NEW APP TO BE A DIGITAL LEDGER FOR FARMERS

Farmers in Fiji now have access to an information one stop shop through the launch of a first of its kind in the Pacific - mobile App. The PacFarmer App is a mobile based digital platform for Fijian farmers and is the result of a partnership between the United Nation’s Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme, The University of the South Pacific, Vodafone Fiji Limited and various farmer cooperatives and representative bodies.

This new app will allow farmers in Fiji to not only access information on government support schemes, commodity prices and weather information, but other features, such as market linkages with potential buyers, digital payments, credit opportunities and other financial services.

In launching the App, the Australian Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs’ Regional Counsellor, Matthew Lapworth said the Australian Government is pleased to support these new digital innovations that improve access to finance for Pacific Islanders including smallholder farmers and agri-businesses.

The App will be piloted first with the Sugar Cane Growers Fund, Fiji Cooperatives Dairy Company, Copra Millers Fiji Limited and Fiji Rice Limited. Following this pilot, it will be made available to all other categories of farmers throughout Fiji. Whilst it is being piloted in Fiji, there are plans to roll out the app to other Pacific Island Countries.

An exciting component of the app is that it will become a digital ledger for farmers to record their productivity and sales which in time could be used for credit rating when seeking loans from financial institutions.

The App can also be used during times of disasters to push relevant weather information that could be critical in farmers to determine when to move their families and livestock to higher ground thus mitigating some of the impact and costs related to natural disasters. The App is currently only available on android phones and can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

The App was launched on Wednesday at the 10th Anniversary of the Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme at the Holiday Inn Suva. Source: Pacific Financial Inclusion Programme