AGRIBUDDY β version was released on November 17th in 2014 as an internet application service for farmers in developing country. At a start, we have used it for ourselves to major the hectares of our farms with its GPS function and let some real local farmers (And our team Japanese farmers who are challenging in agribusiness in Cambodia) to use AGRIBUDDY only with selected function to see their reactions for the gadget and seeking the points to improve and to find right direction of AGRIBUDDY.
How could we let local farmers, who have never even touched smartphones, or don’t even know what an internet is, use and enjoy AGRIBUDDY well? How could we minimise their irrational decisions they make or, act they do because of a minimum information and data they have. We have been focusing on there and been pondering the essential functions for the system.
What we came up as our first answer for this is to build network of all farmers in developing country. Making them able to share correct and accurate skills or information by construct networking of local farmers who might never once step out 50 km far from their home and lives in a society with closed information. We realised that Let them able to show their work or result to others and receive recognition or appraisal can be a big first step to improve agriculture of developing country.
As in the article I wrote in the other day “The things people in poverty want”, the number of smartphone holders are increasing even in Cambodia where seems to be the perfect example of developing country with poverty. A price of smartphones or any other cutting edge technology gadget are becoming cheaper day by day and internet coverage area is expanding rapidly as it is reaching even to deep into jungle. Because of such dramatic shift I am actually encountering, I can clearly see the people who have been forgotten from the world of techs and ITs will be creating new network with smartphones they will have in very near future.
If there is such future is coming soon, I want to build and shape it with our hands. I know that everyone is thinking “Well it will now work that easy!” and that is exactly why I want to challenge on it.
And, as we release our official version of AGRIBUDDY, our Hong Kong established AGRIBUDDY will be working fund raising with Scentan Ventures which has strong connection to world wide venture capital investment. With this action, we will rev up a speed of development with feedbacks and we will tackle on to build only and the biggest farmers network in developing country.