Towards economic, nutritional, and environmental sustainability for small-scale farming businesses using a mobile-powered impact dashboard

Abstract

Decentralized cold storage systems in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) often lack data-driven insights for monitoring key performance indicators such as food loss, revenue, and environmental impact. Our project, Your Virtual Cold Chain Assistant, aims to fill this gap through an innovative impact dashboard integrated within our open-access mobile app called Coldtivate. This tool leverages data from smallholder farmers and real-time crate movements within our cold storage facilities to provide actionable insights. It enables a comprehensive assessment and visualization of food loss evolution, revenue generation for cooling service providers, and CO₂ emissions reduction compared to ambient storage benchmarks. By utilizing advanced technology and data analytics, our initiative enhances resource allocation, profitability, and customer experience while promoting sustainable practices in the fresh produce value chain. Furthermore, with the integration of the CO₂ impact metrics pipeline, our dashboard combines user data with benchmarks from the Ecoinvent database to calculate CO₂ emissions from cold storage versus ambient storage. This approach represents a shift in fresh produce supply chain management, enhancing decision-making for farmers, cooling service providers, and policymakers. By leveraging advanced technology and data analytics, our initiative contributes to favorable social, economic, and environmental outcomes for current and future generations, marking a significant step in advancing sustainable food systems.