December 15, 2022
Open Letter to Mr. Abdulmajid Nsekela, TCDC, Cooperatives
Open Letter to Mr. Abdulmajid Nsekela, TCDC, Warehouse Receipt Regulatory Board, Cooperatives, Farmers unions, investment firms, banks, insurance and various agricultural stakeholders
A few years ago, when we started our e-commerce platformrnthat connects smallholder farmers directly to the market, bypassing middlemen,rnwe were filled with hope. Over 20,000 users registered as farmers, and we hadrnmore than 1,000 buyers, both local and international. However, our dreams werernshattered when we discovered that more than 90% of those who claimed to bernfarmers were actually middlemen. Our buyers were unhappy, and deals fellrnthrough because some of the middlemen were unreliable. The data we collectedrnwas messy and unreliable. It pains me to see other platforms making the samernmistakes.
Did we give up? No. We went to the village to work directlywith smallholder farmers, and now we are back with a stronger, more disruptiverndigital agriculture and farm ERP platform. In just 10 months, we have managedrnto map more than real 30,000 farmers in partnership with few farm associations and manufacturers using our new traceability farm managementrnplatform.
This open letter is based on our experience, the lessons wernhave learned, and the technology we have discovered that has the potential tornrevolutionize the food system through collaboration with cooperatives, agriculturalrnbodies, institutions, insurance companies, agro dealers, and all otherrnstakeholders in the agriculture industry.
Our wake-up call came when we deployed a crop collection andrndistribution management system to 19 manufacturing companies. As part of ourrnnew farm ERP system, the crop collection management system enablesrnmanufacturers to track the movement of crops from the farms to collectionrncenters and warehouses. We were able to digitize the entire process, includingrnthe payment systems. I told my co-founder, what if we digitize the entire agrirnchain working in partnership with key players in Agri chain?
Our journey began by working with farm cooperatives andrntheir Agricultural Marketing Cooperative Societies (AMCOS). We realized that arnrevolution in agriculture is impossible without digitizing the workflow ofrnthese groups and transforming them into commercial agricultural enterprisesrnthat support their farmers. Some of the key players we work with include:
1. rnCooperatives
2. rnAMCOS
3. rnAgronomists
4. rnAgro dealers
5. rnManufacturers
6. rnWarehouses
When we heard about Mr. Abdulmajid Nsekela being appointed as the Chairman of the Tanzania Cooperative Development Commission (TCDC) byrnthe President, we were thrilled. It was as if our prayers had been answered.rnTogether, we can build a giant farm ERP, e-commerce, and traceability platformrnthat is even more advanced than Alibaba.
We can serve farmers and protect their interests byrnpartnering with officials from farmers' unions. We must empower union marketrnofficials to become professional marketers who use technology to accessrndomestic and international markets for our farmers' crops, rather than waitingrnfor buyers to come to them and offer low prices to farmers. We cannot continuernto allow the profits of our smallholder farmers to be drained by the fivernlevels of middlemen that dominate our unstructured food system. We want to makernour farmers and their unions marketable, traceable, insurable, and investablernon a global scale.
How is this possible? Mazao Hub's farm ERP and digitalrnagriculture platform was designed specifically for this purpose. Our platformrnallows us to map everything:
1. rnfarmers and their farms,
2. rncollection centers and warehouses,
3. rnagronomists and agro dealers,
4. rnfarm machinery and irrigation systems,
5. rnmanufacturers and their locations,
6. rnlogistics providers and their trucks, and more.
We can manage farmers, farming activities, and complex farmrnoperations, make data-driven decisions, optimize costs, improve yields, andrnmore, all with custom-designed modules or software for each key player allrnintegrated together into Mazao Hub ecosystem. Our platform is built on thernlatest technology, including artificial intelligence, and the Internet ofrnThings, to ensure transparency, traceability, and accountability in the entirernagricultural value chain. It also provides real-time market information andrnprices, weather forecast and alerts, farming best practices and management, andrnpersonalized extension services to farmers.
But most importantly, our platform empowers farmers andrntheir unions to become owners and managers of their own data and to have a sayrnin the decisions that affect their lives and livelihoods. It gives them accessrnto finance, insurance, and other essential services, and it connects them tornreliable buyers and markets.
Our goal is to create a new, more structured food systemrnthat empowers farmers, protects their interests, and ensures the sustainabilityrnof the agriculture industry as a whole.
The time has come for us to come together and collaborate tornmake a difference in the lives of smallholder farmers in Tanzania and beyond.rnThe Mazao Hub ecosystem infrastructure is accessible to anyone, anywhere, andrnis available on the Google Playstore as Mazao Hub. We have users in Tanzania,rnZimbabwe, Zambia, Congo, South Africa, Kenya, and Uganda.
Why do we need to collaborate?
We are desperate to collaborate with farmer’s unions andrnofficials to help them map their farmers and digitize the entire croprnproduction activities with real time insights. By Mapping these farmers, wernwill understand the unique challenges each farmer faces, policymakers andrnorganizations can better target the right solutions. This will also allow forrnbetter monitoring of progress and performance each farmer using Mazao Hub FarmrnManagement system. And for more effective interventions, such as providingrnaccess to finance, support, advice or more improved technology. It also allowsrnfor better data collection, which can be used to inform decisions aboutrnpolicies and investments.
Mazao Hub promotes best production practices for over 100rncrops, with detailed record-keeping and monitoring of environmental and supplyrnchain variables. By mapping farmers, will allows for the traceability andrntransparency of farm production, enabling small-scale farmers to be competitivernin the global marketplace.
As Mazao Hub ecosystem, we provide modules for each user andrnpartner:
1. rnAMCOS management system for Cooperatives to havernreal time insights on performance or progress of each farmer in their relatedrnunions or groups. Including crop collection, financial management, inputs orrnmanufacturing in case they venture into manufacturing and much more.rnCooperatives will have all data related to mapped farmers, their farms,rnproductions and financial history
2. rnFarmers and farming management system for AMCOSrnto have real time insights on performance of each farmer in their groupsrnincluding crop collection, financial management, inputs distribution and muchrnmore. AMCOS will have all data related to mapped farmers, their farms,rnproductions and financial history . Unions will have all data related to mappedrnfarmers, their farms, productions and financial history
3. rnWarehouse management system, to have insights inrnreal time on movement of crops, storage and all other related warehousernmanagement system
4. rnFarm management for farm enterprises
5. rnInputs distribution management for agro dealers
6. rnCrop collection and manufacturing management forrnmanufacturers
7. rnAgronomy management system for agronomists
8. rnAnd much more
We provide all these modules to our users in partnershiprnwith investment firms, banks, insurance and various agricultural stakeholdersrnwho are more interested with clean data for future commercial ventures. Werninvite partners like Cooperatives, Farmers unions, investment firms, banks,rninsurance and various agricultural stakeholders to join us on MAP MY FARMERCAMPAIGN to map all farmers in Tanzania.
Together, we can make a lasting impact on the agriculturalrnindustry.
+255655973248
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Our offices is at Tanzania Commission for Science andrnTechnology, 3rd Floor.