Category: News & Events

New technologies in the oldest trade: Frankincense and Myrrh

For over 5,000 years frankincense has been sourced from the Horn of Africa and traded through the Arabian Peninsula all over the world. The premium markets, such as the European Union is becoming more and more demanding. At the same time, the global traders would like to assure the sustainable supply of gums and resins from the sensitive ecosystems of Boswelia and Commiphora and other less known but precious species of gums and resins. Appropriate management information systems and the introduction of sustainable certification, such as FairWild, are becoming essential to reach the premium markets and fetch the highest prices.

The FairWild Certification system for the sustainable management and collection of wild plants. This allows consumers to know that they are supporting ethical fair trading standards and trading benefits to be felt by the local communities harvesting the plants. Many consumers are willing to pay a premium price for certified products.

In order to reach the premium quality markets and fetch the highest prices, ICT management solutions like eProd have become unavoidable in the gums and resins sector. In August, eProd participated in a gums and resins stakeholders meeting organized in Hargeisa by the GEEL (Growth Enterprise, Employment and Livelihood) program funded by USAID. The company was given an opportunity to contribute by introducing eProd as an appropriate tool to manage affordably operations such as:  certification, advances to harvesters, traceability, production, quality based payment, training, communication etc.

If you have any questions please drop us a line at info@eprod-solutions.com

New release of the mobile eProd application

We are proud to announce the release of a new version of the eProd mobile application in October. Besides being able to view farmer profiles, take GPS coordinates and manage collection including traceability,  you can now also manage field activities on the mobile application.  As eProd user, you can download the application yourself for free, but please contact us in case you require any assistance. A peek into the new features:

• Field Size Measurement: By simply walking around a plot in the field, the app will calculate the surface of a plot and link it into the production module section. Now you can link production to accurate productivity!
• Seed traceability: The traceability features of eProd have now been extended and your field officer can keep track of a batch of seed from the time it was planted at the nursery up to the time of harvest delivery, ensuring full traceability of the crop throughout. Instead of agricultural production this feature offers new opportunities for other sectors as well, e.g. livestock, dairy, aquaculture, and gums & resins. Please note that identification through integration with NFC and RFID is possible.
• Monitoring of field activities: Keeping track of farmers’ field activities can be challenging. Enabling your field officer to have all field activities on his mobile phone during field visits enables efficiency in the field. The application will indicate the GPS locations as proof of the actual visits by your field officers.
• Questionnaires: The mobile app will assist the field officer to conduct and manage questionnaires, e.g. for quality management certifications that demand a lot of information gathering. The questionnaires are geo-referenced and can be linked to various levels of operations. For example in agriculture: individual plots, farmer, farmer group, cooperative, but also company staff. All information is safe and conveniently integrated with the other modules of eProd. Besides certification the tool is very useful for (donor funded) project M&E, socio economic research, field trials, etc.

That’s it for this update. We have a number of developments in the pipeline and look forward to inform you about the next new features.  If you have any questions please drop us a line at info@eprod-solutions.com

A robust mobile application deserves a rugged mobile phone

How many phones have you lost already because of water or dropping them? CAT and eProd Solutions partner to ensure that you fully benefit from the range of features that the eProd mobile application offers. CAT provides support, local repairs and maintenance. The company has just released three new models that meet the highest technical and industrial standards: all drop, water and dust proof. Perfect for your field operations!

To introduce CAT phones to eProd users, CAT offers until the end of 2017 a 5% discount on all mobile applications purchased from a certified CAT agent in Kenya. There is a special offer for the CAT T30 Smart Phone for only USD 209, retail price in the UK about 320 USD. This is a rugged phone with exceptional features.

Quality assessment and quality assurance: new technologies result in new opportunities

Are you able to assess the quality of products that you buy from farmers? Can you objectively and quickly measure the product moisture content of Irish potato? Adulterations in milk – did your supplier add water to the milk? What about melanin? Is the mango “Ready to eat”? Does the avocado have a sufficient oil content? How to measure these and many other variables quickly and cost-effectively in the field at the moment you have to decide to buy or reject produce at the farm or collection centers? Are you able to log transport and storage conditions?

eProd clients have now something to look forward to. With Wageningen University and Research Center, in the lead, the application of Spectroscopy and affordable smart chips will be tested. For example, dairy companies can benefit from the new technology by using a portable, high-tech sensor (much more developed than an ultrasound lactometer) to test in a matter of seconds the milk using the Spectography technology and monitor the conditions of milk during transport and storage.

eProd mobile app will facilitate to capture the quality details in the field and also at the cooling plant, and the information will trigger payment incentives for the individual deliveries and transporters. The ultimate quality based payment system is created. This will significantly reduce the post-harvest losses and incentivize farmers to deliver high value products.

Flexibility guaranteed with our mobile app

In the beginning of the year, we launched the eProd mobile application that you can use on your mobile devices in the field. With the mobile app, georeferenced data entry in the field is made easier, faster and much more efficient. The mobile app is used for field collections but has many more eProd functionalities fully integrated. The Field Inspection Module allows your staff to capture and assess production data for agriculture and livestock.

The Credit Module allows to access details of outstanding loans and advances in the field, very useful for loan appraisal pre-screening. Capturing the geo-locations while a user is offline (i.e. not connected to the internet) is possible, which will assist verifying actual staff movements. Do you operate in a remote area? No problem for eProd, field officers will now also be able to collect all the data in the field and synchronize with the server when staff has internet connectivity.

Weather information – aWhere Pilot Project update

In our April Newsletter issue, we informed you about the strategic partnership between eProd and aWhere, a global agricultural intelligence company that collects weather data from satellites and local ground based weather stations. This collaboration will make it possible for field officers and farmers to receive individualized weather forecasts data on their mobile phones.

In addition to weather forecast data, it will now be possible to provide scientifically vetted agronomic data to growers, farm managers, crop consultants and researchers. Through integration with eProd we are now able to deliver regional – based on a 9 by 9 km grid – crop specific production advice for basically all common crops and information on the development of the major pests and diseases in the main agricultural production areas in the world. Information dissemination by SMS and reports by email. To learn more, please contact: info@eprod-solutions.com

April 2017 Highlights

e-Agri East Africa Summit: eProd Solutions took part in the February/ March 2017 e-Agri Summit held in Nairobi where various companies in agribusiness were showcased. Key messages from the summit focused on fully unlocking Africa’s potential in agriculture and the need to create avenues of collaboration with different players including ICT to promote this agenda and eProd acting as a key player in this.

AGRA/ SSPT portfolio meeting: A number of agribusinesses were in attendance during the March AGRA meeting in Arusha. They got an opportunity to interact with the eProd team and learn about the technology. Those in attendance included potato processors, seed breeders and it was apparent that eProd was what they need to improve efficiency in their supplier management.

Just recently, eProd participated in an AECF event held in Dar es Salaam, where we met with many agribusinesses in the East African region in need of an ICT solution for managing their farmer operations. Together with Global Communities and AAA, we are reaching many agribusinesses day by day with our technology.

Individualized Weather Forecast

In the near future, your field staff and farmers will be able to receive individualized weather-forecasts and production tips from their mobile phones. This new development that will assist vital decision making processes has been made possible through a strategic collaboration between eProd Solutions Limited and aWhere (www.awhere.com), a global agricultural intelligence company that collects weather data from satellites and local ground based weather stations. You will now be able to send out daily short term forecasts.

Weather Data is fundamental to agricultural intelligence because the effect of weather drives on crop physiology, pest pathology, and daily operational/economical decisions.  aWhere’s unique weather data is specifically designed for agricultural use, and includes up to 10 years of daily observations across the entire agricultural earth, along with current weather and weather forecasts updated four times per day.

While weather information may not at first seem like an important service given the free and widespread forecasts available from the newspaper to the internet to farmers, however, highly accurate and localized weather reports – based on a 9 by 9 km grid – will assist important decisions regarding what crops to plant, when to spray, to plant or harvest – or when NOT to spray, plant or harvest!

The information is also valuable to farm input suppliers searching for better ways to sell their goods. Instead of spending time selling and marketing to farmers who may have missed good weather, agricultural service providers can use the weather data to predict which farms are most in need of their products. Buyers can also track which crops are coming to harvest and when to assist logistics decisions.

New Developments

In this April’s issue, learn about the latest eProd’s developments, and how this will make your sourcing from smallholders more efficient.

From our daily interactions with agribusinesses like yours we understand the challenges you face managing farmers, and we are constantly responding to address your needs.

What latest developments are addressing these challenges?

New development: Most agribusinesses acknowledge that managing farmer field activities is challenging, especially capturing, recording, and analyzing field data. With this in mind, eProd’s development team has come up with an easy tool for field officers to capture field activities and carry out field follow-up through the eProd mobile app. From planting to harvest, eProd now makes it easy to collect data in the field and manage each stage of production. What’s more, this new field component will assist agribusinesses in decision making and projecting future production.

New development: Nearly all grain traders work through agents. With the large volumes traded during the peak seasons, managing procurement from the farmers calls for a helping hand. eProd is currently piloting a “Stock” and “Aggregator” module, specifically used to help agribusiness during these hectic times. This new feature will enable agents to capture the deliveries in the field and relay the same information to the office. With a click of a button, an agribusiness manager will be able to check the volumes aggregated in real time. This module also goes a step further to help the agents record input advances to farmers, and the agribusiness manager monitors the stock both in the office and in the field.

Moreover, we are working closely with strategic partners in the coffee sector in Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Through collaboration with Solidaridad and Catholic Relief Services, and other commercial partners, we aim to reach hundreds of coffee cooperatives, with the joint objective of building farmer management capacity and making their processes more efficient.

New Year, New Things

eProd is in the process of rebranding itself. Expect a new and revamped look! Inspired by our growth and milestones we expect to reach, we are taking on a new look and we hope these new changes will have you as excited as we are. The new eProd identity is an abstract representation of who we serve and how we serve. The solid circles represent the different companies and farmers who use our system whereas the outlined circles represent the business aspect of farming. The movement of these circles represent how data flows and is managed in the agribusiness ecosystem. The logo has a simple yet modern look that represents how our management systems operate.