During the harvest season in Kenya, more than 1,000 farmers may deliver coffee to a washing station. The process is traditionally error prone, involves long delays and suffers from a lack of communication. Deliveries are manually recorded, and it may take weeks for a cooperative to know the full result of a harvest.
NKG Bloom has moved the system online through a mobile app, desktop app and agronomy app. Cherry-weighing scales are now connected to the factory manager’s laptop; each time coffee is weighed, the transaction is logged in the system, a receipt is printed and a text message with the details of the transaction is sent to the farmer’s phone. Records are now clear, accurate and always up to date. During the first harvest that the system was online, more than 150,000 deliveries were digitized and shared to farmers’ phones. Under NKG Bloom, Tropical Farm Management Kenya (TFMK) and farmer-owned cooperatives are increasing their investments in washing-station infrastructure and technical assistance for farmers. Extension officers work closely with co-op members to address low yields and climate- and disease-based agronomy challenges. Building on prior efforts by TFMK, NKG Bloom is additionally working with cooperatives on certification trainings, the dispersal of fertilizer and other soil-nutrient inputs, and on working-capital loans for infrastructure investments and other needs.