Last-mile wireless connected crop solution for smallholder farmers: Profitably connecting all the major players in the agriculture ecosystem in rural areas

Abstract

As the climate becomes increasingly volatile, global agriculture practices need to rely more on up-to date scientific knowledge to optimize agriculture practices. However, smallholder farmers, who provide 80% of the food supply in Asia and Africa are the most vulnerable, as access to information is most difficult for them. The connected crop solution for smallholder farmers provides personalized crop advices, optimum usage of fertilizers and pesticides at the right time, and the knowledge to apply those by connecting field agents, agro-input companies, and farmers, resulting in increased crop yield. The application on the mobile device provides personalized advisories with data on the Cloud and connects the producers to labs, agents, nutrient suppliers, insect control suppliers and others. A rule-based, contextual recommendation engine turns a generalist field agent into a knowledge worker. At the same time, the system drives a rigorous sales process for the agro-input companies through their field agent's mobile device, prompting the agent to gather information from the farmer and deliver advice to the farmer at critical points in the crop growth cycle. The solution addresses the needs of the three stakeholders in rural agriculture - field agent, agro-input company, and farmer, significantly improve agent productivity, product sales, and farmer crop yield respectively. A six-month field trial conducted by Accenture Technology Labs with a large agro input company in five districts of Karnataka, India, resulted in an average of 15% increase in crop yields, with improvements for some cash crops exceeding 30%. The field agent productivity also doubled during this period with a 56% y-o-y sales increase for the agro-input company.