Traditional farming practices have always been a favourite method of choice in Mzansi. It has stood the test of time. But if there are a few things that we can learn about the 21st century, it is that technology is increasingly becoming an inevitable part of our lives, and in farming, agritech can make the lives of farmers much easier.
The CEO and co-founder of Abelusi, Samkelo Booi, shares his expertise about what to consider when thinking of investing in agritech.
When it comes to the business module for small-scale and commercialising farmers, various platforms require certain investment financially. Booi explains that is essential to look out for applications or platforms that will make your journey easier.
He advises to look for the following:
- An app that does a form of record keeping, to keep everything under one system.
- One that can monitor trends, where it is different for today versus tomorrow.
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems as well as SAP that has solutions in intelligent agriculture. This is more advantageous for commercial farmers or organisations.
- Systems to inform farmers and even make recommendations, that integrate into the ERP system.
If we look at our counterpart countries such as Kenya, Tanzania and Nigeria, Mzansi has a lot of work to do to find solutions that focus on agritech inclusivity, Booi explains.
“We can say when you look at agritech and South Africa versus the whole continent, we have some room for improvement. When I look at the commercial side of things, we are quite matured in identifying the technologies that need to be used by farmers,” says Booi.
What to include in your operations
Booi encourages farmers to look at three various themes that impact farming operations such as precision agriculture, farming resilience, and systems and platforms.
Precision agriculture: It entails the usage of data to derive decision making, which inevitably impacts how farmers can become more productive and efficient within their farming operations.
Farming resilience: Mzansi has seen an example of labour constraints during the pandemic. A lot of farmers, especially commercialised farmers, are looking into how to automate certain processes so that devices do certain tasks. This opens a digital market that can only grow sustainably.
Systems or platforms: Helps to embed certain farming processes within the system. So, for example when farmers use certain platforms or systems that will help to work more responsibly. As well as a platform for decision making which is more guiding you and being able to operate in a manner that is more sustainable in the long run.
Four agritech companies to keep an eye on
Booi recommends Abelusi, Khula, Hello Choice and the Awareness Company for an exploration phase before making any decisions on the kind of technology that you want to invest in.
Abelusi provides the first community-based livestock management and market place tailored to mitigate smallholder farmer challenges and a platform that seeks to build consumer trust.
Khula tools and platforms to support and grow your business in the agriculture supply chain. Khula also has its own app that can be used on mobile devices. Find link here: https://youtu.be/6U8JT-J0O5A
Hello Choice is the agricultural marketplace to be. This platform connects sellers to buyers and vice versa. But not just that the platform has a variety of product choice and access that comes with reliability and assurance.
The Awareness Company uses data to tell stories about what matters to people. This company has an app called Hydra which gives you total awareness by being completely agnostic of data, sensors, systems, or connectivity. This means the solution is flexible and adaptable to all your challenges.
Investing in agritech
There is no question about how expensive investments are especially long-term ones. Agritech is no exception to the rule, but it’s important to critically understand the type of technology a farmer desires for the development of their business.
“Farmers need to understand it is an investment. It is not something you will be able to see immediately. It requires you to critically understand that it will improve the efficiency of productivity. But it may not yield a return in a short period, says” Booi.
Booi encourages farmers to take a leap of faith. It is a bumpy road for every farmer, but the future is agritech.
He gives the following tips:
- Identify which platforms requires subscription and functionality after purchase.
- Look at the type of technology for example such as robotics, and water sensor technologies and confirm whether it can work on farmland that has no internet.
- Automation is not always relevant for small-scale farmers, but finding a commercial partner would work.
- Do research and look at the complexity and the training that is required to kick start.
Booi encourages critical thinking and adds that there is no doubt that farmers should adopt the technology suitable for their farming practices. This can only lead to more productivity and sustainable farming practices.
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