Yet WFP in Guatemala believe that the smartphone revolution offers unparalleled opportunity to solve this global challenge. AgriUp - a Foursquare for Farmers - is user-friendly, low-bandwidth smartphone app/website that will provide farmers with location-specific information including weather alerts, agricultural advice and nutrition tips.
Project overview
The lives of small-holder farmers could be revolutionized by AgriUp, a low bandwidth smartphone application currently under development.
In Guatemala, smallholder farmers represent approximately a third of the country’s population, with many vulnerable to hunger and constrained by limited farming knowledge and low levels of literacy.
Foursquare for farmers
Weather alerts
“There is a risk of heavy rain in the long term weather forecast for your location. We suggest that you begin to harvest in the next three days.”
Actionable tips about agriculture, like the example above, ensure they combine new tools and approaches with more traditional methods; information about prices could guarantee fair market conditions.
Already a pilot is supporting more than 60 smallholder farmers in rural Guatemala with basic information on weather and market prices for basic grains through a minimum viable product. And by working closely with farmers in the field, AgriUp is iteratively developing to improve the quality of the information, and best meet the needs of the people WFP serves.
By providing critical information - through the power of technology - AgriUp can help vulnerable farmers to improve their harvests, achieve food security and support their local economies.
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Last updated:
23/04/2020