KeBERA

Several interventions have been disseminated to increase the availability of certification, decrease costs, and streamline procedures, that reduce the time of organic certification process for smallholder organic farmers that do not have agreements with international export companies. This regulatory framework is managed by local certifying bodies UGOCERT, which was developed to reduce certification costs (30-50%) by training local inspectors to ensure soil management & crop production practices that meet international standard for organic consumers. In addition, trainings have been delivered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for example, Uganda Martyrs University and Makerere University have been central in providing scientific evidence necessary for informing development of the National Organic Agriculture Policy (NOAP) necessary for promoting multi-lateral trade negotiation that directly benefits smallholder farmers. While farmer certification has increased due to an increased number of certifying bodies and trainings (now standing at 210,352 farmers), their participation in the global market is less evident. Some ague that one of the overarching reasons for limited access by famers to the more lucrative markets is that the majority of actors along the organic value chain have limited access to digital communication technology and knowledge related to organic market penetration, moreover it’s argued that innovation in digital technology hold great promise for the future in agriculture and disruptive digital innovation will transform the way farming and food production is done. However, digital innovation that can lead to smart farming is still a challenge for not only farmers and stakeholders along the organic value chain in Uganda but it is also a challenge for researchers and extension agents in Africa due to the new relationships, skills, arrangements, techniques and digital devices that are quintessential to realizing healthy soils for sustainable production and productivity on the farm. Embedding ICT technology into traditional non-digital products and services such as the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) has a greater chance of producing a robust and economically valuable innovation that is socially desirable. Therefore, deviating from conventional research and Innovation, we now adopt a beginner’s mindset where we follow a step-by-step human cantered design process (HCD) that engages in a multi-disciplinary way with stakeholders to re-define the bottlenecks to market access, and brainstorming actionable solutions that support co-designing of practices of a digital wear (KeBERA) to ease the certification of the organic agriculture produce that meet the required organic market standards. The digital wear has 3 components i.e. PGS geo-mapping & traceability, E-marketing application MVP and application & device for testing soil, plants & foods for inorganic contaminants. Such a beginner’s mindset was tuned by the designers not only to translate into a greater acceptance of the innovation and trust among the end users but also to support automation, precise digital scanning of the soil, plants & fruits to optimize processes for producing larger quantities & quality of organic foods with less burden on the environment.

A co-created and multi-disciplinary desirable digital device with a mobile application and web-based system that provides a support and knowledge-based platform to help smallholder farmers practice sustainable agroecological farming and also meet organic farming certification requirements. Agroecological practices contribute to good health and well being, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mainly by increasing soil organic matter through carbon sequestration and by reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers that would otherwise use a lot of energy and high pressure. Therefore the functionality of our innovation that includes organic farmer traceability, PGS geo-mapping, E-marketing, testing for inorganic soil contaminants with the aid of artificial intelligence directly contributes to smart agriculture with less negative impact in a win-win scenario for the smallholder farmers.

The most affected end users of our digital ICT innovation are the smallholder organic farmers who are 210,000 who have limited access to the local, regional and the lucrative global market place worthy over USD 100B. To ease the pain of the limited access to the regional and global market place KeBERA innovation comes in to play, as of now smallholder farmers have embraced the non-digital PGS method of certification that is of short value chains and based on trust, other farmers resorting to the quick returns and pay outs of convesional farming to the local markets which is harmful to the environment due the strong inorganic chemicals and farming methods used, in the long run contributing to reduction in fertile lands and greenhouse gas emissions. However, with the KeBERA innovation time to market will be reduce, income levels improved, health and well being improved, increase in more fertile land for future production and investment, and most important of all, a sustainable, conducive and health working environment for both the farmers and the consumers. Currently Uganda ranks 3rd globally with 2044 PGS-certified producers after India (1,083,456) and Brazil (7821)

Our team is composed of multi-disciplinary experts from the field of agricultural and environment sciences, soil and environment, soil biogeochemistry, crop sciences, innovation and entrepreneurship, ICT and law. And the majority of team are youth below 35 years with a representation of around 30% female and 70% male. The majority of the team members are anchored within Makerere University which is a centre of knowledge generation.

Team Summary.

• Prof. Fred Kabi, role lead principal investigator in empathizing and redefining the problem, co-creating the solution to challenge through HCD, background BSc Agriculture, MSc Agriculture (Animal Science), College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences Makerere University, PhD Agriculture (Animal Nutrition) Agricultural University of Norway and Makerere University. Fred has specialized experience in productivity and growth in organic value chains and also experience in HCD approach to innovation in partnership with Aarhus University of Copenhagen, University of Nairobi and Sokoine University of Agriculture Tanzania.
• Ambrose Kamya, Role fundraising and Business modelling, background animal scientist Holds a BSc in Agriculture from the College Agricultural and Environmental Science Makerere University, Masters in Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology
• Fatuma Nabatanzi, Role General secretary, Background Crop scientist. Holds a BSc in Agriculture from the College Agricultural and Environmental Science Makerere University.
• Ramadhan Nkuutu, Role product development and system design. He holds a BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing and Information Sciences Makerere University, Consultant at Makerere Innovation and Incubation center, Holds a Technology support role at BP Scouts Training Centre & Campsite - Buwenda.
• Nyapendi Janent Magaldaline, legal affairs, holds BSc in Agriculture College Agricultural and Environmental Science Makerere University & Currently pursuing BA in Law Cavendish University
• Dr. Daniel Basalirwa, Role Research and Development, holds BSc Agriculture specializing in Crop Science from the College Agricultural and Environmental Science Makerere University, MSc Agriculture Soil and Environment Tottori University Japan, PhD Agriculture Soil and Environment Tottori University Japan, Post-Doctoral research (Soil Biogeochemistry) Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Sweden.
• Simon Aula, embedded systems and IOT, He holds a BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing and Information Sciences Makerere University, Consultant at Makerere Innovation and Incubation center.
• Monica. E Nakasumba, system requirements documentation, pursuing BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing and Information Sciences Makerere University
• Geoffrey Kajjubi, Operations, He holds a BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing and Information Sciences Makerere University, Operations lead at Makerere Innovation and Incubation center. 
• Martine Mugume, Machine Learning and Database model development, He holds a BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing and Information Sciences Makerere University
• Abdulbastu Lujja, Cyber Security lead, Holds an International Advanced Diploma in Computer Engineering from New Horizon Computer Learning Centre, Certificate in fundamentals of cyber security (FCS) - Milima Cyber Academy, Certificate in HCIA (Routing and switching) Huawei IT Academy, Certificate in Project Planning and Management (PPM) and Certificate in Project Monitoring and Evaluation - Labour College of East Africa
• David Wagalinemera, Database Administration, He holds a BSc in Software Engineering from College of Computing Makerere University

We have registered 251 smallholder organic farmers as end users of the digital innovation with none active because we have not yet launched but we have prototyped and tested with 30 stockholders and on boarded 3 Major organization along the organic value chain with whom the launch of the MVP will start as active users. As of now the PGS module of the innovation is complete for testing with stake holders and we are yet to have an Expertise test and feed back before the open testing takes place. the link to the PGS MVP can be found here https://app.keberaorganics.com 

Details of the workshops and Content can be found on this link. https://keberaorganics.com/doc

So far the innovation has impacted 251 smallholder farmers of which 173 are male and 78 are female. It has also impacted six public institutions which include National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU), Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF),Makerere University (MUK), Makrerere Innovation and Incubation Center (MIIC), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) and two civil society organization promoting agroecological agriculture which include Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) and Advocacy Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture (ACSA) but indirectly we impacted several exporters and input suppliers.

We also impacted two certifying bodies in Uganda which include Uganda Organic Certification Limited (Ugo Cert) and ECOCERT

We need extensive support in building, testing and deploying the Deep Learning Neural Network Database of the innovation that will help in device test data processing, analysis and result feedback for system users.

Extensive support in calibration, accuracy and industrialization of the digital testing device.

We also need support in branding, marketing and customer acquisition, Scaling the innovation from prototype stage to pilot stage and then growth.

Currently we are stack at prototyping of the digital device, calibration and accuracy, the deep learning neural network database, PGS MVP soft and hard launch, and market penetration due to limited resources which include expertise (in the fields of machine learning, microscopy and spectroscopy), funds to support the different innovation processes, Branding and Marketing Team, among other required resources.     

The most recent solution development is the Digital PGS geo-mapping and traceability MVP, and e-marking MVP to support a win-win approach to sustainable agroecological practices that emphasize soil health, as we strive to finalize the ML Database, the Digital testing device and its application (KeBERA).

Several interventions have been disseminated to increase the availability of certification, decrease costs, and streamline procedures, that reduce the time of organic certification process for smallholder organic farmers that do not have agreements with international export companies. This regulatory framework is managed by local certifying bodies UGOCERT, which was developed to reduce certification costs (30-50%) by training local inspectors to ensure soil management & crop production practices that meet international standard for organic consumers. In addition, trainings have been delivered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for example, Uganda Martyrs University and Makerere University have been central in providing scientific evidence necessary for informing development of the National Organic Agriculture Policy (NOAP) necessary for promoting multi-lateral trade negotiation that directly benefits smallholder farmers. While farmer certification has increased due to an increased number of certifying bodies and trainings (now standing at 210,352 farmers), there participation in the global market is less evident. Some argue that one of the overarching reasons for limited access by famers to the more lucrative markets is that the majority of actors along the organic value chain have limited access to digital communication technology and knowledge related to organic market penetration, moreover it is argued that innovation in digital technology hold great promise for the future in agriculture and disruptive digital innovation will transform the way farming and food production is done. However, digital innovation that can lead to smart farming is still a challenge for not only farmers and stakeholders along the organic value chain in Uganda but it is also a challenge for researchers and extension agents in Africa due to the new relationships, skills, arrangements, techniques and digital devices that are quintessential to realizing healthy soils for sustainable production and productivity on the farm. Embedding ICT technology into traditional non-digital products and services such as the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) has a greater chance of producing a robust and economically valuable innovation that is socially desirable. Therefore, deviating from conventional research and Innovation, we now adopt a beginner’s mindset where we follow a step-by-step human cantered design process (HCD) that engages in a multi-disciplinary way with stakeholders to re-define the bottlenecks to market access, and brainstorming actionable solutions that support co-designing of practices of a digital wear (KeBERA) to ease the certification of the organic agriculture produce that meet the required organic market standards. The digital wear has 3 components i.e. PGS geo-mapping & traceability, E-marketing application MVP and application & device for testing soil, plants & foods for inorganic contaminants. Such a beginner’s mindset was tuned by the designers not only to translate into a greater acceptance of the innovation and trust among the end users but also to support automation, precise digital scanning of the soil, plants & fruits to optimize processes for producing larger quantities & quality of organic foods with less burden on the environment.

Our current impact goals are:

• Number of registered smallholder farmers and partnerships gained as an indication of the innovation acceptance   
• complete Successful MVPs released and launched as an indication of product and Market Fit.
• Number of Complete Extension Services as an indication of successful knowledge dissemination.
• Number of Complete Successfully Tests Done as an indication of clean, safe, health and sustainable conducive environment adoptability.
• Number of registered and supported digital PGS as an indication of safe food consumption and healthy environment  
• Number of youths employed as an indication of job creation
• Number of Complete Sales Done as indication of market access and value addition both to small holder farmers and consumers in terms of income generation and trust for safe food respectively.

Therefore, in the next 1 year,

We plan to have over at least 5000 to add on our 251 registered organic farmers of the current standing 210,352, through our partnership with National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU), Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF), Makerere University (MUK), and  the two civil society organization promoting agroecological agriculture which include Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) and Advocacy Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture (ACSA) while using our PGS MVP to geo-locate, zone and map different organic markets and farmer groups for access and consumption trust, also as to work as starting point as evidence for practicing agroecological agriculture due to market availability through our Market app MVP to register at least 1000 smallholder farmers from convesional to organic to add on the current standing 210,352 as an initiative to restoring natural ecosystems to mitigate impacts and as proof of adapt land and coastal areas to more extreme weather including through climate-smart agriculture as we target to complete our Testing Device and Machine learning Database to enable us conduct at least 1 million successful tests for next three years while predicting, analysing and providing feedback on the different ways to improve agroecological agriculture through the extreme changing weather patterns, as result we plan to employ at least 100 youth in the 1st year to help with the testing activities, and register at least 500 extension workers with the ratio of 1 to 10 farmers for information and training dissemination. In the next five years we plan to at least have covered most of Uganda and expanding our services to Kenya, Rwanda and Tanzania as we plan to cover the sub-Saharan region as it plays a big part on the current state of the of the global weather condition just like the amazon forests.      

The current KPIs used for impact assessment are number of partnerships gained, number of registered smallholder farmers and complete MVPs released and launched, and the intended KPIs to add on are Number of Complete Extension Services, Number of Complete Tests Done, Number of supported digital PGS, Number of youths employed and Number of Complete Sales Done as indication of market access.

So far, the innovation has impacted 251 smallholder farmers of which 173 are male and 78 are female. One complete PGS MVP not yet released and launched, It has also impacted six public institutions which include National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU), Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries (MAAIF),Makerere University (MUK), Makerere Innovation and Incubation Centre (MIIC), Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), Uganda Export Promotion Board (UEPB) and two civil society organization promoting agroecological agriculture which include Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM) and Advocacy Coalition for Sustainable Agriculture (ACSA) but indirectly we impacted several exporters and input suppliers. We also impacted two certifying bodies in Uganda which include Uganda Organic Certification Limited (Ugo Cert) and ECOCERT

Several interventions have been disseminated to increase the availability of certification, decrease costs, and streamline procedures, that reduce the time of organic certification process for smallholder organic farmers that do not have agreements with international export companies. This regulatory framework is managed by local certifying bodies UGOCERT, which was developed to reduce certification costs (30-50%) by training local inspectors to ensure soil management & crop production practices that meet international standard for organic consumers. In addition, trainings have been delivered by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) for example, Uganda Martyrs University and Makerere University have been central in providing scientific evidence necessary for informing development of the National Organic Agriculture Policy (NOAP) necessary for promoting multi-lateral trade negotiation that directly benefits smallholder farmers. While farmer certification has increased due to an increased number of certifying bodies and trainings (now standing at 210,352 farmers), there participation in the global market is less evident. Some argue that one of the overarching reasons for limited access by famers to the more lucrative markets is that the majority of actors along the organic value chain have limited access to digital communication technology and knowledge related to organic market penetration, moreover it is argued that innovation in digital technology hold great promise for the future in agriculture and disruptive digital innovation will transform the way farming and food production is done. However, digital innovation that can lead to smart farming is still a challenge for not only farmers and stakeholders along the organic value chain in Uganda but it is also a challenge for researchers and extension agents in Africa due to the new relationships, skills, arrangements, techniques and digital devices that are quintessential to realizing healthy soils for sustainable production and productivity on the farm. Embedding ICT technology into traditional non-digital products and services such as the Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) has a greater chance of producing a robust and economically valuable innovation that is socially desirable. Therefore, deviating from conventional research and Innovation, we now adopt a beginner’s mindset where we follow a step-by-step human cantered design process (HCD) that engages in a multi-disciplinary way with stakeholders (Includes research done in five district with 251 smallholders, Key informative interviews from six public institutions, two civil society organization and  two certifying bodies) to re-define the bottlenecks to market access, and brainstorming actionable solutions that support co-designing of practices of a digital wear (KeBERA) to ease the certification of the organic agriculture produce that meet the required organic market standards. The digital wear has 3 components i.e. PGS geo-mapping & traceability, E-marketing application MVP and application & device for testing soil, plants & foods for inorganic contaminants. Such a beginner’s mindset was tuned by the designers not only to translate into a greater acceptance of the innovation and trust among the end users but also to support automation, precise digital scanning of the soil, plants & fruits to optimize processes for producing larger quantities & quality of organic foods with less burden on the environment.

The deep learning neural network database with the guide of the spectroscopy, mobile and web application, with integration of GIS and Geospatial technology, with compilation of Materials science and Bioengineering the KeBERA platform is able to analyze, predict and provide data that can support different solutions to improve environmental sustainability and heath while providing market options through the e-commerce web and mobile portal to smallholder farmers as an incentive to encourage them to continue practicing agroecological agriculture for the future of our lives.         

On the team we have agricultural scientists, software engineers, electrical engineer, business and marketing which is composed of both male & female between the age of 25yrs to 55yrs. Currently we have not developed any hiring policy, however, we follow the hiring policy of Makerere University.

Our Business model entails embedding a mandatory booking section that prompts Payment for Each Test service request from a given PGS for each product in return we offer the results of test to the National Organic Agricultural Movement of Uganda (NOGAMU) to cut short the time taken to curry out due diligence on confirming that the PGS is well suited to trade organically and QR-codes for market are generated for them, as well on the consumption side a QR-code scanner is provided to scanner the QR-codes in the market for deferent products provided by the PGSs to confirm authenticity of organic and traceability, as well a testing option is provided with a prompt to pay for each scan done by the app to detect inorganic compounds on the product in case the consumer wants to further prove if the product is safe for consumption.  User timely Subscription access to Analyzed data for informed decision making is available for all stockholders along the value chain, Commission off online market sales of 5% par sale is cut off for the PGSs using the e-commerce portal of KeBERA, Payment for market research Implementation through digital data analysis with individuals, organizations and government bodies. This revenue model approach will sustain the finance for this venture while putting front the end-user goals.

Our intended revenue model entails embedding a mandatory booking section that prompts Payment for Each Test service request, User timely Subscription access to Analysed data for informed decision making, Commission off online market sales of 5% par sale, Payment for market research Implementation through digital data analysis with individuals, organizations and government bodies. This revenue model approach will sustain the finance for this venture.

Our major source of funding was a grant under auspices of USAID, BHEARD, implemented by Michigan State University in collaboration with Makerere University that supported a mentorship program provided by Prof. David Mkwambisi of Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST). All this was under the theme: University responsiveness to innovation of a Total of 20,000 USD which we divided into four phases across a period of four years (2019, 2020, 2021, 2022), which included activities like, definition & ideation, low fidelity prototyping & testing, ideation workshops with stakeholders, low fidelity prototyping & testing workshops with stakeholders, field research across five districts (Kayunga, Wakiso, Luweero, Mityana and Kamuli) with smallholder farmers, Key important interviews with stake holders along the value chain (KIIs), product & service development, expertise hiring in different fields, feedback workshops with stakeholders and finally currently the innovation manuscript and company registration.