Safaricom’s DigiFarm together with the Kenya Livestock Producers Association hosted an agribusiness trade fair and exhibition in Rachuonyo, Homabay County on Friday the 1st of March.
The event brought together the various stakeholders in the agri-business sector in the region. Small scale farmers were able to showcase their products and get equipped with knowledge and skills on farming to increase their produce. The farmers increased their networks by interacting with different exhibitors from diverse agricultural organizations.
Registered members of DigiFarm are able to get information on the best farming practices, access to affordable and quality input. So far, M-Agriculture has registered over 900,000 farmers across the country in various counties. In the event, more small scale farmers registered with DigiFarm so as to get access to information regarding best farming practices.
Safaricom’s DigiFarm is mainly looking to help small scale farmers garner more economic benefits from their produce by uplifting them from being basic subsistence farmers to profiting even better from their farms with the information. The small scale farmers should be able to record full economic benefits and make farming a profitable venture through Safaricom’s DigiFarm . If all goes well, these efforts to modernize agriculture should be able to make the country food secure by enabling farmers increase productivity through financial and market access support.
Through the DigiFarm, free-to-use mobile platform whose aim is to transform the lives of smallholder farmers by enriching them with information regarding farming. The platform has enabled smallholder farmers to have access to a suite of information and financial services including discounted products, customized information on farming best practices, and access to credit and other financial facilities. The farmers through the platform can buy farm products through M-PESA or on credit that is paid between 30 to 90 days from purchase date.
M-Agriculture product DigiFarm is an M-Agriculture product that was launched in 2017 in partnership with Safaricom as the technology partner. Other partners included iProcure to guarantee access to high quality inputs, Farm Drive to provide affordable credit and Arifu as a content partner. The information from the registered farmers has enabled the county and the National government to know how well to plan and allocate resources in the agricultural sector.
Since launch, DigiFarm has brought many farmers on their platform with now up to 62 depots established in eleven counties which include Bomet, Nyandarua, Nandi, Meru, Makueni, Kirinyaga, Uasin Gishu, Laikipia and Kericho among others. This will guarantee that the service physically reaches farmers.