Mkulima Platform: An Inclusive Business Platform Ecosystem that Integrates African Small-Scale Farmers into Agricultural Value Chain

The Like many other technological advancements, most African countries have not kept pace with the current developments in the mobile applications (‘apps’) arena. Among other reasons, this is attributed to lower penetration level of smartphones in these countries. On the other hand, the advancements associated with apps have not spared the agribusiness sphere. This is especially so given that one of the global challenges is that of producing enough food to feed the world population, which will grow to upward of 10 billion people by the middle of the current century. Amidst the scarce and fast reducing resources such as water and arable land, this need is direr in African countries whose economies are largely dependent on rain-fed agricultural sector. Under these circumstances, some of the mechanisms for increasing food production are: (1) increasing farm efficiency to produce more high-quality; (2) creating transparent and sustainable food supply chains; and (3) providing ability to track and trace food ingredients. Mobile apps have reached maturity and penetration levels sufficient to support these goals. The thesis of this paper is that if Africa’s small-scale farmers were to benefit from mobile apps, a re-imagined platform-based model approach for developing these apps is required. This was informed by the glaring gaps that were identified through a bibliometric analysis of relevant literacy followed by empirical study of such apps. The platform addresses two key challenges facing Africa’s small-scale farmers: (1) non-availability of market information around prices of agricultural produce, buyers, and markets; and (2) lack of accurate weather information. The platform’s ability to break geographical barriers is anchored on Platform Ecosystem Canvas and its design puts into consideration the technological realities of Africa’s small-scale farmers.