myAgro

Market Suggested Retail Price

$50.00

Distributors / Implementing Organizations

Savings cards and input packages are sold through a network of 300 independent rural merchants in Senegal and Mali. ^{Interview with representative}

Manufacturing/Building Method

N/A

Intellectural Property Type

Trademarked

User Provision Model

Farmers register with myAgro and then buy myAgro planting cards from their village stores to make their advance payments towards myAgro planting packages.

Distributions to Date Status

By 2019 myAgro had 60,000 farmers using the services.  The company has set a goal of working with 120,000 farmers by the end of 2020.

Design Specifications

myAgro is an SMS-based layaway system that allows small-scale farmers in West Africa to save up for fertilizer, seed, and training packages using their mobile phone. The system requires a smallholder farmer to register through a myAgro agent and their details and saving goals are captured in a database. Savings are made by buying scratch cards from local village shops and then sending the customer ID and the secret code to myAgro via SMS. The system records the payment in a database and informs customers of their saving progress via an SMS. This goes on until the farmer can reach their savings goal and myAgro delivers to them the seeds, fertilizers, or training services needed for the next farming season. In addition, myAgro offers farmers a precision animal-drawn planter for hire during the planting season. The goal is to goal the farmers to save instead of relying on microlenders for their financing. This way, myAgro seeks to help each farmer increase their income by $550 per year.

Technical Support

Provided by myAgro agents in the field.

Replacement Components

N/A

Lifecycle

N/A

Manufacturer Specified Performance Parameters

myAgro's goal is to push their farmers beyond subsistence farming and help them increase their earnings by $550 per year.

Vetted Performance Status

Testing myAgro determined in 2019 that the product increases the earnings per farmer by between $150 - $300 per year, however, no third-party testing has been completed.

Safety

No known safety hazards are related to this product.

Complementary Technical Systems

myAGro also provides farmers with an ox-drawn precision planter which helps cut the planting time by 67%.

Academic Research and References

Compliance with regulations

Unknown

Other Information

None