Harnessing Technology
Heifer International works with public and private sector partners and agritech innovators to make technologies accessible and affordable to smallholder farmers, leveraging digital solutions and innovations to improve access to information, markets and finance, and to transform food systems.
We utilize technology across our program portfolio, where it has the potential to strengthen smallholder enterprises, while accelerating agritech advancements through our Heifer Labs and AYuTe initiatives.
Heifer Labs
The technology experts of our Heifer Labs unit partner with country teams to co-design and co-deploy culturally sensitive digital solutions that involve farmers throughout the process. These solutions equip farmers with advisory services, access to finance and connection to markets.
Some examples include:
- The Living Income Pricing tool, a data collection application that provides cooperatives in Honduras with accurate pricing information and fosters better buyer relationships.
- The Access to Finance Platform, a mobile platform that facilitates bank loans and financial training for farmers in Bangladesh.
- The Cooperative Digital Platform, a mobile platform that supports cooperative networks in Nepal with access to inputs and production support, pricing data and marketing.
AYuTe Africa NextGen
Heifer’s AYuTe Africa NextGen program supports young African entrepreneurs in developing agritech solutions to address smallholder farmers’ challenges, providing necessary incubation and financing. The AyuTe Africa Challenge, an annual competition under this initiative, awards grants and offers ongoing support and mentorship to strong growth stage agritech innovators.
Winning entrepreneurs include:
- ThriveAgric, an agritech company using its proprietary “agriculture operating system” to power apps that provide smallholder farmers with finance, technical advice, business skills and market opportunities.
- DigiCow, a mobile app connecting small-scale dairy farmers to livestock management experts, skilled veterinarians and input services for free.
- Brastorne, an app development company giving farmers access to information, markets and short-term finance using the capabilities of any basic feature phone, such as SMS and interactive voice technology.
Resources
The Future of Africa's Agriculture: An Assessment of the Role of Youth and Technology
Agriculture contributes heavily to the GDP of many African countries and it employs more than half of the rural population across the continent. In places like Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia, the contribution of agriculture to the economy has created some economic growth.
Mechanization for Africa Impact Report
To address the low agricultural mechanization within Africa, Heifer and its partners like Hello Tractor are increasing farmers access to technology and machinery to improve productivity and their incomes. This document outlines the challenges farmers face, solutions and impacts of increasing mechanization in countries such as Nigeria and Kenya.
Digital Solutions Guidebook
This guidebook summarizes Heifer’s experience with digital solution inclusion from working with smallholder farmers and outlines how to apply digital technology in smallholder farmer development interventions.
