Netagrow

At Netagrow, we are addressing the problem of food insecurity by providing a seamless agriculture solution that leverages big data, remote sensing, and AI to improve crop production and yield. Small-scale, medium, and large farmers in Zambia face significant challenges in optimizing their yields, reducing food waste, and implementing eco-friendly technology in agriculture. The lack of access to reliable data and insights for decision-making in farming practices and land management is leading to slowing yield trends in staple crops, making it challenging to meet the growing food demand. Even after optimizing their yields, farmers still face post-harvest challenges that result in significant losses. In addition, Lusaka alone produces 77 million kg of food waste annually, contributing to the creation of 6 kilo tons of methane gas, which is harmful to the environment. The challenge of feeding a growing population is significant, with an estimated 300+ million people globally experiencing hunger. Our solution aims to empower farmers with the data and insights needed to optimize their farming practices, increase yields, and improve food security for their communities. Factors contributing to this problem include climate change, inefficient farming practices, and limited access to technology and information. By providing a user-friendly, data-driven platform, we aim to make sustainable agriculture more accessible and effective for farmers around the world.

Netagrow provides a decision-support platform for agriculture that enables farmers to monitor and manage their crops from anywhere. With the ability to access extremely precise weather information for each field, farmers can make smarter decisions and streamline the crop management process using digital solutions. Netagrow also offers an online store for farmers to sell their produce directly to customers, cutting out the middleman and maximizing profits. The platform tracks expenses and income, organizes them into categories, and offers real-time data collection and advanced sensors to optimize yields. With satellite monitoring and an AI consultant, farmers can receive personalized recommendations for crop improvement, and the easy-to-use dashboard provides farm management on-the-go. Experience the power of Netagrow and revolutionize the way you manage your crops.

At Netagrow, we offer a seamless agriculture solution that uses big data, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve crop production and yield. Our user-friendly platform provides farmers with valuable insights and data-driven recommendations to optimize their farming practices and increase yields. Our solution works by collecting and analyzing data from multiple sources such as weather, soil, and crop growth patterns, which is then used to generate personalized recommendations for each farmer. Through the use of remote sensing technologies such as remote sensing and satellites, AI consultant, we are able to provide accurate and up-to-date information to farmers, allowing them to make informed decisions about their farming practices. 

With the ability to access extremely precise weather information for each field, farmers can make smarter decisions and streamline the crop management process using digital solutions. Netagrow also offers an online store for farmers to sell their produce directly to customers, cutting out the middleman and maximizing profits. The platform tracks expenses and income, organizes them into categories, and offers real-time data collection and advanced sensors to optimize yields.Farmers can receive personalized recommendations for crop improvement, and the easy-to-use dashboard provides farm management on-the-go. 

Our goal is to make sustainable agriculture more accessible and effective for farmers worldwide.

we are well-positioned to deliver solutions that meet the needs of the communities we serve. Our team has a diverse set of skills and experience in the agriculture and technology industries. We understand that it takes a multidisciplinary team to create innovative solutions that are both technologically advanced and community-oriented.

We believe that it is essential to involve the communities in the design and implementation of our solutions to ensure that they are tailored to their needs and agendas. We are engaging the communities we serve by partnering with local NGOs and farmers' cooperatives to understand their needs and incorporate their input into our solutions. We recognize that the needs of each community are unique, and so we take a community-first approach to our work.

We have created several channels of engagement with the communities we serve. We are using a human-centered design approach to understand their needs, which involves conducting user research, interviewing community members, and hosting focus groups. We also partner with local organizations to understand the unique challenges and opportunities that each community presents. This approach helps us to create solutions that are not only innovative but also contextually relevant and impactful.

We also understand that technology is not a one-size-fits-all solution, and so we involve the communities we serve in the design and implementation of our solutions. We have co-created several solutions with the communities we serve.

we are well-positioned to deliver solutions that are tailored to the needs of the communities we serve.

Currently, our solution serves 50 farms, with an average of 2-3 farmers per farm, totaling approximately 100-150 farmers. This number is expected to grow as we continue to expand our reach and onboard new clients. Our survey of 150+ farmers confirms that there is a strong demand for data-driven farming solutions, and a majority of them express interest in using our decision support platform. This underscores the potential impact our solution can have in the agricultural industry, not only for the farmers we currently serve but for a broader audience as well. As we continue to grow and scale, we aim to reach more farmers and communities, ultimately contributing to sustainable agriculture and the economic development of rural areas.

we are applying to Solve because we believe in the power of innovation and collaboration to tackle complex challenges like food insecurity and unsustainable farming practices. We hope to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations through Solve's network to help us overcome the barriers we face in scaling our solution, such as limited access to funding, partnerships, and technical expertise. We see Solve as an opportunity to share our vision and gain feedback and insights from a diverse community of experts, which will help us refine and improve our solution. Ultimately, our goal is to create a more sustainable and equitable food system by empowering farmers with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed decisions and increase their productivity and profitability.

Netagrow's solution is innovative in several ways. Firstly, our platform leverages satellite and IoT technologies to provide real-time, location-specific data to farmers, enabling them to make data-driven decisions. This is a significant improvement over traditional farming methods, which rely on intuition and experience. By providing farmers with accurate and up-to-date information, our platform enables them to optimize their crop yields, reduce losses due to pest and disease, and minimize their environmental impact.

Secondly, our platform is designed to be user-friendly and accessible to farmers with varying levels of technological literacy. We have developed a mobile application that can be accessed via smartphones, which are increasingly ubiquitous even in rural areas. Our user interface is designed to be intuitive, and our system requires minimal training to use effectively. By making our platform accessible to a broad range of farmers, we aim to bridge the digital divide in the agriculture industry and democratize access to decision support tools.

Thirdly, our platform is built with sustainability in mind. By providing farmers with real-time data, our platform can help them optimize their use of resources such as water and fertilizer, reducing waste and improving efficiency. Furthermore, our platform encourages farmers to adopt sustainable agricultural practices by providing them with information on eco-friendly alternatives to traditional farming methods.

Our solution has the potential to catalyze broader positive impacts from others in this space by serving as a model for how technology can be used to promote sustainable agriculture. We believe that our platform can be replicated in other regions, providing decision support tools to farmers and helping to drive sustainable growth in the agricultural sector.

In terms of market impact, we believe that our solution can change the market by creating a new category of agricultural decision support platforms that are accessible, user-friendly, and designed with sustainability in mind. As more farmers adopt data-driven farming practices, we anticipate that demand for our platform will grow, creating opportunities for partnerships with other stakeholders in the agricultural industry. By pioneering this new category of agricultural technology, we hope to help drive positive change in the industry and promote sustainable growth for farmers and the broader ecosystem.

In the next year, our goal is to expand the reach of our solution to serve at least 200 farms, impacting the livelihoods of over 600 farmers and their families. To achieve this, we plan to leverage our existing partnerships with local NGOs and farmers' cooperatives to spread awareness of our solution and build trust with the farming community. We will also continue to engage with farmers through workshops and training sessions to ensure that they understand the benefits of using our platform and how it can help them make informed decisions about their crops.

Over the next five years, our goal is to become the leading provider of data-driven farming solutions in Zambia, impacting the lives of at least 10,000 farmers and their families. To achieve this, we plan to scale up our operations by expanding our team and developing new partnerships with key players in the agricultural sector, such as seed and fertilizer companies. We will also explore new revenue streams, such as offering value-added services like soil testing and crop mapping, to generate sustainable revenue for the business while providing additional benefits to our customers.

We will measure our impact based on several metrics, including the number of farmers using our platform, the percentage increase in crop yields, and the reduction in post-harvest losses. We will also assess the impact on farmers' livelihoods by tracking changes in their income, access to markets, and overall quality of life. Finally, we will seek feedback from our customers to ensure that our solution continues to meet their evolving needs and remains relevant in the ever-changing agricultural landscape.

We believe that it is crucial to have clear and measurable indicators to track our progress towards our impact goals. Below are some of the indicators we are currently using to measure our progress:

• Number of farmers using our platform: We track the number of farmers who have signed up to use our platform as a primary indicator of our reach and impact. Our target is to onboard 500 farmers within the next year and 5,000 farmers within the next five years.
• Reduction in crop waste and post-harvest loss: We are working towards reducing crop waste and post-harvest loss through our platform by providing farmers with the necessary information to make informed decisions. We aim to reduce post-harvest loss by 30% within the next year and 50% within the next five years.
• Increased income for farmers: We aim to increase farmers' income by providing them with data-driven insights that help them make informed decisions about their farming activities. We track farmers' income levels before and after using our platform to determine the impact of our solution. Our target is to increase farmers' income by 20% within the next year and 50% within the next five years.
• Reduction in greenhouse gas emissions: Our platform helps farmers optimize their farming practices, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted in the process. We aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 10% within the next year and 30% within the next five years.

We believe that by tracking these indicators, we will be able to measure our progress towards our impact goals and make any necessary adjustments to ensure that we are making a meaningful difference in the lives of farmers and contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Our theory of change is based on the premise that by providing data-driven farming solutions to smallholder farmers, we can empower them to make informed decisions that lead to improved crop yields and increased incomes.

Our activities include developing and implementing a decision support platform that integrates real-time weather data, crop and soil data, and market prices to provide farmers with actionable insights. Our outputs include providing farmers with personalized crop management plans, alerts on weather and pest outbreaks, and access to markets through our platform.

Through these outputs, we expect to achieve the following outcomes in the short term:

• Increased crop yields and incomes for smallholder farmers
• Improved crop management practices, including more efficient use of resources such as water and fertilizer
• Increased access to markets and improved market prices for farmers

In the longer term, we expect our solution to lead to the following outcomes:

• Improved food security in communities where smallholder farmers are a significant source of food
• Increased resilience to climate change and variability among smallholder farmers
• Improved economic development in rural areas through increased agricultural productivity and incomes

To support our theory of change, we will conduct process and impact evaluations to assess the effectiveness of our solution in achieving these outcomes. We will also regularly collect and analyze data on key indicators such as crop yields, incomes, and market access to track progress toward our impact goals.

Our solution is powered by a combination of mobile technology, machine learning algorithms, and cloud computing. We have developed a mobile application that enables farmers to collect data about their crops and farming practices using their smartphones. The data collected includes information about soil health, weather conditions, crop growth patterns, and pest and disease outbreaks. This data is uploaded to a cloud-based platform that uses machine learning algorithms to analyze the data and provide insights and recommendations to farmers.

The machine learning algorithms use historical data about crop growth patterns, weather conditions, and pest and disease outbreaks to identify potential problems in real-time and provide recommendations to farmers on how to mitigate these problems. For example, if the algorithms detect a potential pest outbreak, they may recommend a specific pesticide or biological control method to farmers. Additionally, the algorithms can provide recommendations on the optimal timing for planting and harvesting crops, based on weather conditions and historical growth patterns.

Our technology is designed to be accessible to farmers with limited technical expertise or resources. The mobile application is user-friendly and can be used on low-end smartphones. The cloud-based platform is designed to be scalable and can handle large amounts of data from multiple sources. By leveraging mobile technology and machine learning, our solution has the potential to significantly improve the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers while reducing the environmental impact of agriculture.

Our team recognizes that diversity, equity, and inclusivity are essential to achieving our mission. We believe that diverse perspectives and backgrounds enrich our work and enable us to better understand and address the needs of the communities we serve. Our team comprises of 4 females and 2 males, and we are committed to increasing diversity in our leadership and staff in the future.

To ensure that our work is equitable and inclusive, we have taken several steps. We have conducted an internal audit of our hiring and promotion practices, and we are working to eliminate any bias or barriers that may exist. We have also implemented training on unconscious bias and cultural competency for all staff members. Additionally, we actively seek out partnerships and collaborations with organizations and individuals that represent diverse communities and perspectives.

We are committed to ensuring that our solution is accessible and beneficial to all members of the community, regardless of their background or identity. This includes incorporating feedback from diverse stakeholders throughout the development and implementation of our solution, and continually monitoring and evaluating the impact of our work on different populations. We recognize that this is an ongoing process, and we are dedicated to learning and improving as we work towards our mission.

Our solution follows a hybrid business model that incorporates both social impact and revenue generation. We provide a subscription service that enables users to access our software as a service (SaaS) platform, which leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies to deliver personalized recommendations and insights. Our platform also serves as a platform as a service (PaaS), providing APIs and other tools for third-party developers to integrate our solution into their own products or services.

Our customers and beneficiaries include individuals, businesses, and organizations in the agriculture sector who are seeking to optimize their operations, increase efficiency, and reduce waste. By using our platform, they can make data-driven decisions that lead to improved outcomes and greater sustainability. Our revenue comes from subscription fees for accessing our platform and licensing fees for using our APIs and other tools.

We believe that our business model is sustainable and scalable, as it enables us to generate revenue while also delivering significant social impact. Additionally, our PaaS offering allows us to leverage the expertise and resources of a broad range of partners and stakeholders, potentially catalyzing even greater positive change in the agriculture sector.

Our revenue model includes a combination of different streams that will ensure our financial sustainability. Firstly, we plan to generate revenue through a subscription-based service for our platform, where users will pay a monthly or annual fee for access to our software tools and services. Secondly, we plan to offer our platform as a white-label solution for other organizations in the industry, which will bring in revenue through licensing fees. Additionally, we plan to partner with businesses and organizations to offer customized solutions and consulting services, which will generate revenue through service contracts.

In the long term, we plan to continue to diversify our revenue streams by exploring potential investment opportunities and partnerships with impact investors, venture capitalists, and philanthropic organizations. We will also work to establish strategic partnerships with governments, NGOs, and other organizations to secure sustainable funding for our work. Ultimately, our goal is to build a financially sustainable business model that supports our mission to empower individuals and communities to create positive social and environmental impac

We have made significant strides towards achieving financial sustainability for our solution. One of the main sources of funding that we have received has been through grants, web service credits and bootstrapping. In total, we have been able to raise $,7000 in funding from these sources.

We have also been successful in securing additional funding through partnerships with businesses and organizations that share our mission of using technology to empower smallholder farmers. For example, we have partnered with a local technology company that provides software development services, and they have provided us with a grant to help us further develop our solution.

In addition, we have begun to explore revenue-generating opportunities through our solution. One such opportunity is to offer premium features or services to our users for a fee. This will allow us to generate revenue while still providing our core services to smallholder farmers for free.

We are confident in our ability to continue to achieve financial sustainability for our solution. We will continue to seek out partnerships and funding opportunities, as well as explore revenue-generating opportunities, to ensure that we can continue to provide our services to smallholder farmers for years to come.