Mbegu Shape App is Ready for Piloting!
MbeguShapeApp is an application that aims at aiding farmers and potential farmers to follow steps for growing food crops like fruits and vegetables. Farmers are guided from crop requirements stage up to harvesting. If they find a problem, there is a chat option where questions can be asked and answered, and also a picture uploaded for further help.
MbeguShapeApp plans to target local people in the community like farmers in East Africa. It aims at making farmers to have surplus food production as well as market and sell their goods.
Product
MbeguShapeApp is an Android Application (almost finished for Windows as well) that aims at helping farmers and local people to grow crops so as to have surplus food production. Its interface is clearly understood by its users. It contains easy and comprehensive steps from planting up to crop maturity. The language used accommodates both English and Kiswahili for local people to understand. It has a chat option that enables farmers to interact and ask questions in cases of difficulties or problems during and before crop seasons. A picture of crops can be uploaded so as to share successes, or if problems are encountered, a picture can clearly show e.g. disease infestation. Through this farmers can get solutions and have a great time to grow their crops to maturity.
Mission
To develop an application that is easier to use hence helps farmers to grow healthy crops to maturity. To enable users to plant healthy crops to solve hunger problems and help them earn revenue from selling their crops to the market.
Key to Success
MbeguShapeApp is easy, interactive and fun to use due to its outstanding features, operations and what it does to the users. It is an application that helps farmers to grow crops in the right way so as to achieve the right quantities of food. Therefore, the application helps to solve the food problem that is faced in East Africa.
Objectives
- Help in solving the food problem in East Africa.
- Increase the usage of the application by 35% in the first three years.
- Make the Application familiar to the market.
- To create employment opportunities to developers and farmers.
- To bring technology to grass root levels in the community.
Product Description
MbeguShapeApp is designed to help farmers grow crops in the right way so as to obtain sufficient quantities. This application gives comprehensive steps to farmers from crop requirements to land preparation, planting, crop maintenance up to harvesting and storage. The user of the Application will have the experience of studying on how various crops are planted and maintained, and the correct way of doing so. The first encounter is the link to important information, that is;
Language: The user will be able to select between the two languages that he or she understands most, i.e., English and Kiswahili.
Help: The user will be guided on how to use the application.
Proceed to the App: This lead to the list of interactive icons that contains the steps of the whole crop-growing season.
The Application will contain a tour. This will guide new users and familiarize them on how to use the Application. The tour will also show all the components that the Application consists of, for easier navigation. Another feature is the camera. This will enable famers to take snapshots of the crops that are defected from diseases of pests they are not aware of for help. Farmers can also share their successes by uploading healthy crops. The Application will motivate users to plant crops in the right way, maintain them, harvest and store their crops.
Strategy and Implementation Plan
MbeguShapeApp’s most important competitive edge is the ability to guide farmers in the right way to grow crops to maturity so as to have surplus food production. The Application will be made available easily by aggressively being advertised through the social media, social sites, organizational adverts and even by word of mouth. The Application will also require minimal use of internet.
Application Screen Shots
Group Photo
Works Cited
- http://www.globalissues.org/article/796/east-africa-food-crisis
- http://www.un.org/africa/osaa/reports/Achieving%20Food%20Security%20in%20Africa-Challenges%20and%20Issues.pdf
- http://www.actionaid.org/2013/07/east-africa-drought-and-food-crisis-two-years
- http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=51411