Kenyan-based social enterprise company One Acre Fund has launched a mobile application, the Tupande app, that helps smallholder farmers order and access high-quality seeds and fertilisers.
Introduced in April 2022, the Tupande app could reach up to 100,000 Kenyan farming families in the next few years.
“As the global population increases – it is expected to reach nearly 10 billion by 2050 – and issues of poverty and food security become more prevalent, tech-based initiatives such as this will be crucial in combatting critical global challenges,” a statement from Cisco PR reads.
Cisco’s Global Impact Cash Grant Program funded the Tupande app development.
“According to Our World in Data, more than 84% of agricultural producers are smallholder farmers, with farms smaller than two hectares. These farmers produce one-third of the world’s food, but often don’t have enough food to feed their families.”
“Since 2006, One Acre Fund has been working to get smallholder farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa the resources they need to improve harvests, raise incomes, adopt environmentally friendly farming practices, and diversify crops to increase resilience to disasters. One Acre Fund offers flexible financing to help ease cashflow challenges, and also provides training, insurance, and access to other innovative products and technologies.”
“One of these technologies is the Tupande app. It helps digitise farmers’ procurement processes and make supplies more accessible. The app enables farmers to browse One Acre Fund’s product catalogue, compare prices, view item photos and descriptions, determine what’s in stock at their local duka (Swahili for shop), and order – all from their mobile phones. Due to the app’s efficiency, farmers have more time to manage crops and carry out demanding daily activities.”
