SSNUP project completion: A mobile application provides Peruvian coffee growers with information on good farming practices and weather conditions

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In 2022, with the financial support of SSNUP, the impact investor responsAbility successfully implemented a project that provided coffee growers of two cooperatives in Peru, ACPC Pichanaki and Selva Andina, with a mobile application to access information on farming techniques and weather. 

The project aimed to resolve the issue of the geographical spread of farmer members in remote locations, challenging the operations of the two cooperatives. Long distances impede information exchange and complicate the cooperatives' support to the farmers. At the same time, the farmers require timely weather information and improved farm management techniques. 

The application developed in the project framework provides farmers with tailored digital information services to support farm management, including 20 educational manuals on coffee-related farm management, a weather forecast, an image-based disease detection scanner, direct communication channels between farmers and agronomists, and personalised notifications. It enhances information exchange between coffee cooperatives and farmers, enabling the cooperatives to collect more accurate data and insights on farmer farm-level activities. 

277 smallholder farmers, including 22 women, are actively using the app. It significantly impacts farmers' ability to manage their crops effectively with information available at their fingertips. This digital solution also improves efficiency among agronomists by reducing the necessity of on-site visits.