Safaricom has opened a Digifarm depot in Burnt Forest town, Uasin Gishu County to give smallholder farmers access to high-quality inputs.
According to Victor Ngumo, Safaricom Head of the Rift Region, their aim is to transition farmers into agribusiness by creating opportunities for them to access high-quality inputs and sustainable markets.
“There is an urgent need for us to commercialize farming in Kenya, and we want to do this by helping smallholder farmers to transition into agribusiness," said Ngumu after opening the Burnt forest Digifarm depot, Tuesday.
"In addition to farming inputs, this depot will give farmers access to agronomists who will advise them on issues such as soil productivity and quality of seeds to help them improve their yields," he added.
Ngumo noted that the depot will also act as a source of vital data for the county government which will be able to use the information for planning and resource allocation.
He revealed that the information collected will be used to ensure that farmers receive relevant support, and to assist in building a national database that can be used by the Government for long-term planning as it seeks to achieve food security.
Digifarm is an integrated mobile platform that offers farmers convenient, one-stop access to a variety of services including discounted inputs and advice on input use, financing, and information on crops and animals.
The platform also improves collection of agricultural data by registering farmers and allowing them to key in information such as the size of their farms and nature of farming activities.
Farmers will now be able to purchase these inputs via M-PESA or credit payable between 30, 60 or 90 days depending on the credit package a farmer gets.