AgriData: Reimagining Sabah’s Agriculture Industry
AgriData: Reimagining Sabah’s Agriculture Industry
Welcome back to another issue of Head’s Up. Couple weeks ago, I was introduced to Matthew Johnny Kulai and his talented team from AgriData, a a B2B platform that looks to reshape Sabah’s agriculture industry through digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence.
We spoke about elevating Sabah’s farmers in order to help them keep up with the necessary changes that are taking place through technology and what this could mean in the long run.
But before you move on to read my interview with the team, I have a special request to make on behalf of a good friend who is helping entrepreneurs in Sabah go the extra mile.
We are also bringing back a special story from one of our previous guest authors on Wednesday so be sure to be on the look out for that. Till the next issue, stay safe and stay healthy!
Best,
Raj
In support of innovation in agriculture and empowering communities, I'd like to invite my fellow subscribers, in Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsula Malaysia to help FARM TOKOU to raise the necessary funding through LaunchGood, a crowdfunding platform.
The Government will double the amount if they manage to reach 80% of the amount requested through Social Impact Matching Grant by MOSTI.
This is another effort by Gerald Wong to empower communities in Kampung Kituau, Penampang through job opportunities and produce more healthy and safe agriculture produce.
The campaign’s objectives include:
To build Aquaponics Farm as a hub organic center which can act as an education center that can educate the local community about organic farming.
To provide job opportunities and a source of healthy, fresh and cost-effective proteins and vegetables to local community
Help him build an inspired future by clicking on the link attached.
Reimagining Sabah’s Agriculture Industry
While studying engineering in the UK, Matthew Johnny Kulai made a decision to return to agriculture once he was done with his degree. The industry that he saw his father involved in while growing up needed a change and he was keen to do so.
He saw a lot of potential with the underutilised farms and he knew the struggles farmers from his hometown underwent to get the produce they wanted. Then there was a problem with the process of selling these products for the right and worthy price.
While figuring out ways he could close the gap and address the issues at hand, Matthew met with a former schoolmate, Jun Kaih Wong and both juggled with the idea to create an app that could do so. Soon, the team grew and added Mohd Nazri Bin Mohammad Ali, Natasha Granada and Marissa Johnny Kulai.
Marissa is AgriData’s Legal Advisor while Nazri is the team’s Operations Manager.
The app came to be known as AgriData, a B2B platform that looks to reshape Sabah’s agriculture industry through digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence.
“Farming is one of the most traditional professions that has been around for decades in the world and I felt it is time for the industry to be modernised in order to keep up with the changes taking place,” says Matthew, AgriData’s Co-founder and Business & Brand Developer.
The team had one goal, and that was to make AgriData the platform for farmers to market their produce at a fair price and get paid easily. This meant taking out the middlemen who would often haggle the price.
Retailers on the other hand will gain access to multiple crops from various farmers and information on supply availability.
Materialising Their Goals
Then came the MYHackathon 2020, a nationwide series of hackathons under the National Economic Regeneration Plan (PENJANA) with an end-goal to co-create digital solutions to people-centric problem statements.
AgriData emerged as one of the 3 winners representing Kota Kinabalu.
“We did not plan for it and while the hackathon was fun and eye-opening, we were not expecting to win. But when we came out of it as one of the winners, we knew it was time to get things moving,” says Natasha, AgriData’s UI/UX Designer and Social Media Manager.
Commenting on the app’s progress, and the responses they have received, Jun Kaih says, “We built a really lean prototype and shared it with retailers and farmers. There was a general response that the solution was better than doing operations over whatsapp.”
The app is currently in its development stage and will be rolled out for its beta testing soon.
Adding on to what Jun Kaih had said, Matthew shared that he is determined to grow AgriData beyond just another headline promising change. Once they had started with the app, the team approached one of the communities in Tambunan that were known to grow ginger.
The app was presented to them and the reception, Matthew says, was welcoming and promising. But that was not the only reception they had gotten. While farmers took to the solution positively, the app did raise some eyebrows among the resellers.
This, he says, is because 40 percent of the revenue made goes into the logistics and the reseller and buyers’ margin.
“The reason farmers do not sell directly is because they do not have the time and they live in rural areas. It is actually rare for them to step out into the city and market themselves,” says Matthew.
“Another thing we realised through introducing them to these apps was that they have come to realise they cannot keep doing the way they have anymore, forcing them to change in the process,” he adds.
AgriData is also looking to provide financing solutions, by paying the farmers for the produce and then letting the supermarkets and retailers pay the team on a consignment basis.
As for their long term plans, Matthew and his team are looking at integrating data-based features into the app to better understand the correlation between the produce and the pricing, particularly with seasonal produce which often sees prices take a turn based on supply available.
“With AI, we can sort out the prediction of demand and help farmers forecast better. This will also allow them to mitigate the amount of fluctuation and to come up with better sustainable prices,” Matthew says.
AgriData is also looking to work with Government agencies in the future but is currently set on making sure the technology at hand functions without any disruption.
For more information on AgriData and the work Matthew and his team are carrying out, click here
For any feedback or if you would like to get in touch with the team at Head’s Up, feel free to reach out via headsupnewsletter@gmail.com