COVID-19: Digital Advice for Farmers Through App
Intro
Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) improves food security in developing countries by using satellite data and making this information available to farmers via SMS and mobile applications. G4AW is implemented by several public private partnerships (PPPs). ICCO leads or takes parts in several of these PPPs throughout Asia among them SMARTseeds. Geodata for Agriculture and Water is a program funded by the Netherlands Space Office.
Country
Indonesia
Start project2016
Approach
As the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables is increasing, especially in urban areas in Indonesia, the government attempts to achieve food self-sufficiency through improved farming techniques, which increase their production and income. This opens opportunities for a local project which fits in the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW), using satellite data to improve food security in developing countries. Farmers receive information via SMS or mobile phone applications on sustainable farming techniques, how to reduce the number of pests and diseases, and info on daily market prices.
Geodata and soil information
Within the G4AW projects, SMARTseeds stands out as a service providing advice based on location-specific data. While there are currently over 30+ mobile apps on the market providing agriculture advice, none provide services based on a specific farm location. SMARTseeds is able to do this through the use of geodata and soil information collected from the field.
It provides three information services:
- Weather and climate forecasts via SMS, Mobile App, and Whatsapp Chatbot – information about weather and climate forecasts from reliable resources
- Location-specific agricultural practices advice via SMS, Mobile App and Whatsapp Chatbot – location-specific recommendations for farming practices: irrigation, fertilizer application, crop selection
- Market information via SMS and mobile app – daily info on vegetable prices and online platform that connects farmers with vegetable buyers
Results
Vegetable Seed Company PT East West Seed Indonesia (EWINDO) and SMARTseeds together introduced the mobile application ‘Sipindo’, which includes features such as weather and climate forecasts with a spatial resolution of up to 5 km, location-specific irrigation advice, GAP and pest and disease digital guides. It also contains recommendations for soil nutrient content based on lab test results, fertilizer recommendations, and a guide for farmers which enables them to select the crops that are most suitable for their soil conditions. What makes these features more unique is that the information is location-based (location-specific data).
SUCCESS OF THE SMARTSEEDS INFORMATION SERVICES
Since the launch of SIPINDO powered by SMARTseeds in 2018, the app has reached more than 92,000 farmers in Indonesia. The demo plots and the endline survey results showed that the project managed to support farmers increase their productivity by 22% exceeding that target project of 10%. and increase the usage of seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, and water by 15-19%. As of July 2021, the Sipindo app has been downloaded by 92,000 users. SMARTseeds intends to reach 100,000 farmers -of whom at least 30% are female by the end of 2021.
More information: www.sipindo.id
Public Private Partnership
SMARTseeds is one of the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) projects funded by the Netherlands Space Office. This program is a Public Private Partnerships (PPP) involving 6 public and private partners from Indonesia and the Netherlands: ICCO Cooperation, EWINDO, Nelen & Schuurman, University of Twente (ITC), Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB), and Akvo.
After the project ends in 2020, the SIPINDO powered by SMARTseeds app service is currently owned and operated by SIPINDO social enterprise, which is a joint venture Dutch and Indonesian partners which are East West Seed Indonesia, ICCO Cooperation, Nelen and Schuurmans, and IPB University. The services can easily be extended for other types of crops and/or implemented to other regions in Southeast Asia.
Highlights
Downloads Sipindo app (July 2021)
92,000 users
Farmers trained
14,000 farmers
Increased Productivity
22%
Increased Efficiency of Seeds & Fertilizers Usage
9%
Increased Efficiency of Water Usage
14%
Increased Efficiency of Pesticide Usage
15%