By Uwin Lugoda Apps are widely considered a first-world tool that benefits a certain group of people. Therefore, it’s a rare treat when an app that benefits the country as whole gets developed. Govipola is one such app. Govipola is the first agriculture-related app to be released in Sri Lanka. It acts as a marketplace for agriculture, targeting B2B transactions involving products such as vegetables and fruits. The app was specifically developed to benefit farmers as well as buyers by creating price transparency and helping them buy/sell their produce in a more convenient way. Co-founders, Faiq Faaiz and Suren Kohombange, both veterans in the IT industry, came up with the idea after observing the issues that plagued the agriculture sector in the last few years. Kohombange stated that a mutual friend always questioned them about what the IT industry had done to benefit the agriculture sector, which was when they decided that there was need for the industry to evolve. “The problem was that farmers were unable to obtain a fair price and a market for their produce. Then, the three of us got together and decided to develop an app for this; one that benefits the farmer and the buyers by opening the market to both parties.” Govipola is the team’s fourth start-up, so they knew how to go about making the app a success. After developing the app based on the concept they had in mind, the duo went on to consult experts in the field. “We spoke to academics, people from the government sector, and donor agencies to get their ideas and advise on this venture.” Features Govipola is a trilingual app, making it one that farmers and buyers from every part of the country can use. It’s not just like any other marketplace as it provides digital price transparency, and does this by making data from the Central Bank and other statistical information readily available to the user. This way, the buyer and seller are easily abreast of trending prices in the marketplace. “You can’t find out the price of a kilo of beans in the wholesale market today by going online, but with this app, you have the ability to see buyers’ and sellers’ order books to get an idea of the current trending prices.” The app is very easy to use as all a farmer has to do is download the app for free, categorise the product, list the produce, list their availability, location, and price. The farmers can also upload pictures or videos of their produce as well as see the prices of other buyers and sellers, to adjust their prices accordingly. As for the buyers, all they have to do is put up an ad for their requirement, and wait for a seller to get back to them. “There was buyer who was exporting to the Middle East, and he received a request for Red Lady Papaya. He then referred to the app to find a supplier, he found one almost immediately, and that opened a new market for him in the Middle East.” Speaking about how the app has been catching on since its launch six months ago, Kohombange said that the app has over 15,000 downloads with around 10,000 farmers already using it. As for the reaction of the farmers, the duo stated that during surveys conducted in exhibitions in Jaffna, Monaragala, Kandy, and Colombo, they received an extremely positive reaction. “So, the first event we took part in was a food exhibition at BMICH, and we were the only tech stall – at least the only app-related stall at the event as everything else was related to machinery, seeding, etc. –and we were swamped, we didn’t expect that. We hardly had time to take a break and talk to each other.” According to Faaiz, the farmers were waiting for a new innovation such as this one, and wanted more buyers to contact them directly through the app. Even the buyers expressed their liking towards the app, as it provides them with not only one, but many sellers from which to choose. When it comes to payment and delivery, Kohombange stated that since the app was currently in its first phase, payment and delivery were agreed upon directly between the buyer and seller. He explained that they wanted the buyer and seller to meet in person, since that didn’t happen anymore, and that they were keeping it simple to first get them all on board. He then stated that during the next nine months, the app will introduce a trading feature to enable online payments. The duo went on to state that they were also using the app to target the younger generation to incentivise them to enter the agriculture industry. “Currently from what we see, the agriculture industry is filled with the older generations, but with technology, one can modernise the industry, so putting two and two together, we saw this as an initiator for the younger generations to get involved.” Faaiz stated that farmers needed to adopt new technologies so that someday, their sons can take over their businesses. The app is currently used by farmers from all over the country, including places like Jaffna, Nuwara Eliya, Bandarawela and Down South. They went on to state that they conducted training programmes in most of these areas with volunteer organisations and people from the agriculture industry, to popularise the app and get the farmers used to it. Future plans “We are now expanding our team into different regions so that they will train the farmers in using the app, and also help them transition when we modernise it further.” The app has also been highly used in the wholesale market in areas such as Dambulla and Colombo. “If you’re a wholesale dealer, all you have to do is wake up in the morning, check the prices, and decide where the trend is.” As for the big traders and middlemen, Kohombange explained that this was also an opportunity for them to expand their businesses by giving them access to many farmers. He also stated that big traders, like the Vegetable Export Association, have approached them and were greatly supportive of the app. As for their revenue model, Kohombange stated that once the platform becomes transaction capable, there will be a cost. He went on to say that they are currently on an “implementation and introduction” model, where they planned to introduce the app and then gradually build up their revenue stream. Speaking of their plans for the future, the duo stated that they want to evolve the app into a more generic agriculture-oriented app and not just a marketplace. “There are a few initiatives we want to make through the app: We wish to give all our members the ability to view weather patterns, especially agriculture weather. “You see, normal weather is not relevant to a farmer, because he wants to know when, where, and how much rainfall will occur, along with the exact pattern. So, we are speaking to some organisations where they can share updates on agriculture weather. This will be the next step,” Kohombange said. The app is also set to introduce crop insurance to the industry so that farmers can insure their crops, and also the leasing and hiring of machinery. The app will also have advisory services, to provide farmers important information and alert them of dangers such as the “Sena Worm”, for example. “There’s a lot of research done in agriculture, but access to it is limited, so how would the farmer get that information? Well, we want to dish it out in a palatable way to the farmer.” Kohombange stated that an app such as this needed to break traditional practices in the agriculture industry and push it into the new era, stating that this will not only help the local market but the overseas market as well. “Worldwide, agriculture is benefiting greatly from technology, both from software-related and hardware-related tech. Therefore, we think the app is the first step to introducing local famers to this kind of technology. And from the reaction we’ve seen in the last six months, the community is ready.”