Smallholder farmers who have been relying on ground marketing to sell their produce can now get to know who is buying, when and for how much by using iProcure, an online application.
The platform can be accessed by logging in online using the link https://iprocu.re/site/login.
iProcure is seeking to solve the post-harvest loss by optimizing the agriculture input supply chain in rural Kenya using its mobile technology and web solution which improves farm suppliers’ operations by allowing them to manage orders based on point of sale activities, client profiles and geo-located purchasing pattern thus enabling retailers to better predict demand with business intelligence, data, improve inventory management and streamline distribution efficiency.
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“The company has established a network with over 5,000 ‘agro-vets’, or agriculture retail shops that are commonly used to sell farming inputs but they also provide customers with real-time agent performance and transaction analysis, and built-in mobile payments solutions,” said Stefano Carcoforo, the co-founder.
According to 2012 research by the Kenya Network for Dissemination of Agricultural Technologies (KENDAT) in partnership with the International Forum for Rural Transport and Development (IFRTD) and TCP International GmbH, one of the serious threats to the farmers at the farm level, is the issue of transport and market challenges. Undeveloped and disorganized rural transport logistical system provides a major challenge for farmers to deliver produce to the market efficiently and cost effectively, while maintaining quality and standards.
Another 2013 research by Bernadette Nzioki of Kenyatta University revealed that horticultural farmers frequently consider marketing as being their major problem. However, while they are able to identify such problems as poor prices, lack of transport and high post-harvest losses, they are often poorly equipped to identify potential solutions.
Through its business intelligence and analytic platform it helps one know where their customers are by analyzing their market share and real-time critical sales data, growing sales and product performance, saving time and cost through. This is done by obtaining real market intelligence on what consumers are buying and giving the information needed to make informed decisions.