With about half of the worlds uncultivated arable land and an income in excess of $700 billion annually, agriculture remains Africa’s largest economic sector. The continent is blessed with tropical climates that allow long growing seasons; a young labour force and an ever-growing population. But despite these known facts, it is yet to fully harness certain opportunities that will ensure sustainable food production and security.

Some of the issues that pose a challenge to farming in Africa include access to land and the use of manual technology which translates to low and volatile profits. Farmers who have access to land and are able to get skilled and mechanized labour still have to deal with the challenge of supplying their produce to the market. Inability to do this on time leads to wastage of many products.

In this light, Founder/CEO of Binkabi, Quan Le came up with a plan. During a meet-up with entrepreneurs recently in Lagos hep resented the ‘Commodities 3.0 System’- a platform created by Binkabi that establishes a direct link between farmers and consumers thereby eliminating the middlemen and enabling farmers to make good profits from their products. It is also a means through which consumers get produce at a wholesale price.

Binkabi is a London-based start-up that tokenizes agricultural commodities using Blockchain Technology (BT) to boost agriculture trading. The technology is leveraged to make agriculture commodity trading fairer and more profitable. The tokenized agriculture commodities currently used on BT have played key roles in propelling growth in emerging markets. While farming is often a high risk and low-profit occupation, the firm is determined to change that narrative.

According to Quan Le, there are too many complications involved in supplying agriculture produce from the farm to the market. These complications in Nigeria ’s supply chain have led to the wastage of agricultural produce.

“Binkabi, therefore, came up with the aim to solve these problems, by creating a platform that provides a direct link between farmers and consumers, which eliminates the middlemen,” he said.

“Consequently, farmers would make good profits from their produce and consumers will get produce at a wholesale price, and both parties win. With the ‘Commodities 3.0 System’ that we present, farmers can trade their produce easily and quickly, reducing excessive middlemen in the cross-border.”

The Commodities 3.0 System is poised to eliminate inefficient paper-based processes which slow down trading, and results to food wastage. Anyone can trade on agriculture commodities using Binkabi tokens; the more commodities traded, the more discounts earned. Farmers get instant rewards as their goods are sold through an online wallet which is decentralized by BT. The firm also provides legal protection to ensure that the platform is free of fraudsters.

With the provision of adequate funding for the purchase of land, procurement of good seeds, fertilizers and the employment of mechanized labour, the African agricultural sector is in for good times. In no distant future, it should be able to produce enough food to feed the continent thereby cutting down on food imports, and with the help of Binkabi earn more money from the sale of produce by taking full advantage of the innovative platforms.

Elsewhere on Ventures

Triangle arrow