In mid-June 2018, MYCARGO was in Kitui County to oversee the pick-up and delivery of green grams (also known as ndengu in Swahili), from newly established aggregation centers set up by the client that partnered directly with local farmer groups, mostly women, to support them from seed to harvest.

The farmers, who are typically at the mercy of brokers, in this case, received 80% of the buyer’s price which is almost twice the average price being offered by brokers. As soon as their produce was matched to their farmer ID, graded, and weighed using an advanced Bluetooth-enabled scale paired with WeightCAPTURE™ application that captured all the information and facilitated immediate payment to the delight of the farmers.

Earlier in the year, the farmers receive support with improved K26 variety seeds, that produce higher yields and are more suited for dry areas such as Kitui. They were also supplied with storage hermetic bags at a subsidized cost to help curb post-harvest losses.

The vetted transport service providers selected by the consignor was already in Kitui and in an ideal position to bid competitively for what would have otherwise been an empty trip. This secured additional revenue for the secondary leg and improved his truck utilization.

These direct linkages with the marketplace benefit the key players across the value chain and reduce broker mark-ups, positively impacting farm gate prices and reducing transportation costs. Sustainable agricultural practices and market-based solutions help to achieve food security and enhance the competitiveness of the agri-food sector. Logistics are an integral part of the value chain. MYCARGO™ application takes care of the informational and secures the financial flows, while our trusted transporters handle the physical flows. Cargo owners can be kept informed about the status of their request at each step, drivers can be tracked, and all pricing is pre-determined and payable directly from the web portal or mobile app.