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The Advantages of Boots on the Ground: Is it Really Possible to Digitize the Last Mile in Smallholder Agriculture?
Mobile connections, big data and technologies like artificial intelligence are creating new opportunities to serve smallholder farmers with financial and other services. But since many farmers still lack reliable internet and mobile connectivity, businesses serving these customers must still leverage both physical and digital tools, says Hamilton McNutt at Strategic Impact Advisors. He explores the different ways some businesses are combining digital innovations with an on-the-ground presence to solve the challenges of last-mile access.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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How Do We Define ‘Farmer’?: Why Outdated Perceptions are Complicating Data-Driven Agriculture
Who qualifies as a ‘farmer’? This sounds like a simple question for any agricultural intervention, but it is fraught with complexity. Sometimes farm owners live in the city, hiring caretakers to farm their land. Other times, women do most of the actual farming, but their husbands collect the income. Even the definition of ‘smallholder’ is often ambiguous. As efforts to digitize farming data gather momentum, Bobbi Gray at Grameen Foundation explores some ways to clarify this picture – and the challenges this will involve.
- Categories
- Agriculture
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For Agritech, Digital Health Startups, Enormous Opportunities In Africa and India
Startups around the world should begin looking more seriously at emerging markets for their growth plans. This isn’t just about impact and making the world a better place, this makes really good business sense.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Technology
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Press release: ICMIF and CIC launch new project to cover over 250,000 Kenyan farmers with livestock microinsurance
Tom Gitogo, Group CEO, CIC confirms the proposed impact of the project: “Over the next five years, we plan to issue over 250,000 livestock microinsurance policies to previously uninsured low-income farmers, equating to 500,000 cows insured. CIC will scale up our livestock microinsurance product by partnering with dairy cooperative associations as part of a holistic approach to improving the lives and livelihoods of low-income farmers and their families”.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Nespresso Invests Big in Zimbabwe Coffee Amid Agricultural Reforms
Zimbabwe’s coffee sector has fluctuated wildly over the past 30 years in terms of production volumes, exports and producer income, primarily due to controversial land battles that caused nearly all of the white plantation owners of European and Australian lineage to flee.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Oxfam appoints Sriskandarajah as chief executive
Oxfam GB has appointed Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah as its new chief executive, taking over from Mark Goldring “around the end of 2018”. Sriskandarajah is currently secretary general and chief executive of CIVICUS, the Johannesburg-based global alliance of civil society organisations and activists with members in more than 180 countries.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Health Care
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press release: UK aid helps farmers across Africa grow their businesses and protect livestock
UK aid will transform the agricultural sector in African countries, including research and technology projects to tackle killer cattle diseases and create better paid jobs for farmers. A profitable agricultural sector is essential to African countries, contributing half of the continent’s total export value. The World Bank estimates the sector accounts for 20% of the continent’s entire GDP.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Hello Tractor, Aeris to launch farm machinery rental services in India
According to Rishi Mohan Bhatnagar, President of Aeris India, the service is likely to be launched with 500 tractors in less than three months in eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, where fewer farmers can afford expensive machinery, unlike relatively prosperous and large farmers in states like Punjab and Haryana where ownership of farm equipment is high.
- Categories
- Agriculture
- Region
- South Asia
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