Digital agriculture extension service for capacity building of young farmers

Background: UNDP Kenya has implemented a project titled ‘Green Economy Youth Activation Programme (GrEYAP) to harness engagement of the youth in the green economy agenda. To enable the success of the project, UNDP realised the need to  provide an innovative solution towards digitised business development services opportunities for youth-led enterprises in the forestry and agroforestry value chains, particularly macadamia and cashew nuts by enhancing access to information, training modules and extension services. 

Solution: Bewsys designed and developed a web-based platform through which associations and farmers in macadamia and cashew nuts can register and receive support. The main objective of the digital platform is to enhance technical capacity and provide pre-farm, on-farm and post-harvest support services for macadamia and cashew nuts value chain actors.The web-based platform delivers business development services, provides access to information and market, training, advisory and counselling services and report generation and management.

Impact: With the aid of the newly developed digital platform, farmers in Kenya are able to use data to make better decisions on and off the farm. The platform supports farmers’ key operations to ensure sustainable farming methods that optimise yield, increase their sales and maximise profits. The training content and resources made available on the platform helps the farmer community keep updated on agroforestry and farming best practices.