Farmer Profiling with TraceX Solution

Published
, 11 minute read

Quick summary: Discover how TraceX's farmer profiling feature can revolutionize the agriculture sector by utilizing cutting-edge technology to gather data and provide insights into farming practices. Improve sustainability and productivity with our innovative solution.

eBook – Farm Management with Blockchain Traceability Solution

Farm management solutions help to maximize the potential of agriculture operations by optimizing crop yields and reducing the environmental impact.

Learn about what is farm management, why is it required, and which is the best farm management software

There are an estimated 570 million smallholder farms worldwide that play a significant role in food production as well as maintaining the genetic diversity of food supply, mitigating the risks of food insecurity and environmental degradation. Effective farmer onboarding and profiling are fundamental components of modern farm management systems, crucial for ensuring the efficiency, sustainability, and transparency of agricultural operations.  

According to FAO, more than 90 % of the farms in the world are family farms and they produce 80% of the food and operate 75% of the land. 72% of lands are less than 2 hectares. 

Farmer onboarding facilitates the seamless integration of farmers into digital ecosystems, enabling access to resources, training, and market opportunities. Meanwhile, profiling enables the collection of essential data on farmers’ demographics, land holdings, and farming practices, empowering agricultural stakeholders to tailor support services, implement targeted interventions, and monitor compliance with regulatory standards. 

Key Takeaways 

  • Farmer Profiling and its importance 
  • Challenges in Farmer Data Collection 
  • How does Farmer Profiling work? 
  • Benefits of Farmer Profiling 
  • TraceX’s Farmer Profiling Feature 

What is Farmer Profiling and What is its Importance? 

ILO estimates that there are slightly over 1 billion people engaged in agriculture and accounts for approximately 29 % of the workforce. In spite of the growing demand for agricultural production to feed the world population, this number is declining. These smallholder farmers are the most important contributors to global food production.  

Farmer profiling is the process of collecting farmer data, the details of their farms and the practices which could include information like their personal details, farm location and size, crops grown, input usage and financial data. Farmer profiling gives a detailed picture of each farmer’s operation and forms a very important constituent of Farm management software. 

Smallholder farmers need trade and financial services to increase their production and their incomes. The design and development of these services especially in technicalities require mash-up of data at the farm level. The FPOs whom these farmers are normally associated with also require farmer and farm level data for appropriate advocacy activities. Finally the policy makers at regional and national level also need information about the agriculture activities, the challenges faced and the outputs to take informed decisions that support the smallholder farmers. 

To address these needs, an approach towards building farmer profile platforms and database with an aggregation of farm level and farmer data is mandatory. While various agribusinesses, FPOs, cooperatives and governments have engaged in setting up such platforms, a uniform approach with a standardized set of information is missing. This lack of homogeneity can prove to be a potential challenge for aggregation and mash-up of information. 

Challenges in Farmer data collection 

Collecting and managing farmer data is a challenging task especially in rural areas where access to technology is limited and there are data privacy concerns. Farmers may be reluctant to share data and may have a limited understanding of data privacy laws and regulations. Hence obtaining consent from farmers before collecting their data, implementing data encryption and ensuring that data is accessible to authorized personnel is important. 

Farmers in rural areas may not have access to technology infrastructure which can be solved by providing smartphones with pre-installed apps or setting up community based wi-fi networks. Training and support programs also help farmers to use these technologies effectively. 

There could be lack of standardization in collecting farmer data using different tools and methods which can be standardized for collecting uniform set of data making it easier to compare across different farms and regions. Data analytics can further add value by aiding in decision making. 

Farmer profiling is a resource-intensive process, requiring investments in technology, personnel and infrastructure. Partnering with NGOs, private sector organizations and government agencies help overcome these limitations. 

How does Farmer Profiling work? 

A Farmer profiling feature is an enabler for farmer-centric information. Some of the information systems that help farmers are: 

Extension services 

Agronomy services from pre-harvest to post -harvest helps farmers to extract the greatest value from their assets. It helps them to address issues on disease and pest management. 

Marketing Services 

Market linkages and getting a premium price for their produce is important. 

Financial services 

Access to finance and subsidy is essential to support farmers. 

FPO linkages 

FPOs need to know who their members are in order to efficiently manage operations. 

All this will areas stand to benefit from access to farmer profile information which provides tailored and targeted information about them. 

The process of farmer profiling involves collecting data through surveys or interviews with farmers. The data is then analysed to identify trends that can be used to inform decision making and interventions. 

The different types of Data collected: 

  • Personal Details 

This includes Farmer name, age, gender, address, ids, education level, household composition. 

  • Communication details 

Phone numbers, emails, social networks. 

  • FPOs/Cooperatives they are associated with. 
  • Landholdings 

Farm size, Type of land if it is irrigated or rainfed and the tenure whether it is rented or owned. 

  • Location 

GPS coordinates 

  • Crops grown. 

Type of crops grown, Planting and harvesting details, Yield levels 

  • Input usage. 

Types and quantities of inputs used like seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. 

  • Livestock  

The types and numbers of livestock raised. 

  • Financial data 

Farmer income, expenses and Access to credit, Bank details 

  • Quality and Certifications 

How is this data collected and stored? 

The data is normally inputted via mobile applications which are normally user friendly and multilingual to facilitate easy entry.

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TraceX mobile app is user friendly, multilingual and works in offline mode. 

Benefits of Farmer data collection 

  • Targeted interventions can be suggested based on the needs and circumstances of each farmer. 
  • Disease and pest management is very critical for a farmer and this can be addressed on an individual basis. 
  • An effective communications channel is established between the farmer and the organizations, FPOs and the cooperatives and other stakeholders. 
  • The data provided can be tailored to chalk training programs and targeted messaging. 
  • Facilitates continuous monitoring and evaluation for refinement of strategies. 
  • Promotes sound decision making leading to increased farmer productivity and profitability. 
  • Helps farmers to build market linkages and get access to credits. 

Technology for Farmer Profiling 

SaaS platforms can create powerful farmer profiling tools that can help improve agriculture practices and support sustainable farming. Mobile apps can be used to collect data on farmers and their farming practices. These apps can be customized to collect the various data points and create a comprehensive farmer profile. Blockchain technology creates a secure and decentralized database of farmer profiles which can be accessed by multiple stakeholders like government agencies, NGOs, and financial institutions.to help improve agriculture practices. 

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TraceX’s onboarding module collects an exhaustive set of data on farmers, thereby supporting sustainable farming which is good for the farmer and the planet. There are a number of benefits derived with these farm management solutions. 

Salient Features of TraceX Module

Custom Attributes Profiling: 

Agribusinesses leverage TraceX to profile farmers based on socio-economic factors, educational background, and other custom attributes. 

This information is seamlessly linked and mapped with external ERP applications, providing holistic insights into farmer demographics and characteristics.

Report Generation: 

TraceX’s reporting features empower agribusinesses to generate detailed reports on socio-economic impact, educational backgrounds, and overall sustainability performance of farms. 

These reports serve as valuable tools for assessing the effectiveness of sustainability initiatives and making data-driven decisions. 

Age Restriction (Child Labour): 

To uphold ethical and legal standards, TraceX enforces age restrictions to prevent child labor in farming activities.

Farmers are required to validate the age of individuals involved in farm activities, ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. 

KYC Validations (Integrate Aadhaar Verification):

TraceX integrates Aadhaar verification for Know Your Customer (KYC) validations, ensuring accurate identification of farmers and a secure onboarding process. 

This feature enhances the authenticity of farmer profiles and mitigates the risk of identity fraud. 

Custom Verification Tags:

Agribusinesses utilize custom verification tags such as “Bank Verified” and “Animal Welfare Farmers” to highlight specific attributes associated with farmers. 

These tags enhance transparency and trust by providing stakeholders with relevant information about farmer credentials and practices. 

Bulk Imports: 

TraceX facilitates the efficient management of extensive farmer networks through its bulk import feature. 

This feature simplifies the onboarding process and enables seamless data updates, saving time and resources for agribusinesses. 

Custom Farmer IDs (Generate ID Cards): 

The system generates custom farmer IDs and ID cards, streamlining farmer identification during agribusiness activities, events, and engagements. 

This ensures easy access to farmer information and enhances security measures within the supply chain.

Agreements:

Agribusinesses create and manage agreements with farmers using TraceX, outlining sustainability practices, resource usage limits, and carbon management goals. 

These agreements serve as contracts that formalize the relationship between agribusinesses and farmers, setting clear expectations and responsibilities. 

Business Rules Against the Agreements: 

TraceX establishes business rules aligned with agreements to ensure adherence to sustainability practices. 

Violations of these rules trigger alerts for timely intervention, allowing agribusinesses to address issues promptly and maintain compliance. 

Track the Lifecycle of Agreement with Maker/Checker Workflow: 

The maker/checker workflow in TraceX enables agribusinesses to track the entire lifecycle of agreements, from creation to approval and execution. 

This workflow enhances transparency and accountability by documenting each stage of the agreement process and facilitating seamless collaboration between stakeholders.

Benefits of TraceX Farmer profiling feature 

  • Offline multilingual mobile app 

The farmer can login selecting his local language and access the app with ease in offline mode. 

  • OTP based authentication of farmers. 

Farmer once registered gets an OTP for confirmation on being registered, thereby validating his identity. 

  • Each farmer is able to map his crop and get the associated details along with a crop calendar to ensure quality yields. 
  • Activity alerts 

Farmers get SMS on their phones alerting the activities due from their side, which helps them to manage their crops and harvests. 

  • Crop mapping 

The crops grown are mapped into the relevant farm plots which help farmers to track the practices of crop growth. 

  • Crop agronomy and Soil health 

Farmers have access to the set of packages of practices and also information on soil health on their farms. 

  • Satellite integration 

Farm plots can be configured for satellite integration wherever applicable. 

Why farmer profiling should be a part of Farm management software? 

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Farmer profiling involves collecting data on individual farmers to gain insights into their farming practices, preferences and challenges. The information gathered through profiling improves farm management practices to a great extent. 

  • The unique needs and challenges of a farmer can be addressed. Customized interventions can be designed and training programs devised to address issues on crop agronomy, soil health, disease and pest management and irrigation. 
  • It can provide valuable insights into the economic and social context of farming. Understanding the level of education, income and credit access among farmers helps to develop the right financing models to suit them. 
  • Technology solutions can be tailored to meet the specific needs based on the data collected and their preferences. 
  • It enables a powerful communication channel between farmers and stakeholders which can improve collaboration and farm productivity. 

Conclusion 

By leveraging the benefits of farmer profiling, farmers can improve farm management practices, promote sustainability and drive innovation in agriculture. It provides farmers with valuable insights into their operations such as crop yields, resource use and production practices. They can optimize their resource use, reduce costs and improve profitability. It also helps farmers to prove their credit worthiness to secure finance credits.

Collection of farmer data can be challenging and resource- intensive. Embrace the power of farmer profiling with technology solutions for a sustainable future.

Get in touch with our Farm management expert »

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS


The app works in offline mode.

Our mobile app is a multilingual app catering to 8 languages

No, we only work with FPOs and cooperatives.
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