Jimma Ethiopia Coffee Supply Chain Solution

Jimma, Ethiopia

World Food Programme and GIZ

Funder: USAID

Funding Mechanism: LASER (Long-term Assistance and Services for Research) PULSE (Partners for University-Led Solutions Engine)

Funder: Australia Direct Aid Program (Ghana)

COMMODITY

Coffee

duration

April 2019 to now

users

240 farmers

solution

AgUnity App V.3

Key Industry Fact

There are 2.24 million coffee farmers in Ethiopia (Enveritas).

Commodity

Cocoa

duration

9 months

Project Type/Status

Pilot/Live

value

€60,000

users

(Farmers, processors, importers)

solution

T-Tag Traceability Devices

Smartphone & Super App

Key Industry Fact

40 to 50 million people

in the world depend on the cocoa industry as their source of income

Challenges we solve

Smallholder farmers rarely have access to equipment to assist in the planting, growing and harvesting of their crops, with almost all tasks being undertaken in a labour-intensive manner manually by hand. These also significantly restricted market access, relying on local middlemen who offer disproportionately below market prices to pay cash for their crops.

The majority of these farmers also have no access to any financing allowing them to purchase better quality seedlings or rent farming machinery. Finally, these farmers have limited access to information on best farming practices or how to get the most out of their land.

objectives

This project's objective is to establish transparency in the coffee supply chain.

project scope

"We really want to learn new technology on how to plant and take care of coffee plants, ..., and also want to buy bags that could maintain red cherries quality"

"It's really difficult to get information from our buyer, we are not sure why the payment is delayed. I wish I could talk to the owner directly." Due to unclear information and previous delayed payments, many farmers express their distrust to the buyer, and want to have a more transparent communication.

AgUnity started by conducting meetings with country partners to establish process maps, key stakeholders, product users and other supply chain information. Site visits were undertaken to identify any context specific issues.

During development phase AgUnity set up a cloud-platform secured in Blockchain, loaded relevant updates to the AgUnity App and assigned a device to each actor in the supply chain. Training manuals for the products were developed and distributed during this phase.

Where required, assistance was provided to farmers and processors in the process of finding buyers, communicating supply chain and quality assurance improvements, which in turn returned higher prices for the commodity.

outcomes

1) User Satisfaction

"This app is simple enough, with little training, farmers will be able to use them" Feedbacks from cooperative officers during our training session with them.

2) User Satisfaction

"We will not lose our receipts anymore" female farmers explain the benefit of the app from their perspective.

3) User Satisfaction

"We can save our money here" male farmers shared that they feel if they use this app, they can decide not to cash out and therefore, save their money in the app.

4) Willingness to pay after 4 months usage

During the harvest time implementation, farmers attested that they could and will buy the quality smartphones (tagged for 75 USD), and would pay subscription fee for 400 Birr a year (amounting to more than 1.1 USD / month). Subscription and phone installments are to be paid on yearly harvest time.

5) Willingness to pay as of February 2021

AgUnity has now collected the 1st cash payments for the phones and subscriptions from 58 of the 59 farmers (98%) from Hunda Olii Cooperative in Jimma region.

My name is Tahir Aba Biya Chairman of Kotta coffee producer primary cooperative union in Gomma wereda, Jimma zone in Oromia regional state. We thank AgUnity for providing our member farmers with mobile phone with AgUnity App and new technology. This technology transfer which helps us to improve our living standard through using the App, substituting paper receipt during coffee transaction. We used previously for coffee transaction paper receipt. The mobile phone records transaction and avoid missing and damaging of paper receipt. Now the transaction of coffee will be recorded on the mobile phone with the help of AgUnity App. The phone have also learning, saving and shopping which are very useful to us. Again we thank you very much all AgUnity team.

Tahir Aba Biya

Chairman of Kotta coffee producer primary cooperative union in Gomma wereda

My name is Zara Aba Sadi from Kadamai Kebele member of Kadamai primary cooperative union. This mobile phone which provided to us by AgUnity is very important for us. We can use the phone for coffee transaction, shopping, learning and saving. In the future we use it more and also I request that AgUnity to provide the remaning coop members with the same phones to be equally share the benefit of AgUnity app on the phones. Again we thank very much AgUnity for sending us the phones.

Zara Aba Sadi

Member of Kadamai primary cooperative union

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