How MFarm connects farmers to buyers

gloria mari

December 27, 2017 1:59 PM

The system eliminates middlemen..

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How MFarm connects farmers to buyers

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About MFarm

M-farm is an e-platform that connects farmers to buyers where they market their products to potential customers. The e-platform specializes in farm produce and gives farmers the opportunity to sell what they have produced.

MFarm is a for-profit organization that charges a transaction fee for every deal made in the platform. The platform can also be used to disseminate information about international regulations concerning issues like pesticides, quality assurance and many others.

All a farmer needs to do is to create an M-Farm account by signing up and providing the contact details such as email and phone number. The applicant will also be required to give their country and date of birth.

The e-platform was started by Jamila Abass, a 33 year-old Computer Scientist form Kenya. Jamila founded the company in 2010 having read about how farmers have been oppressed for decades and disconnected in terms of information.

Speaking to Wired.co.uk Jamila noted that, “Many farmers only have the produce, but don’t have the means to market their produce themselves but instead have to rely on middlemen who show up and give them both the price and the buyer.”

Therefore Jamila stated that the intention of starting M-Farm was to close the information gap between the farmers and the market.

Kenyan farmers can now confidently go to the market place knowing the retail price of any product.

Transactions at MFarm are handled by the platform’s integrated mobile money transfer system. They leverage on mobile payment technology MPesa. Money can also be deposited into people’s bank accounts for those who would prefer so.

When an order for a product is placed by a buyer, the farmer takes hi/her produce to a designated collection point. Having delivered it at that collection point, the farmer then sends a message to confirm delivery of the product.

The buyer of the produce takes it and verifies whether the quality and quantity is right. He/she then sends a message to MFarm awaiting fulfillment of the order. Once the reception is confirmed and the order fulfilled, MFarm releases the money to the farmer’s account. For larger products that involve multiple farmers, the money is distributed between different accounts.

With MFarm, farmers can also be linked to global clients.

Reviewer Rating

I rate MFarm 4 out of 5

gloria mari