Imagine if big industrial farms had a secret map for the best way to plant crops, but small farmers were left in the dark. This project creates a free, simple app that takes complex satellite data and turns it into easy advice on soil and water. It's like giving a small family farm the same high-tech brain as a giant corporation, but without the expensive price tag.
Small and medium farmers are excluded from the 'Fourth Agricultural Revolution' because digital tools are too expensive and complex. This creates a digital divide that hurts their economic competitiveness and environmental efficiency.
A low-barrier digital app that harvests public geo-data to provide free, tailored farming advice on soil, water, and crops.
If you are an app developer dealing with high costs of proprietary data — this project developed a frugal innovation method that harvests public geo-data to provide free basic features. This allows you to reach the underserved small farmer market without expensive data licensing.
If you are a consultant dealing with a lack of real-time data for small clients — this project developed a platform that translates global geo-data into local information. You can use these tools to provide better advice on sustainable yield and waste reduction for 8 diverse food systems.
If you are an agency dealing with low adoption of green practices among small farmers — this project developed a co-created app that improves environmental performance. It provides a direct channel to marginalized groups like women and youth to implement sustainable land management.
The project uses a frugal innovation approach to offer free basic app features to small and medium farmers, supported by a long-term viable business model.
The platform is designed for global use by harvesting public geo-data and is being tested across 8 diverse food systems globally to ensure scalability.
Based on available project data, the platform relies on open-access public geo-data harvesting, though specific licensing for the app's proprietary code is not detailed.
Based on available project data, the app focuses on providing data-driven advice on soil, water, and crops rather than direct hardware integration.
The project period runs from 2023-09-01 to 2028-08-31, with user-needs assessments already performed by the 18-month mark.
The consortium is well-balanced for commercialization, featuring 20 partners with a 35% industry ratio (7 companies, including 5 SMEs). The leadership by Wageningen University provides strong academic backing, while the presence of 10 countries ensures the tool is validated across different regulatory and geographic markets.
Contact Wageningen University regarding the PHITO platform
Contact us to connect with the PHITO consortium for frugal agri-tech licensing.
