services.

4. Cost control: By controlling costs and minimizing expenses, the platform will increase its profitability and financial sustainability.

5. Continuously improving the platform: By continuously improving the platform, the platform will attract more users, increase revenue, and increase the loyalty of existing users.

6. Continuously gathering feedback: By continuously gathering feedback from users, the platform will improve its services and increase its revenue potential.

7. Continuously researching the market: By continuously researching the market, the platform will identify new revenue streams and opportunities to increase revenue.

8. Continuously innovating: By continuously innovating, the platform will attract more users and increase its revenue potential.