How can ICT solutions contribute to solve the problems of social disruption during a pandemic crisis?
Can ICT solutions for agriculture help to avoid social and economic problems during a pandemic crisis?
There is no end in sight of the global COVID-19 pandemic yet, but the virus is already creating its impact on local and global food supply chains. The current crisis will likely cause food shortages and high prices for consumers. Incomes of farmers and all those working in the food and agriculture sector are also at risk. “We have to rethink our whole food supply ecosystem! The world after Corona will be different! How can ICT solutions contribute to avoid the problems of social disruption during a pandemic crisis? ICT can enhance and secure supply chains for the production of agricultural produce for local and international businesses and play a critical role to mitigate – and shorten – the effects of a pandemic!”, according to Berlin based Dr. Robert Daubner, digitalization and innovation specialist.READ MORE
“The eProd team identified several key constraints that basically cripple field activities for the buyers from small scale producers in Africa”, according to Miss Erna Goudt, Client Relationship Manager at eProd Solutions, and speaker at the ICT4D webinar series. Due to the current crisis it has indeed become exceedingly difficult to conduct basic field operations, such as to register farmers and their fields. eProd can assist to collect farmer group, farmer and field profiles, field inspections, manage produce collections via local field staff and lead farmers. Secondly, gathering reliable data to monitor the field production via field inspections and survey data from farmers, has become very difficult and companies are in the dark regarding crop status and projecting yields. Thirdly, communicating with farmers has stopped or at least significantly reduced while the current situation requires continuation of extension services, sharing market price information, and updates on COVID-19 awareness. Fourth, following up on the buyers’ field staff’s activities is even more difficult than ever before. How to verify movements, accomplishments, etc? Finally, and probably the most criplling factor, there is lack of cash liquidity in the field for farmers to invest in field activities, farming inputs, etc. On one hand many buyers are not able to pay farners remotely via mobile money transfer or bank acocunt, and farmers can’t link up with financial institutions or can’t be checked for credit worthiness. How would buyers share credit risk information with financial institutions, automated loan repayment, tri-partite agreements, manage their input inventories without appropriate and affordable tools. Please participate in the upcoming webinar, part of the virtual edition of the ICT4D Conference and ongoing ICT4D webinar series, you will hear about low cost digital and mobile technologies to support farmers under these unprecedented circumstances.
