Commemorating Youth Month under the theme "Accelerating youth economic emancipation for a sustainable future"

Young people use technology to revive small-scale farming

Farmers on smallholdings in rural Limpopo are embracing data science and new technology to increase crop yields and streamline farming processes in a bid to boost socio-economic development in the area.

The new technology is the brainchild of Tsedzuluso Netshembumpfe, who grew up in the village of Tshembumpfe near Thohoyandou, witnessing the community's struggle to survive through subsistence farming.

Despite difficult circumstances, Netshembumpfe obtained a BCom in information systems from the University of Cape Town. Armed with his qualification, he headed back home to improve living conditions in Tshembumpfe, where job opportunities were still scarce, and small-scale farming was less than lucrative.

Netshembumpfe teamed up an old school friend, Lufuno Mbau, who has a BSc in mechanical engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. They combined their skills and together invented Farmru, an innovative agricultural technology system designed to help smallholder farmers become more efficient. The system is built to give farmers data and insights to help them make better informed decisions, enabling them to increase crop yields, improve soil fertility and save water.

"Farmru uses technologies like soil and weather sensors and data analytics to provide farmers with real-time information on soil moisture levels, temperature and other critical variables. This is an easy and affordable solution for farmers, who can use it to save money on costly farming inputs and increase their profitability," explains Netshembumpfe.

Farmru is able to conduct real-time soil fertility tests that farmers can use to understand which crops will grow best on their piece of land, and to get recommendations on the type of fertilizer, including manure and compost, to use for their crops. This insight saves farmers money by enabling them to make optimal use of what is available.

Netshembumpfe has also created a mobile app and a USSD system that farmers can use to access data from their farms remotely. By dialling a code on their cellphones (as one would do to obtain an account balance), smallholders can monitor the water usage, moisture levels, acidity levels and so forth in different parts of their farm. Over time this information can be compared with previous farming cycles so that better decisions can be made about watering cycles and fertilization, among other things.

Netshembumpfe believes that he and Mbau can turn struggling farming communities into thriving rural economies by developing innovative solutions in the agriculture space.

"Statistics show that, while there are thousands of commercial farmers in South Africa, there are millions of smallholders," he says. "However, smallholder farmers typically face numerous challenges, including a lack of access to capital and high input costs. This needs to change."

"Famru aims to empower rural communities and connect them under one banner – rural economic self-sustenance. We aim to achieve this by setting and achieving goals that are aligned with our vision to develop agriculture technology capabilities in rural areas," says Netshembumpfe.

Farmu is one of the start-up companies listed on the Innovation Bridge Portal, a platform that brings entrepreneurship ecosystem stakeholders together for the benefit of innovators and entrepreneurs. The portal, led by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), is supported by the Department of Small Business Development and the World Bank Group. The DSI envisages the portal becoming the main African intellectual property marketplace, matching investors with innovators and solutions with problems.

Netshembumpfe was enthusiastic about the Innovation Bridge Portal's assistance for Farmru. "Through the portal we managed to be part of the Thinkroom mentorship programme, which has helped us to grow so much in our journey and to expand our networks. We were also honoured to be part of the 35 Southern African start-ups chosen to participate in the World Bank pitching contest in May 2023."

Speaking of the challenges Farmru faces as a technology start-up, Netshembumpfe says that the lack of an ecosystem that supports innovation from grassroots or rural level is a hindrance.

"To overcome this, we have to continuously search for opportunities and support that could assist us in our journey. The Innovation Bridge Portal has put us in contact with many potential partners and organisations, such as the South African Breweries Foundation, Barloworld Mbewu, Naspers Labs and many more."

"We are also part of the DSI's Regional Innovation Support Programme (RISP) through the mLab AgriTourZA in Limpopo. We recently won second place in an RISP pitching competition, so we will have support for further product development, and access to additional opportunities," he says.

The RISP is a DSI programme designed to strengthen and develop regional and local innovation systems. Its initiatives create an enabling environment for technology SMMEs and innovators to participate meaningfully in the knowledge economy.