In an important strategic move to put the power of technology in the hands of farmers and further strengthen its ecosystem of solutions for farmers, iFarmer, Bangladesh’s leading agri-fin-tech company, announced the launch of "Folon," a comprehensive smartphone-based farming app. The app aims to transform agricultural management by providing farmers with instant access to expert guidance, essential farming services, interactive community and iFarmer services.
The launch event, which took place on 7th of November, 2024 in Abhaynagar Upazila, Jashore, featured detailed demonstrations of the app's features and functionality, and interactive sessions with smartphone-using farmers. The event also included comprehensive training on app usage and benefits, along with sporting activities where winners received prizes.
Dr. Md. Abuzar Siddique, Upazila Livestock Officer of Abhaynagar, Jashore, attended as the special guest, emphasizing the government's support for digital innovations in agriculture. Mostafa Mansur, Tech Lead at iFarmer, attended the event on behalf of iFarmer.
The Folon app introduces several fascinating features designed to support farmers. At its core, the app provides direct access to agricultural specialists who offer professional consultation services to farmers. Farmers can receive expert guidance on crop management, pest control, and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to make informed decisions about their agricultural operations.
Additionally, the app houses an extensive library of educational content, featuring carefully curated videos and audio resources. These multimedia materials cover a wide range of agricultural topics, from basic farming techniques to advanced cultivation methods, providing farmers with valuable learning resources they can access at their convenience.
Understanding the critical role of financial support in agriculture, Folon integrates seamlessly with iFarmer's financial services platform. Farmers can now easily submit applications for agricultural loans and Premium advisory service packages directly through the app, streamlining what was previously a complex and time-consuming process.
The app includes a sophisticated weather monitoring system that provides real-time updates and forecasts. This feature enables farmers to make weather-informed decisions about crucial farming activities such as planting, irrigation, and harvesting.
Perhaps most importantly, Folon introduces a community platform that connects farmers across Bangladesh. This digital space enables agricultural professionals to share experiences, exchange knowledge, and build valuable networks with peers facing similar challenges and opportunities. The Folon community also has agriculture experts who are active 24-7 to respond to the farmer's posts.
To break it down, Folon app introduces several super helpful features for farmers:
"Folon represents our commitment to putting comprehensive agricultural services directly in farmers' hands," said Mostofa Monsur, Tech Lead at iFarmer. "By combining expert guidance, financial services, and community features in one platform, we're making modern farming techniques and resources accessible to all."
Folon can truly be a significant milestone in Bangladesh's agricultural sector. Through its comprehensive expert guidance system, the app empowers farmers to make better-informed decisions about their farming practices, potentially leading to improved crop yields and reduced losses.
The streamlined access to agricultural services and financial support through the app addresses one of the most significant challenges faced by farmers—the accessibility of resources and capital.
The app's knowledge-sharing platform represents a significant step forward in creating a more connected farming community. By enabling farmers to share their experiences and learn from each other, Folon facilitates the spread of best practices and innovative farming techniques across the country.
The integration of weather updates and expert insights enables data-driven farming decisions, helping farmers optimize their operations and adapt to changing climate conditions more effectively.
All in all, Folon app is expected to:
Folon has been designed with a focus on accessibility and ease of use, keeping the needs of its user group. The app features an intuitive interface specifically designed for farmers, taking into account varying levels of technological literacy.
“Folon's design ensures low technical and literacy barriers, giving farmers easy access to financial services and quality advisory, with a focus on maximizing their yields and profits,” explains Manon Muhtasin Rahman, Product Manager of iFarmer Limited.
Basic features are available free of charge to ensure widespread adoption, and comprehensive support is provided to new users to help them navigate the platform effectively.
The iFarmer team is committed to regular updates and feature enhancements based on user feedback and emerging agricultural needs.
The app is now available for download.
iFarmer was founded in 2018 with an ambition to address the access to finance challenge that the majority of smallholder farmers face in Bangladesh by connecting farmers with retail and institutional investors. The company has since expanded into several other verticals, including supply chain, agricultural inputs, agriculture advisory and farm machinery, evolving into a full-stack agri-tech player in Bangladesh.
While iFarmer has always wanted to introduce technology in agriculture, the company has so far used a deliberate approach, digitizing one aspect of agriculture at a time. Instead of taking a tech-first approach, the company has approached tech from the perspective of what would help farmers.
iFarmer first introduced an iFarmer app for retail and institutional investors to invest in agricultural assets/farms and track their investments using the app. The company later introduced a mediated app for farmers called Sofol that enables iFarmer field agents and partner retailers to serve their farmers. The company called it an "assisted model for farmers to get iFarmer services." Sofol was essentially an app designed for farmers, but it was not given directly to farmers at the time of launch because most farmers didn't have smartphones and were not technology-savvy. The company also launched an app for its agri input retailer called KriShop to help them “get the right products and services so that they can serve the farmers in a better and effective manner.”
However, after almost 3-4 years of experimentation, iFarmer says it has created enough awareness among its farmer communities, and technology penetration has reached a level where it makes sense to launch an app directly for farmers.
iFarmer has always wanted to build an ecosystem around agriculture that connects everything from access to capital to inputs, information, and markets to empower farmers. With the launch of Folon, the company launches the final piece of its integrated approach. The launch of Folon allows iFarmer to put an app in the hands of farmers for the first time. This will likely strengthen its ecosystem and allow the company to consolidate its various services for farmers in one platform, and open new doors of opportunities to empower farmers.
