1. Location-specific services for farmers
An initiative supported by WFP Innovation Accelerator

2. Smallholder farming
2.5 billion people worldwide - 1/3 of global population - are smallholder farmers. They are a great asset of global agricultural economy, producing 70 % of the food consumed worldwide. However, they are living in very difficult conditions, and out of them about 400 million are among the poorest and hungriest people on the globe. 
Photo: WFP / Miguel Varguas

3. Weather events drastically damage crop production
67% of farmers report >50% of losses in crop due to weather events*
Accurate weather forecasts could reduce losses, but smallholder farmers do not have reliable and timely information on weather
In addition, smallholder farmers rely on traditional techniques for farming, which are not always effective (partly because of climate change)
foto: WFP / Miguel Varguas
Source: WFP’s Interviews with 300 farmers in Guatemala, January 2016

4. Information exists, but is not conveyed to the right person
at the right time…
…of farmers do not receive any information on weather
61%
61%
…of farmers want more suggestions on what to sow and when
53%
…want alerts on extreme /unexpected weather events
29%
…receive information from radio / TV, but only at a macro-level
Source: WFP’s Interviews with 300 farmers in Guatemala, January 2016

5. Solution: Low-bandwidth smartphone app w/ farming advice
Providing farmers with…
Agricultural tips
Weather information & alerts
Nutritional tips
Price alerts
Feedback and peer-to-peer comm.

6. “Risk of heavy rain in the next week. Harvesting soon is recommended”
Focus on sowing and harvesting, with simple icons & texts
“High drought predicted in the next 3 weeks. Not to sow is recommended”
“Risk of heavy rain in the next week.
Harvesting soon is recommended”
“This season consider sowing ‘maicillo’ rather than maize in your area”

7. How it works
WFP collects key information from partners (Met Office, UN Agencies, NGOs)
Information is translated into easy to understand, and actionable advices for farmers
AgriUp
Farmers can share feedback with WFP and peers
Farmers receive location-specific agritips

8. Potential impact Number of smallholder farmers in Guatemala
Number of smallholder farmers who are hungry worldwide
5 M
400 M
Number of smallholder farmers in Guatemala, El Salvador & Honduras
8 M
Estimated increase in productivity through better access to information
+20-40%
Potential monetary impact if we reach all those farmers
$ 240 M

9. Our team Communication & marketing manager
8+ experience in comms & project management
WFP, UNV, European Commission, APCO Worldwide
ALESSANDRA D’ANGELO
Communication & Marketing Manager
HECTOR ROCA
EMMANUEL SEVRIN
JAMES GREEN
10+ years work with Guatemalan farmers
ICT management experience
Boston Consulting Group
Harvard University
French Red Cross
Co-founder of Livecoding.tv (100k users, $800k funding)
Y-combinatory
University of Aberdeen
User Engagement & Partnership Manager
Project Management Support
Product manager

10. Our growth plan Pilot V 1.0 V2.0 V 3.0 Scale-up April 2016 June 2016
October 2016
Jan 2017
Apr 2017
Pilot
V 1.0
V2.0
V 3.0
Scale-up
Whatsapp group
40 farmers in Guatemala
Agritips, weather alerts & nutrition tips
100 farmers
Location-specific advice
5 000 farmers +
Price alerts, peer-to -peer feedback system
farmers +
Scale up across Guatemala & other countries
farmers +

11. alessandra.dangelo@wfp.org; emmanuel.sevrin@wfp.org
Thank you!
Contact
An initiative supported by WFP Innovation Accelerator
An initiative supported by WFP Innovation Accelerator