MOBILE AND WEB BASED APPLICATIONS IN

AN EXPLORATORY MAPPING OF THE USAGE OF MOBILE AND WEB APPLICATIONS IN THE HORTICULTURE SECTOR

Report prepared for HortImpact By Victor Esendi (AgriProFocus Kenya) Jackline Matte (Consultant) Acknowledgement With funding from The Netherlands Embassy in Nairobi, the Kenya Market-led Horticulture Programme (HortIMPACT), commissioned AgriProFocus Kenya to carry out a scoping study on usage of mobile and web based applications in horticulture sector in Kenya.

Disclaimer This report does not in any way represent the official policy/views of The Netherlands Embassy, SNV or AgriProFocus. Readers are responsible for assessing the relevance and accuracy of the content of this report. The authors will not be liable for any loss, damage, cost or expense incurred or arising because of any person using or relying on information in this report. CONTENTS

SUMMARY 1

ABBREVIATIONS 3

1. INTRODUCTION 4

1.1. Background 4

1.2. Purpose of this study 6

1.3. Specific objectives 6

1.4. Justification of this study 6

2. LITERATURE REVIEW 8

2.1 The Changing market landscape in agriculture 8

2.2 Use of Mobile technology in Horticulture 8

3. AGRICULTURE MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA 12

3.1 Mobile applications usage in Kenya 12

3.3. Industry trends and case examples of mobile and web based application applications in the agriculture sector 15

3.4 Mobile Applications in and Africa 23

3.5 Geo Data for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) 25

3.6 Challenges facing use of Mobile applications in the horticultural subsector 27

3.7 Business model of mobile applications 28

4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29

4.1 Conclusion 29

4.2 Recommendations 30

Appendix 1: Interview guide for mobile application developers and owners 32

Appendix 2: Interviews 33 SUMMARY

This report is a result of study commissioned by the Kenya Market Led Horticulture Programme (HortImpact) to provide insights into current practices and expected developments in the use of mobile applications in horticulture production by small- holder commercial farmers. The study specifically sought to: i. Provide an overview of available apps in the market and challenges farmers face that could best be addressed through apps. ii. Provide insights regarding the availability and success of apps that support farmers in Kenya. iii. Get in-depth insights to be able to advice HortIMPACT on follow up activities. Findings from this study reveal the use of mobile applications has made services more available to mobile phone users in all sectors. The use of mobile applications in the horticulture sector is, however, not very popular as in other sectors primarily because: First, information in the applications used in this sector are not specialized and do not target users with specific demands. Second, there is a general shortage of market research and piloting in the process of developing mobile application technologies in the horticultural sector. Most developers often develop applications and make assumptions that the content of the applications will enable them gain market penetration and thus achieve success. Third, most applications (example is M-Farm, KACE, uLima among others) come with the promise of information provision for farmers but do not bear in mind that farmers have their own preferences and use other sources of information such radio. Information on prices contained in applications is in most cases average pricing or estimations from region to region collected directly from the market from time to time. Findings in this study just like previous studies are inconclusive on what makes mobile applications successful. Evidence from this study however bring to fore key issues to consider when developing a mobile application. First, there is need to meet user needs such as low or no cost of usage, enable Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customers (B2C) market connection and is easy to use. Second, before developing an application, it has to have a clear business model; a good example is e-Prod where users have to pay for the system therefore generates revenue to sustain itself. From the review and interviews, most farmers do not use mobile applications due to reasons that range from lack of awareness and training to the structuring of the applications. There are many applications that target only specific segments of the market thus remain largely vague to the rest of the value chain. For instance, merely providing market information does not guarantee farmers will benefit from an application. While the use of mobile applications and application of technology will definitely improve the quality of horticultural produce, there’s a need to properly educate rural farmers on usage and importance of such applications before deployment. We recommend targeted and thoroughly researched application development to ensure that the applications developed meet local demands and needs.

1 For application to be successful there has to be a clear demonstration of the gap the mobile application seeks to fill and what the business model for the application is. Evidence from this study shows that with pull out of donor money most applications also cease to operate for example M-Farm and KACE. So from the onset, a business case has to be developed to allow the application to be self sustaining beyond the initial donor funding. With this in mind, it is also important to test the application before deployment; this means the development of this application has to be undertaken in the field/local context. From the findings in this review we recommend embedding the farmer/business interface, so that where farmers are not able to pay, businesses can cover the costs since it makes it easier for them to trade with the farmers hence has a business case for them. Before investing in any mobile application, there is a need for research that compares the utility of different delivery channels. For example within m-service (is voice, SMS or app most appropriate) and between different types of channels (for example radio, TV or face-to-face contact). This can help contextualise farmer’s needs, therefore, design an intervention that suites different unique circumstances of farmers. Baseline studies prior to developing and launching an application, including both surveys and other numerical measurements gathered by independent data collectors, is needed to better understand changes over time.

2 ABBREVIATIONS

AFA: Agriculture and Food Authority

B2B: Business to Business

B2C: Business to Customers

CROPMON: Crop Monitoring Service

ERP: Enterprise Resource Planning

GDP: Gross Domestic Product

G4AW: Geo Data for Agriculture and Water

FAO: United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation

HCD: Horticultural Crops Directorate

HortIMPACT: Kenya Market Led Horticulture Programme

ICT4D: Information Communication Technology for Development

NaHMIS: National Horticultural Market Information System

MIS: Market Information System

KACE: Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange

3 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Background The agriculture sector is the mainstay of Kenya’s economy contributing 29.3 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounting for 80 percent of national employment. According to the Kenya Economic Survey 2016, the leading subsectors in 2016 were Dairy, Tea and Horticulture, in that order. The domestic value of horticulture production in 2016 amounted to Ksh216.37 Billion which was a 4 percent increase compared to 207.73 Billion in 2015. Over the same period, cultivated area increased by 5 percent from 588,411 Ha to 619,114 Ha with a total production of 8.127 Million Tons in 2016 compared to 7.983 million tons in 2015. This was a 2 percent drop in production that was attributed to prolonged drought1. For the horticulture sector to be successful and grow, an efficient Market Information System (MIS) is essential. This system should allow free flow of information across the marketing chain. This can help to enhance transparency, competitiveness and equitable sharing of benefits among key players in the marketing system. Despite the potential MIS offers FAO2 notes that studies on potential benefits of MIS have not always reached definitive conclusions on the impact of such interventions. Other studies suggest that Market Information System or Services (MIS) can increase competitiveness, reduce information asymmetries and improve market efficiency3. MIS has developed rapidly in Kenya due to the growth in mobile phone technologies and expanding mobile penetration, which currently stands at 88 percent4. These technologies have become the most common way of transmitting voice, data and services. With the technological advancement mobile applications (apps) hold the promise of increasing access to information, markets, finance and contributing to improving governance within the agriculture sector5. Despite advancement in technology and increased use of mobile applications in various sectors, the agriculture sector has seen a considerably slow usage of applications as compared to other sectors such as the banking and insurance industries6. Studies show that this trend could be easily attributed to the nature and lifestyle of farmers and other value chain actors7. While other sectors primarily target dwellers of urban areas that have access to information and can easily be targeted by information on application usage, farmers in rural areas rely primarily on traditional modes of communication and do not often see the need to use applications or even android applications in their day to day8.

1 Agriculture and Food Authority (2017). Horticulture Validated report 2015-2016 2 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7151e.pdf 3 Baumüller, Heike (2015). Assessing the Role of Mobile Phones in Offering Price Information and Market Linkages: The Case of M-Farm in Kenya. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries 4 http://www.ca.go.ke/index.php/what-we-do/94-news/366-kenya-s-mobile-penetration-hits-88-per-cent 5 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INFORMATIONANDCOMMUNICATIONANDTECHNOLOGIES/Resources/ Mobile_Applications_for_ARDv8.pdf 6 Ibid P.3 7 https://qz.com/603214/i-built-a-mobile-app-to-help-africas-farmers-but-our-countries-infrastructure- must-work-too/ 8 Maritz, J., (2011). How mobile phones are transforming African agriculture. Retrieved from http://www. howwemadeitinafrica.com/how-mobile-phones-are-transforming-african-agriculture/8704/on 11/7/2014

4 In Kenya, there are various market information service providers in the agriculture sector that help farmers get information on sector-related areas. Many sector wide interventions to increase market information have been put in place. The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) through the Horticultural Crops Directorate (HCD) built a National Horticultural Market Information System, (NaHMIS). The NaHMIS strategy envisions the platform as the primary driver of the horticultural sector in Kenya. Despite the platform going live, an attempt to filter and get information reveals there is no data to display.

In her article9 Jamilla Abbas (former CEO of M-Farm) notes “endless possibilities 10 of ICT4D if well applied and combined with broader solutions to improve lives of smallholder farmers”. Even with this assertion, there is growing evidence that one of the primary challenges that farmers face in Kenya is access to adequate information. Information available is often scanty and does not target the entire value chain. As such, most farmers do not see the need to install applications that only serve them during a specific period of planting season or does not have comprehensive information on particular crops11. This challenge has led to most farmers to rely primarily on information from extension officers, fellow farmers,adio r and the internet. This assertion is amplified in a blog by Lesley Denyes12 “We began with a premise: Mobile phones could help bridge the gap between the information farmers need to increase productivity and reliable sources for that information. But despite widespread usage and network connections, especially in rural areas, we discovered that mobile phones are not a panacea”. The view about is supported by this quote “My work with M-Farm has taught me about the potential and limitations of such technologies. The technologies work as a vehicle to make smallholder farmers’ lives better, but they only work when we have functional markets and minimal bottlenecks” Jamilla Abbas13 Therefore it is necessary to pose the question, why is there so much optimism and pessimism about the role and impact of mobile applications in agriculture?

9 https://qz.com/603214/i-built-a-mobile-app-to-help-africas-farmers-but-our-countries-infrastructure- must-work-too/ 10 ICT4D – Information Communication Technology for Development 11 Nyaga, E.K. (2012). Is ICT in Agricultural Extension Feasible in Enhancing Marketing of Agricultural Produce in Kenya: A 12 Case of Kiambu District. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 51 (2012), No. 3: 245-256 13 http://www.cgap.org/blog/how-do-smallholder-farmers-access-information 14 https://qz.com/603214/i-built-a-mobile-app-to-help-africas-farmers-but-our-countries-infrastructure- must-work-too/ 5 1.2. Purpose of this study The purpose of this study is to provide insights into the current practices and expected developments in the use of mobile applications in horticulture production by small-holder commercial farmers. The study was commissioned by the Kenya Market Led Horticulture Programme (HortIMPACT)14.

1.3. Specific objectives i. Provide an overview of available apps n the market and challenges farmers face that could best be addressed through apps. ii. Provide insights regarding the availability and success of apps that support farmers in Kenya. iii. Get in-depth insights to be able to advice HortIMPACT on follow up activities regarding mobile applications.

1.4. Justification of this study Mobile phone technology has advanced significantly in virtually all areas of our lives and has greatly enhanced service delivery in various sectors of the Kenyan economy. Mobile technology, with a specific focus on the use of mobile applications, has been suggested to improve agricultural productivity in Kenya significantly. This improvement will mainly occur in areas such as access to required information (crop production, farm management), availability of resources, financing, or market access15. The improvement is attributed to the benefit that comes with the use of such applications in facilitating communication between parties, reducing the response time to farmers and clients and enabling farmers of various agricultural produce to get personalized information16. The need for information is further emphasised by Lesley Denyes “To help them (farmers) make the most of their harvests, smallholder farmers need access to a range of information that can help them decide when best to buy inputs or sell their yields, saving them time and money; plan for weather changes that can help them capitalize on rainfall or protect plants against frost; pick the best-yielding seed varieties; and distinguish between disease and pests and respond appropriately”17. Mobile phone technology has been used by many players in the agricultural sector around the world to achieve various objectives that include marketing, pass information to farmers, farm management, and traceability. The horticultural sector in Kenya has also had a significant paradigm shift in technology usage, and as a result, there exist in the market some mobile applications (as will later be seen in the

14 http://www.snv.org/project/hortimpact 15 Edda Tandi Lwoga, Christine Stilwell, Patrick Ngulube, (2011) “Access and use of agricultural information and knowledge in Tanzania”, Library Review, Vol. 60 Issue: 5,pp.383-395, https://doi.org/10.1108/00242531111135263 16 Mittal, S. and Tripathi, G. (2009). Role of mobile phone technology in improving small farm productivity. Agricultural Economics Research Review Vol. 22 (Conference Number) 2009 pp 451-459. 17 Op.cit.

6 report) employed for various functions within the value chain. Most applications present in the horticulture industry focus on the market place and thus skew their primary functions to the selling of the products18. According to Nyaga (2012)19, as a result of this skew farmers lack sufficient information in other stages of production as they have to solely rely on the traditional methods of information access or the limited numbers of applications available which do not comprehensively address market needs. Nyaga further explains that there are many challenges farmers face that can easily be addressed if presented through mobile applications. These challenges include, but are not limited to information on weather patterns and trends, access to crop specific information, farm management, market access, and a portal for famers to share learnings and experiences.

18 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/257994-1351111689757/Africa- Can-Feed-Africa-Part03.pdf 19 Nyaga, E.K. (2012). Is ICT in Agricultural Extension Feasible in Enhancing Marketing of Agricultural Produce in Kenya: A Case of Kiambu District. Quarterly Journal of International Agriculture 51 (2012), No. 3: 245-256.

7 2. LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 The Changing market landscape in agriculture Over the decades, landscape has changed considerably, and innovations that impact seriously on policies, commodity value chains and market access have risen. This study analyzes innovation in mobile technologies for agriculture and provides an in-depth understanding of drivers and constraints of innovation within agribusiness interactions, particularly in Kenya. According to AgriFin mobile study by Mercy Corps, access to mobile phones is growing dramatically in rural areas of developing countries, providing a powerful channel of communication and the ability to link excluded rural communities to up-to-date information20. Kenya having one of the best mobile phone network penetrations in the world at 88 percent21, the reach to the rural communities is greater, as a result, their access to up-to-date information in agriculture is higher than in the neighbouring countries. Kenya is widely seen as a frontrunner in the development of m-services (applications) in Sub-Saharan Africa22 resulting from growing demand for applications in various sectors. The growing customer base provides a promising market for m-service and application developers. Through mobile payment services such as M-Pesa, many Kenyans are already familiar with the use of their mobile phone for non-call related activities. A range of m-services is available for Kenyan farmers. However, the reach and scale of these services are still limited despite the conducive environment and their impacts have not been assessed . Several factors have made mobile innovations through what has been termed as m-services successful; • Support from the government- the government has actively supported the ICT sector as one of the key drivers of economic growth. • The growth of local innovation environment including the establishment of innovation labs such as iHub and Nailab. • There is a growing pool of human resources in the technology sector. • Increasing access to financial resources from non-traditional financial sources such angel investors. • Improved infrastructure and well connected customer base means ready market for mobile technologies and innovations.

2.2 Use of Mobile technology in Horticulture The horticulture sector, despite being one of the most important in Kenya, has largely remained behind in technology use specifically the use of mobile applications. Where some technologies have been used, results have been inconclusive on the impact

20 https://www.mercycorps.org/research-resources/agri-fin-mobile 21 Op.cit 22 Maritz, J., (2011). How mobile phones are transforming African agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/how-mobile-phones-are-transforming-african- agriculture/8704/on 11/7/2014 23 Heike Baumüller (2015); Agricultural Innovation and Service Delivery through Mobile Phones: Analyses in Kenya (Paper Here) 24 https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/icts/news/evidence-patchy-on-value-of-mobile- apps-for-farmers-1.html 8 of the applications24. Some, such as M-Farm and KACE, have gone out of operation despite being termed as models for bridging information gap, as will be explained later in this report. M-farm’s failure is largely attributed to implementation and usage technicalities such as the inability of rural farmers to access and (, or) properly use mobile phones. KACE, on the other hand, ran out of funding from donors and as a result, was closed down. A World Bank report notes that mobile applications need to meet the needs of farmers and value chain actors by ensuring; better access to information, better access to extension services, better market links and distribution networks and better access to finance25.

Source: World Bank 201226 This report further notes that current state of information systems are based on need assumptions and previously researched needs that may at times be obsolete. In her work, Heike27 notes that the failure to look into the context in which farmers use these services may result in their underutilization. She further notes that if developers don’t understand how a service fits into farmers’ lives, it can easily happen that these services aren’t effective. Mobile technology creates a platform that, if properly used, can reach out to both sector specific audience and the masses. However for mobile apps to be effective, there is need for tailored and localized information that meets farmers’ and other value chain actors’ needs28.

25 World Bank (2012); Mobile applications for agriculture 26 Ibid 27 Op.cit 28 FAO. 2013. ICT uses for inclusive agricultural value chains. Rome (Here)

9 Several innovations have come up in Kenya all with the goal of supporting farmers and other value chain actors through mobile technologies mainly by use of mobile applications and most recently the use of satellite data to provide geo-data for agriculture and water29. Rapid evolution and uptake of digital technologies have been hailed as the ‘fourth industrial revolution’, which is characterised by ‘a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital, and biological spheres30. There is a belief that digital technologies hold the promise for agricultural transformation in many developing countries. However, the results from studies have been inconclusive on the impact of these technologies. In an article by Inge Vesper31, a comment by Michael Kende is cited: “It is hard to put a finger on what makes an app successful. But I think that it has to be designed and tested in the local context, using local networks to make sure it is relevant and that it works.” In Kenya, farmers are often in need of information about their crops. In most instances, agricultural officers from the Ministry of Agriculture and (or) private organizations offer the required information directly to farmers through extension services by visiting farmers or organizing forums such as workshops and field days. With limited availability of the extension officers due to government funding reduction, farmers are not able to get the required information at the right time. This has led to the need for alternative ways of delivering extension and other information to farmers. Such alternative means including the use of mobile telephones through text messages, mobile applications among others.

29 https://g4aw.spaceoffice.nl/en/ 30 Schwab K. 2016. The fourth industrial revolution: what it means and how to respond. World Economic Forum. http://www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/01/the-fourth- industrialrevolution-what-it-means-and-how-to-respond. 31 https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/icts/news/evidence-patchy-on-value-of-mobile- apps-for-farmers-1.html

10 Case study: Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE) KACE was an ICT platform used extensively in Kenya since 1997, KACE provided daily market information on 20 commodity prices, facilitated offers and bids to match farm outputs with demand from wholesalers, and facilitated links between farmers and buyers (for example contract negotiations and transport for commodities). KACE organized market research centers that collected and monitored local market data daily, reported information to radio stations on bid/ask prices, and provided farmers with market links, pick-up and delivery transportation, and training in Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Report by World Bank (2012)32, noted that KACE required 40 percent donor funding in stage 1 but had a clear business plan that required spending much more on marketing and investing in the development of an enhanced platform, neither of which was possible under donor funding. With the promise of profitability within two years, the business plan was targeted at securing private debt and equity. Despite this assertion, KACE has since gone out of operation due to pull out of donor funding as the income from the messaging system from farmers was not sustainable for its operation33. The KACE case is a good example of the instability of commodity exchange platforms, applications or market information systems have. In most cases, these are funded by donor money hence most go out of operation after withdrawal of funding. Without a clear business model, such innovations only survive until donors pull out. In a doctoral dissertation Heike notes, the use of mobile phones in agricultural service delivery is still at an early stage, and most of the services have yet to reach scale and long-term financial sustainability34.

32 Op.cit 33 http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTAFRICA/Resources/257994-1351111689757/Africa- Can-Feed-Africa-Part03.pdf 34 Heike Baumüller (2015); Agricultural Innovation and Service Delivery through Mobile Phones: Analyses in Kenya (Paper Here)

11 3. AGRICULTURE MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT IN KENYA 3.1 Mobile applications usage in Kenya The development of mobile applications in the horticulture industry is primarily done by private developers mostly with initial funding from development funding through grants for example uLima and M-Farm. Application development is majorly unstructured and dominated by individual players and small organizations. Majority of these developers operate on a need basis and create applications upon request by individual developers (examples of application developers are given later in this chapter). Applications used in horticulture come in two main forms: as in house development by players in the sector, and as independent contracted software developers.

Incentro Africa (Mobile Application developers) Incentro Africa is part of Incentro a Netherlands based software development firm. Incentro Africa based in Nairobi, serves the wider African market. Incentro’s approach is a combination of (big) data, marketing, and digital design. The primary focus of Incentro is to develop mobile applications (both android and iOS) for clients across various industries and market. The company provides both front end and back end support. The developer develops applications and software solutions that make a difference by partnering with stakeholders who know the problems and required solutions. In an interview with Dennis de Weerd (CEO, Incentro Africa), emphasizes that they “only build solutions in cooperation with market partners”. This allows the development of applications that have the potential for revenue. In relation to existing applications in the market, Dennis notes that most agricultural applications fail because of lack of potential user consultation, in addition, there is a variation on the type of systems that need to be built (complete versus point specific systems). In cases where there are complete systems, such systems take too long to develop, and all functionalities end up not being used. Filtering down to many parameters can potentially be challenging. Dennis noted that before Incentro embarks on developing an application, fundamental questions have to be answered; who will use the application and what problem is the application solving? “Only invest in something you are really committed to seeing through” - Dennis de Weerd Some of the challenges that Dennis mentions that lead to limited uptake of mobile applications by farmers and other users include; • There is a huge variety in the types of phones used in the market. These include both genuine and non-genuine phones; this affects the functionality and effectiveness of applications. • Where there is use of data most farmers end up switching on and off data connectivity which limits the continuous usage of the application. • The phones farmers own at times have limited memory, which can be a challenge for the use of applications, especially when they take a lot of space.

12 • User dynamism and technology changes pose a challenge in the application uptake “Applications are not static”, Dennis says. How do we ensure applications have an impact, Dennis notes a few things that should be considered; • Ensure the application is relevant to farmers or users. • The application should be customer friendly. • Ensure there is continuous maintenance of the application. • Developing an application that is useful to people takes a lot of work, so before embarking on the development of a new app ask whether there is another way to achieve the goal before.

Apart from Incentro there exist other mobile application developers in Kenya, below is a list of some of the application developers.

Table: Application Developers in Kenya

Muva Muva is telecommunications company that focuses on the development of mobile and web solutions as well as payments integration. Their business development is derived primarily from client needs and thus opens up to a host of clientele from various sectors. Besides the development, Muva also offers training on technology. Muva has the experience, passion and skills to deliver mobile apps to clients on numerous platforms. These include android mobile phones and tablets, blackberry Smartphone, iOS devices, windows phones and Java ME. Muva has not developed specific agriculture applications but have developed applications for health sector such as M-Ajali iCourtRoom among others. Muva is a commercial company that gets paid for any applications or web solutions developed on behalf of clients.

Smart Web Kenya Smart Web developers are primarily web developers based in Nairobi. Their services include graphics design, web programming and management. Development of mobile applications is not their primary business, but they have the capacity to meet the needs of clients who need mobile applications. In agriculture, Smart Web Kenya developed a web portal and a mobile application for Kenya Agricultural Productivity and Agribusiness Project (KAPAP) which was funded by world Bank and .

13 Trend Pro Systems Limited The company mainly works with start-ups and businesses to develop web sites and mobile applications. Their primary focus is on emerging new technologies, particularly in the mobile development space. As a result, they provide mobile solutions in a number of technologies, including; Rubi, Android and iOS. Trend Pro Systems has developed SaapCRM; a tool that provides real-time sales data collection and analytics for Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. Another application that has been developed by Trend Pro Systems on behalf of Miracle Foods is the Miracle Foods Platform. Miracle Foods Platform allows for consumers to order for ready to eat food on the platform which is delivered the following day.

Elan Telemedia Limited The company provides services on Enterprise Mobile Consulting and Mobile Application Development for both corporate and mass market users. Elan Telemedia is known for high quality, rapid and cost effective development of Mobile-Enabled & Handheld Applications.

Umptech LTD Umptech LTD builds applications, mobile sites and e-commerce solutions. The company also engages heavily in search engine optimization & e-marketing.

TimeXTreasures This is an upcoming mobile application development company. The company develops apps for a range of platforms including blackberry and android mobile phones. One of the amazing apps that the company has developed is the Instagram-To -Do App; it allows the clients to share information via a text message easily.

Kenya Web Developers Develops applications for android devices, iOS (iPhones and iPads) and Windows phones. The primary service offered by Kenya web Experts, however, is in domain hosting and registration.

Mambo Microsystems Limited The company is an upcoming mobile development company that is focusing on serving the increasing demand for Android applications in various sectors. They develop mobile applications for Android, iOS, Windows Mobile and Blackberry.

14 Eclectics International Eclectics International is a technology savvy company transforming Africa through innovative, state of the art tailor-made software solutions for Banking, Financial, Agricultural and Transport & Public sector. This is a Kenyan based and owned company operating in 23 African countries providing financial solutions to support banks, micro finance institutions, Sacco’s/cooperatives and other bespoke clients. The services and developments by Eclectics International are mainly determined by customer demands and expertise available and thus is not necessarily limited to developments in the agricultural space.

3.3. Industry trends and case examples of mobile and web based application applications in the agriculture sector Mobile applications usage in the horticulture sector does not attract large numbers of users compared to other applications such as social media applications. Muto (2012)35 noted that sector-specific applications have a limited usage that comprises only stakeholders in the said sectors and as a result, would-be users who do not directly use the applications find no need downloading and installing the applications. Additionally, some sector-specific applications such as information application for crops may be used only at particular times of the year. In such instances, mobile applications may be seen as redundant by users who do not use them as frequently as other applications. Mobile phone users may opt not to install applications on their phones and instead use alternative sources of information. In Kenya, the most notable players that have employed the use of mobile technology in horticultural farming include Annona, eProd, Twiga Foods, uLIma and Fresh n Easy. During the mapping, other application developers who are in the process of creating applications were interviewed. There are also multi-year projects funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by the Netherlands Space Office under the Geo-Data for Agriculture and Water36 (G4AW) programme. Under this programme the projects implemented in Kenya include; Crop Monitoring Service (CROPMON) and Geodatics.

35 Megumi Muto (2012): The Impacts of Mobile Phones and Personal Networks on Rural-to- Urban Migration: Evidence from Uganda. (Paper Here) 36 https://g4aw.spaceoffice.nl/en/about-g4aw/

15 Flexible system confirguration Easy communication with farmers Farmer profiles and employees

Support M&E eProd activities Increase productivity

Manage finances Manage business and farmer and employees transactions

i. eProd eProd is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software that provides a flexible and automated way of controlling agribusiness enterprises through easy collection of farmer information. The initial aim was to help a sister company Equator Chillies to reduce the complexity of dealing with thousands of smallholder farmers and high demand of the export market. The system has, however, been expanded to include other value chains and made available to other companies who need to manage their enterprises. eProd currently covers eighteen value chains; Grains & pulses, dairy, cotton, , horticulture, essential oils, potatoes, sesame, fruit, moringa and stevia reaching close to 25,000 farmers in five East African countries. eProd seeks to simplify complex agricultural value chains by enabling enterprises to communicate easily with farmers and employees, create comprehensive farmer profiles, manage finances and farmers transactions among others. eProd service offering Clients of eProd use the application because of the level of complexities that it can handle, including: • Ability to manage sourcing process especially where the aggregator or company sources from very large number of small scale farmers. • For increased efficiency, many enterprises are moving into automation of operations. • The desire to scale up their operations sustainably. • Provide financial services (either directly or indirectly) required by their suppliers. • Operate in high-end markets.

16 • Need to manage both suppliers and value-addition steps throughout the value chain. • The desire to improve communication with their farmers/suppliers (SMS, email, reports). • Need to implement training programs • Are accountable to strategic or donor-funded partners

From the mapping and interview the benefits of eProd include; a. eProd is a one stop shop system for farm production and contains segments that help processors and middle men manage smallholder farmers and, collect data and keep records. b. eProd can be linked and integrated with other IT platforms to provide a complete management solution to farmers. c. Its application is varied and can be used across the agricultural industry to manage small holder farmers in other areas such as dairy and poultry farming. d. It is a flexible system and can work in both online and offline modes. e. Application and usage insists on empowering the processors to help aggregators (middle men)

Despite the benefits of eProd some of the weakness of the application include; a. The system does not take into account needs of small holder farmers and only empowers aggregators which could lead to exploitation. The system has no way to link up farmers directly to processors. b. Quality assurance is the sole responsibility of uptakers, and the system has no way to confirm whether required quality assurance is executed, i.e. quality assurance is based on trust. c. It is a very detailed and complex system that requires a lot of training to understand and use. d. The system is developed and managed in a ‘change management’ cycle which could take a lot of time and results in cases where some modules are not used by processors at all.

Analysis from Alexa shows that the eProd website has a bounce rate (percentage of visitors to a site who navigate away after viewing certain number pages) of 3 daily page views and visitors stay on the site for less than a minute. While this is not the most comprehensive data to rate the activity on eProd, the statistics show a relatively low use of the eProd site. ii. Yielder Yielder is a farmer (Agri) information platform that is under creation through a partnership of key stakeholders (Media HQ, SNV, Incentro, Dalberg Research and

17 Rabobank Foundation). Yielder aims to support farmers increase their yield by providing information on how to produce enough food to meet the growing local and global demand. Yielder is an information and communication platform that connects various players of agriculture and facilitates outreach of NGO’s, research institutions, knowledge institutes and connects all players along the value chain. The platform aims at providing an end-to end information system in the agriculture value chain. From research conducted by Yielder in 2017, the primary challenge of semi-literate farmers is access to accurate, reliable and timely information. Difficulty in accessing this information is further compounded by inadequate access to the internet, and lack of training and extension services. Yielder seeks to fill this gap by acting as an umbrella app, under which all the existing information can be housed. The primary goal of this information is to increase food production and as a result help in ensuring food safety and food security.

Key features of Yielder • Seeks to improve the flow of information from information owners to Yielder Platform. • Allows for interaction between farmers and Yielder. • Interaction among farmers registered on Yielder.

Yielder provides an opportunity to ensure that the wealth of information from practice and research is made available and useful to farmers in an effort to improve productivity at the farm level. Despite the gap in access to knowledge and information that Yielder is aspiring to fill, evidence from various reviews during this mapping shows it is important to bear in mind the needs of farmers while seeking to provide information. Farmers generally need; i. Relevant and current information since their information needs vary. ii. Contextualized information as opposed to generic information. For example, farmers need area specific and crop specific information.

Data from NGOs and Research Institutes Yielder collects existing agricultural data from NGOs and Research institutes that is hard for farmers to access

Yielder Platform Yielder puts the data into appealing and accessible format that is relevant to farmers

Farmer Yielder brings the information to the farmers

Diagram 1: Structure of Yielder

18

iii. uLima uLima is a mobile platform that provides farmers across Africa with a toolset, database and access to the latest market information. The application was developed by Resolve and provides farmers with access to information on crops, seeds, , livestock, agri-chemicals, weather updates and market prices. “ULima allows for ease of reference to best practice methodology,” says Sunesh Bhoola (CEO uLima). This is made possible by key features that are tailor made for each farmer in terms of calendars, and step by step assistance from pre-planting to post-harvest. ULima has nationwide coverage and works in key towns across the country. By January 2018, ULima had 9 different crops including; coffee, tea, sorghum, , pulses, sunflower, sweet potatoes, rice and .

The features of uLima include; • Library – This includes crop and livestock information and guidance. • Market - Latest market price information, including pricing (The information contained in the application is average pricing from region to region collected directly from the market from time to time). • My Farm – this widget provides information on crop and livestock management. This allows for day to day management of the farm. • Weather – the application provides localized weather information. • Forum - for sharing information and community chat for subscribers. • Support - provides an opportunity for subscribers to get support from the technical team. uLima app allows farmers and dealers to create user profiles. A major challenge with uLima is that the application is complex considering the need for farmers to register using email. Considering many farmers have might not have formal education or are old, the requirement to log on to uLima using an email address is a bottleneck to many farmers. iv. Annona. Annona is a mobile application meant for usage by farmers, and global farm produce suppliers. Its main aim is to create a global traceable food ecosystem and thus focuses most of its operations and functionality to traceability of farm produce. The product offers both mobile and web-based platform that ensures that it is usable both

19 on the phone and via a computer. This functionality provides advantages, particularly on administrative roles and capacity to handle a lot of data. The product offers a platform that connects farmers, suppliers and retailers with the main aim being to access the market place and ensure sales of farm products is achieved. The product, however, does not entail information that can be of benefit to farmers in the production chain such as information on crops or weather and instead focuses on the sale of the final products. However, it can be used by farmers, particularly in record keeping, auditing and governance. One of its key undoings is the limitation to usage. Annona can only be used by players in the traceability chain and offers no platform for the customers of farm produce to trace the products. This undoing makes it vulnerable to losing market to other applications that offer an end to end usability that includes end customers. Additionally, setting up an account with Annona is not free and would demand payments which may result in many farmers/traders shying away from using it. Annona compares to eProd. v. Twiga Foods Twiga Foods have created a mobile based supply platform that helps retail outlets get access to fresh farm produce. The application provides a platform for cashless business-to-business supply. Through the application, vendors order stock from Twiga and supply is done within twenty four hours. Its primary aim is to increase reliability and efficiency of the reorder or restocking process by vendors. Twiga’s application covers access to market place and primarily deals with the end product of the farm production process. It is a sales application by Twiga Foods, a horticulture company, to sell their wares to the market through vendors. Twiga Foods application fills the gap that most applications fail in providing. While most applications give market price information, this does not guarantee farmers access to markets, selling to off takers at farm gate becomes their only option. Twiga Foods stocks freshly sourced produce from farmers and aggregators then deliver to retailers in different places. Some of horticulture produce being traded by Twiga Foods include , tomatoes, onions, and potatoes. Twiga Foods is a model virtual market place that facilitates transactions. vi. Fresh N Easy Fresh n Easy is a company under Mara Farming group of companies focusing on need to produce, package and make available fresh array of vegetables and fruits tailored to suit individual client preference. Mara Farming is a vegetable and fruit producer and exporter from the African continent founded in 2013 with the aim of increasing connection between farmers and final markets. Mara Farming Limited grows vegetables and fruits predominantly for export and is currently venturing in the local market. Mara Farming rationale behind venturing into local market is to provide the same high quality fresh vegetables and fruits (bare minimum to no use of chemicals and fertilizers) to a growing local clientele that places great importance in how vegetables and fruits they consume are produced, handled, packaged and delivered. The Fresh N Easy model taps into growing concerns among consumers over the quality and safety especially horticulture produce. Fresh N Easy guarantees consumers traceable foods with minimum pesticide residue levels.

20 Fresh N Easy uses a mobile application to take orders from customers for home deliveries. Customers log in and make their orders; these are dispatched to the customer’s preferred point of delivery. This application is a good example of an application that meets market demand. Despite this, throughout the mapping the site for Fresh N Easy remained down showing a message that “We will be back soon”. Further conversation with users and insiders revealed that the home delivery business model was not working; there was exploration of distributing through retailers as opposed to home deliveries through mobile or web-based app. This application brings to question the sustainability of such interventions; do they have a business model that really works? What were the findings from market research on the viability of these applications?

Need based mobile application development; the case of Mtela Interview with Reinder van der Meer (developing MTela, a Point of Sale (POS) mobile application that improves farmers’ access to agricultural inputs) brought to fore some critical gaps in application development. According to Reinder, MTela development stems from the realisation that the current distribution of agricultural inputs is very fragmented with multiple suppliers and about 12,000 agro vet/agro dealers all trying to reach the end user with products they think are needed. Feedback from farmers and stockists flowing back to larger retailers and producers is also limited hence making agro vets non-responsive to farmers’ needs and feedback. MTela will link farmers with agro vets, while ensuring that farmers get information on the best available pesticides, fertilizers and other farm inputs. The application seeks to bridge both ends (dealers and farmers). The system seeks to work with agro vets to create a real time database of the available inputs, map these to an application hence enable farmers know the nearest agro vet to find the input.

So what are the different needs of players in the input value chain?

Farmers need; Agro dealers need; Producers Need;  To know the right  To manage their store  Market Intelligence inputs to use, while away on their products  To find these  To know the right  Direct marketing to products nearby and products to stock stockists and  To know how to  To have product farmers correctly use these information at hand  Direc t supply to products  To source products at Agro dealers and c ompetitive pric es stoc kists.  To control product pric ing  To manage stock in real time

21 MTela will promote Agricultural Input market ‘conversation’ between producers, agro dealers/ agro vets and farmers. The success of famers is greatly influenced by the quality of these conversations, which will now be solved through MTela. This application enables agro-dealers keep control and track of what happens at the agro vet while ensuring that farmers get served on need basis. This also helps the agro-dealer provide specific solutions for the problems presented by farmers. While this mapping cannot conclude on the viability of this application, the most striking feature is the rigorous market research being undertaken by the developer to understand the need that the application is likely to fill. Mobile application development should be backed by rigorous research on the potential; usability of the application. The business model in this application is that; agro vets will be the main clients with a paying model while farmers will be connected to the application mostly free of charge. This is informed by the fact that farmers might not pay for the application but could pay through the purchases they make at the agro vet hence the cost will be borne by the dealer not the farmer. Market dynamics and sustainability of mobile and web-based applications: The case of M-farm M-Farm was started as website and mobile app that sought to match buyers and small holder farmers for them to access markets. M-Farm was meant to address gaps in the value chain by combining produce of many small holder farmers, transporting, ensuring quality, financing and communications. Initially M-Farm paid farmers in advance, and would be paid later by buyers. M-Farm later refocused into a virtual interactive business intelligence platform that allowed farmers to pose questions to industry experts, connect with buyers and each other. M—Farm was among the new generation web and mobile applications that sought to keep farmers informed on what decision to make from planting, harvesting to marketing of agriculture produce. This helped farmers and other value chain players make informed decisions and avoid risky business. Initial experience from M-Farm shows that the business model of the app of pre-financing was too expensive for M-Farm, which was a start-up. In addition, M-Farms’ experience shows that applications are only successful where there are functional markets and minimal bottlenecks. Though hailed as one of the best mobile application linking farmers to markets, the application has since gone out of operation. M-farm’s failure is largely attributed to implementation and usage technicalities such as the inability of rural farmers to access and (or) properly use mobile phones. In addition, there was no support system that brings together the entire value chain. The case of M-Farm put into question the viability of mobile and web applications in providing farmers with market information. In addition, donor funding should only be used in applications that have a clear business model from the onset to allow for sustainability through a blended finance model to allow for ability to attract commercial funding.

22 3.4 Mobile Applications in Agriculture in Kenya and Africa

Application Name Usage

iCo w This platform has a series of dairy agri-products that are available over a simple menu system, farmers use it by dialling a short code, *285#, and access a simple menu that guides them on how to make subscriptions for various products. The system sends messages to users at intervals. The objective of iCow is to increase the productivity of farmers by giving them access to knowledge and expertise. Since its launch in 2011, iCow has enrolled an average of 15,000 active farmers. NB: Tho ugh this applicatio n is used in dairy farming, its emplo yment of the Short code is a technique that is applicable to many other sectors including horticultural production. DigiFarm DigiFarm is a mo bile pho ne-based solution that allows government and service pro viders in agriculture to interact with and o ffer agricultural related services to smallho lder farmers in Kenya. Digifarm offers an easy to use one stop service to smallholder farmers. Farmers register on the Digifarm platform and record details about the siz e of farm, farming activities (value chain). This ensures that farmers receive support via Digifarm relevant to their farming activities. There is no clear data on a number of registered users but Digifarm projects to connect up to 500,000 small holder farmers in Kenya. By October 2017 DigiFarm had registered 672,000 farmers and disbursed over 7,000 loans37. Esoko Esoko offers mobile and web-based tools for data collection coupled with field deplo yment; an SMS/vo ice-based co mmunicatio n platfo rm for farmer management; and an electronic extension mobile and web app. This applicatio n links farmers to markets with auto matic market prices and offers from buyers. It also disseminates personalized extension messages based on crop types and location of farmers. The Eso ko applicatio n is still under develo pment and thus do es not have active users yet. M-Shamba This is an interactive platfo rm that pro vides info rmatio n to farmers through the use of a mobile phone. M-Shamba makes use of mobile phones and utilizes the various features o f mo bile pho nes including cross-platfo rm applicatio ns accessible to bo th the smart and lo w -end phones using SMS to provide information on production, harvesting, marketing, credit, climate and weather.

37 https://www.capitalfm.co.ke/business/2018/05/safaricoms-digifarm-disburses-7000-loans- farmers-six-months/

23 Mkulima young This is an innovation aimed at encouraging young people to engage in agriculture. Its goals are to help young farmers reduce reliance on middle-men by encouraging them to use the virtual selling space through the application. Mkulima Young Soko allows young agri- entrepreneurs to post their produce and interact with buyers.

iShamba This is an applicatio n that helps farmers impro ve their farms and get better yields by availing the services of agricultural experts to answer to questions of farmers. iShamba has a call center o f agricultura l experts where farmers can SMS or call to ask questions and get to speak to an expert for instant help. Once a user signs up for iShamba, they are able to receive agri tips on crop and livestock, market prices and weather updates. Farmis Farmis is an online farmer record management information system that helps to manage agricultural business o nline allo wing a farmer to manage and evaluate their income and expenses quickly. The use of Farmis is in two packages: Basic and premium that permits the users to have access to different features. We-farm This is a free peer-to-peer service that enables farmers to share information through SMS, without the internet and without having to leave their farm. Through We-Farm, farmers can ask questions on a wide variety of subjects and receive crowd-sourced responses from other farmers.

Freshpro Freshpro is an applicatio n that markets traceable horticulture produce. The products sold are assigned codes that can be tracked back to the point of productio n. This attribute was initially available only for the export market but has since been introduced to serve retailers in the local markets. The applicatio n o ffers a platfo rm where consumers can shop for fresh farm produce, including value-added farm products such as fresh juice.

Bonded Groceries Bonded Groceries is a horticultural company based in Mwea with an application that offers an interface for interaction with consumers. Like Freshpro, Bonded groceries also assign traceability codes to products sold in the local and international markets. The products can then be traced up to their point of production. The consumers can interact with the farm products, read about the items and make purchases. The company also offers an option for quality control thro ugh traceability.

Most of the mobile applications used in the horticultural subsector primarily offer information to farmers or create a platform for information exchange among different players in the industry. The applications have also been used considerably well for marketing of farm products and provide a platform for sales.

24 3.5 Geo Data for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) This programme is funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and implemented by the Netherlands Space Office. The programme uses satellite data to provide advice to farmers in Kenya through two main projects; CROPMON and Geodatics. G4AW seeks to seize the opportunities presented by38; • Rising recognition that geodata converted to relevant information on climate, weather and hazards, can help food producers and other stakeholders in developing countries. These data can be used to generate information for customised and timely agricultural advice. • The combination of improved mobile connectivity, new satellite services and private investments offers the opportunity for scaling up innovations to large-scale implementation and operations. A growing fleet of earth observation satellites encircling our planet guarantee a continuing global coverage and provision of free objective data. • Recent studies show that information from satellites and other (geo) data can be translated into agricultural advice, which enables higher crop yields and a more efficient use of seeds, water and fertilizers by enabling early warning for drought, flooding and/or diseases. • Mobile phone based services providing up-to-date market prices have already been proven successful in Africa and India. Increasing the quantity and quality of communication networks enables millions of food producers in remote areas to benefit from relevant agricultural information, empowering them to make better decisions.

Geodatics - Innovative advisory services to smallholder farmers Geodatics is a social business start-up that integrates geodata, satellite data and farm typologies into tailor made advice for smallholder farmers. Geodatics aims to provide more than 200,000 smallholder farmers with tailor made fertilizer advice, market information and farm management support. This will help optimize the nutrient application and increase their farm income and production. The partners in Geodatics are; ICS (Investing in Children and their Societies) (Netherlands), Agrics Kenya, Agrics Tanzania, Biomass Research (Netherlands), Manobi (Senegal) and Wageningen University Plant Production Systems Group (Netherlands). Geodatics offers its services to businesses providing products or services to smallholder farmers. Business clients such as Agrics in Tanzania and Kenya help Geodatics to reach new farmers. These businesses will be enabled to optimize their business activities with the information they receive about suppliers, markets, production volumes etc. A second potential client group is formed by industrial clients that are not in contact with smallholder farmers, but who have interest in the data that Geodatics will generate. They can use this to optimize their own business activities such as buying and selling, offering crop insurances and arrange stock financing.

38 G4AW

25 Business model Agrics Ltd Tanzania and Kenya are not just project partners in Tanzania and Kenya but also business clients, with already existing cost and payment systems for smallholder farmers in place. Therefore Geodatics focuses on this cooperation for the first period. Agrics also secures a market and network that has direct contact with the farmers. After the initialisation period, Geodatics will offer its services to other businesses for smallholder farmers (business clients) and also to businesses that have interest in the data for their internal operations (industrial clients). Business and industrial clients will pay a percentage per transaction or a yearly fee, depending on their role and type of business.

Some of the key lessons from G4AW projects are; • Proof of concept is not a challenge but bringing it to a market is the challenge since many times the target market is still immature or not ready for the solution. • There is still a gap between supplier and client of geo data hence less opportunity for scaling. • Many projects come into a business mode at the end of the project hence this might impact on sustainability of the solution. • Projects focus at first on experimenting and piloting for a proof of concept but with a clear scale up strategy.

Crop Monitoring Service (CROPMON) CROPMON is a three year project, funded by the Geodata for Agriculture and Water (G4AW) facility. The project aims to develop and make available an affordable information service that provides farmers - including smallholders - with information that helps them make improved farm management decisions during the growing season. When crop growth is non-optimal, farmers will receive alert messages based on near real-time satellite imagery. Using a variety of spatial data layers such as actual weather data, soil analysis data and farm data, the most likely factors that could limit crop growth are determined. This information is then used to make comprehensible, farm and crop specific recommendations for farmer practices, which are returned to the farmers via SMS and/or a mobile app. To reach the project goals and to establish a successful information service, the activities covered in the project range from: • The setup of experimental plots, data collection and calibration of scientific models, to; • The development of an IT platform and data warehouse to support the backend of the service, to;

26 • Extensive promotion, training and capacity building to create awareness, acceptability and usability of the service. The project focuses on farmers who grow coffee, maize, grass and sorghum in the southwestern part of Kenya; counties Bomet, Bungoma, Elegeyo Marakwet, Embu, Kakamega, Kericho, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Laikipia, Machakos, Meru, Migori, Muranga, Nakuru, Nandi, Nyandarua, Nyeri, Tharaka Nithi, Trans Nzoia and Uasin Gishu. The aim of the project is to have 150,000 farmers subscribed to the CROPMON information service by the end of the project. The partners in this project are; • SoilCares Research BV, Cereal Growers Association (CGA, Kenya), Coffee Management Services Ltd (CMS, Kenya), Equity Group Foundation (EGF, Kenya), International Fertilizer Development Center (IFDC, Kenya), NEO BV (The Netherlands), SoilCares Ltd. (Kenya), Springg BV (The Netherlands) and Weather Impact BV (The Netherlands).

3.6 Challenges facing use of Mobile applications in the horticultural subsector The use of mobile applications has made services more available to mobile phone users in all sectors. The use of mobile applications in the horticulture sector is, however, not very popular as in other sectors primarily because of the following reasons: i. Most of the information in the applications used in this sector are not specialized and do not target users with specific demands. This implies that only users who perceive the information contained in the application as relevant will download them and keep the apps on their phones. Additionally, most of the horticulture produce is available in the markets around the country thus eliminating the need of having to make orders through mobile applications. The rising concerns over food safety and quality has seen the rise of applications such FreshPro, Fresh N Easy, Bonded Groceries among others. These platforms offer consumers “traceable” foods. ii. There is a general shortage of market research and piloting in the process of developing mobile application technologies in the horticultural sector. Most developers often develop applications and make assumptions that the content of the applications will enable them to gain market penetration and thus achieve success. This challenge was witnessed by Bonded Groceries who was forced to recall the application on two separate occasions to adapt to new consumer reviews and demands. Another example is Fresh N Easy which is reviewing its business model of home deliveries. iii. Based on the interviews there is a general perception that Kenyan made mobile applications are of relatively lower quality than other applications. A snapshot of the performance of mobile applications in the financial and insurance sectors reveal that most of the successful applications are outsourced from foreign software developers based in Kenya or in-house developers. This perception has led to a general tendency by stakeholders to prefer applications with foreign developers.

27 iv. Most applications (example is M-Farm, KACE, uLima among others) come with the promise of information provision for farmers but do not bear in mind that farmers have their own preferences and use other sources of information such radio. The information on prices contained in the applications is in most cases average pricing or estimations from region to region collected directly from the market from time to time. 3.7 Business model of mobile applications Interviews from this study reveal that most applications do not start with a clear business model rather most of them depend on initial donor funding with hope that they will develop a business model with the learning from implementation. In a Focus Group Discussion held on the 26th of April 2017 with application developers and value chain actors, the question to the application developers on the business model revealed not very clear model exists. Some of the application developers mentioned several potential sources of revenue for their application which include; • Subscription or license fee – most of the application developers noted that applications need to integrate farmer and value chain actor for instance end client like agro dealer. The value chain actor should be a business who finds value in the application hence willing to pay for it, while the farmer does not necessarily have to pay. In instances where a farmer is convinced to pay, the application has to have a clear benefit as has been the case of Smart Cow where farmers pay because of the value they derive from the application. • Advertisement on the application is also a potential source of revenue for the applications. This requires input providers buying advertisement slots on the application hence generating revenue. It must be noted that this business model has not been successfully tested within the applications cited in this report. • Big data selling can be another major source of revenue for mobile applications. Most applications are collecting very robust data that can be sold to users and generate money. However, this has also not been proven though has potential. How can application developers ensure mass usage of their applications? This question was posed to FGD participants and Smart Cow application role out is very interesting.

Smart Cow Smart Cow is an application developed by Intersoft Eagles Limited which seeks to enable dairy farmers track their records. This enables a farmer to know whether their dairy venture is making profits or losses. How does Smart Cow attract users? Smart Cow model started with a focus on large-scale farmers who needed to automate their dairy farms. This category of farmers was not hard to convince since they saw the value in using technology to run their farms. With initial success from large scale farmers, Smart Cow decided to tap into the desire for small scale farmers to learn from large scale farmers. During trainings which took place on large scale dairy farms, the farmers were able to demonstrate how they make use of the application to run their farms hence creating interest in small scale farmers. This strategy has seen many farmers sign up for Smart Cow despite having to pay a subscription fee.

28 4. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 4.1 Conclusion Despite advancement in technology and increased use of mobile applications in various sectors, the agriculture sector has seen a considerably slow usage of applications as compared to other sectors such as the banking and the insurance industries39. Evidence from this study and other studies reveal that this trend could be easily attributed to the lifestyle of farmers40. Farmers in rural areas rely primarily on traditional modes of communication and do not often see the need to use applications in their day to day41. In cases where there is uptake of these services farmers prefer free applications hence most of the applications such M-Farm and KACE could not sustain themselves after donors pulled out. There is mixed feelings on the success of mobile applications in agriculture as has been seen in this study. Heike42 notes failure to look at the context in which farmers use these services means many are underutilized. She further notes that if developers don’t understand how a service fits into farmers’ lives, it can easily happen that these services aren’t effective. Most mobile applications have failed to realise that farmers not only need price information but also how to link with markets directly, without which farmers know when prices are high but cannot exploit the opportunity. This has necessitated the development of applications such as Twiga Foods whose model involves complete value chain connection (from sourcing from farmers to delivery to consumers). This model has proved effective since users of the application are assured of delivery of agricultural products ordered. In an article by Inge Vesper43, cites a comment by Michael Kende “It is hard to put a finger on what makes an app successful. But I think that it has to be designed and tested in the local context, using local networks to make sure it is relevant and that it works.” This comment reinforces findings from this study which show that while at initial points most applications are promising and with donor investment show growth in numbers, very few if any have shown sustainability beyond donor funding. But this raises the question, “what makes applications work”? From the interviews and trend analysis applications are only able to sustain themselves if they; i. Meet user needs such as low or no cost of usage, enables Business to Business (B2B) and Business to Customers (B2C) market connection and is easy to use. ii. Has a clear business model, a good example is e-Prod where users have to pay for the system therefore generates revenue to sustain itself. It should be noted that applications such as e-Prod target businesses rather than farmers therefore it is easier for the businesses to invest in them as described earlier on the usage of e-Prod. It is still unclear what would make farmers invest in applications at this point.

39 Ibid P.3 40 https://qz.com/603214/i-built-a-mobile-app-to-help-africas-farmers-but-our-countries- infrastructure-must-work-too/ 41 Maritz, J., (2011). How mobile phones are transforming African agriculture. Retrieved from http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/how-mobile-phones-are-transforming-african- agriculture/8704/on 11/7/2014 42 Op.cit 43 https://www.scidev.net/sub-saharan-africa/icts/news/evidence-patchy-on-value-of-mobile- apps-for-farmers-1.html

29 iii. If an application is developed to meet a specific need then it is easy to convince farmers to pay for the same. A good example is the Kenya Market Led Horticulture Programme (HortImpact) Business Case 4 with Agventure where the company is clear which farmers it targets and can easily use an application to compliment field extension by providing an easy platform to reach farmers by providing specific information such as planting, weeding, pesticide/ management, harvesting among others. Developing an application with this in mind can prove useful and effective, since this application can easily integrate into the entire value chain from sourcing for inputs, planting, and growth, harvesting and selling at the factory. This study brings to fore the potential applications have for the horticulture sector while at the same time the need to answer specific question on the gap that the applications meet. Without clear analysis of the local context, applications end up being unsustainable hence cease operating. Good examples include M-Farm and KACE. It is no doubt that new applications that have come up recently will suffer the same fate if there is no clear business model.

4.2 Recommendations To be in a position to address the challenges that come as a result of poor mobile application usage in the horticulture sector, and to enhance improved usage of applications, this study recommends the following: From the review and interviews, most farmers do not use mobile applications due to reasons that range from lack of awareness and training to the structuring of the applications. There are many applications that target only a specific segment of the market and thus remain largely vague to the rest of the value chain. For instance, merely providing market information does not guarantee farmers will benefit from an application. While the use of mobile applications and application of technology will definitely improve the quality of horticultural produce, there’s a need to properly educate rural farmers on usage and the importance of such applications before deployment. We recommend targeted and thoroughly researched application development to ensure that the applications developed meet local demands and needs. There has to be a clear demonstration of the gap the mobile application seeks to fill and what the business model for the application is. Evidence from this study shows that with pull out of donor money most applications also cease to operate for example M-Farm and KACE. So from the onset, a business case has to be developed to allow the application to be self sustaining beyond the initial donor funding. With this in mind, it is also important to test the application before deployment; this means the development of this application has to be undertaken in the field/local context. From the findings in this review we recommend embedding the farmer/business interface, so that where farmers are not able to pay, businesses can cover the costs since it makes it easier for them to trade with the farmers hence has a business case for them. Before investing in any mobile application, there is a need for research that compares the utility of different delivery channels. For example within m-service (is voice, SMS or app most appropriate) and between different types of channels (for example radio, TV or face-to-face contact). This can help to contextualise farmer’s needs, therefore, design an intervention that suites different unique circumstances of farmers. Baseline

30 studies prior to developing and launching an application, including both surveys and other numerical measurements gathered by independent data collectors, is needed to better understand changes over time. From the interviews only Yielder had an external research firm evaluating the usability of the Yielder Platform. Which most of the other applications undertook this in-house. Some mobile applications can be very complex hence reducing adoption and usage rates by farmers. There is need to handle these complexities by service providers or intermediaries. The complex registration process might not always favour small holder farmers. A good example is uLima which needs a farmer to have an email address to be able to set account.

31 Appendix 1: Interview guide for mobile application developers and owners

Section A: Demographic Details Questionnaire No.:______Name of Interviewer: ______Date of Interview: ____/____/______Name of organization: ______Location of organization: ______Is it rural or urban? ______Designation of Respondent: ______Phone number (mobile, if available):______Sex of the respondent: ______

Section B: Mobile Apps 1. Do you have any agricultural apps (specifically in horticulture) designed by your organization for farmers? 2. If yes, how do you use the app? a. For work. b. Personal farm assignments. c. Personal use. 3. How convenient do you think the application is in terms of usage? (Given an option, would you rather do without it?) 4. How many farmers are registered to use the application? a. What proportion of these farmers are active users? 5. How does the application support farmers in your network? a. What issues facing farmers does this particular app address? b. How effective do you think the app is in addressing the issues? 6. What is the geographical distribution of farmers that use the application? 7. In which regions do you have the highest concentration of farmers and (or) consumers with the app? a. What is the primary reason for downloading the app in these regions?

32 Section C: Market Overview 8. Was the development of this application done by an external team or an in- house development team? 9. If done by an outsourced team, why was this necessary? 10. What additional value do you think outsourced developers bring to development as compared to internal ? 11. Do you know any other mobile applications that address needs of the horticultural sector? a. If yes, which ones are they? 12. Would you say the apps effectively address the needs of horticultural farmers? 13. What other needs of farmers do you think an app in the horticultural space would address? 14. If you were to develop an agricultural application, what would you recommend be added? 15. Do you know of any horticultural application in the Kenyan market with Dutch origins? a. If yes, which one(s)

Appendix 2: Interviews

Name Affiliation

Reinder van der Meer Develo ping an app

Almut van Casteren e-Prod

Jamila Abbass M-Farm

Sunesh Bhoola uLima

Zoravar Singh Formerly with Equity Group Foundation and now Shambaza Dennis de Weerd Incentro Africa

Emiel Klein Fresh n Easy

Alexandar Valeton44 Yielder

Corentin de Tregomain Pool.farm

44 Insights obtained during Yielder report launch

33 contacts: [email protected] [email protected]