Entrepreneur launches online agric system
Ulla Setswalo | Monday December 7, 2015 16:03
The online platform, known as Agricultural Marketing and Early Warning Information (AMEWI) will provide information that farmers normally travel to agricultural offices to obtain. Supang said the platform would also link agriculture stakeholders to, among other things, markets, innovative ways of farming and suppliers. The online system will also provide a meteorological service.
“Youth should be seen as a value not a burden because they can accelerate economic, an to some extent, agricultural growth,” she said.
She dispelled the myth that most farmers were not technologically savvy, as, she argued, they would be able to use AMEWI to even advertise their products and services.
Supang won National Development Bank (NDB)’s 2014 Ikgantsheng women initiative. Through her business, AgriBusiness online portal, she has proved to be a force to be reckoned with in the agriculture industry. She founded AgriBusiness Forum Botswana, now AMEWI, that has a website which has applications for smart phones and tablets. AMEWI will focus on updating farmers with relevant information.
She said she and her team were passionate about helping farmers to reach their potential, produce more and consistently supply the markets and consumers.
Former minister of agriculture, Christiaan De Graaff, delivered a keynote address. “Agriculture is the backbone of everybody’s livelihood and time has come for Batswana to take matters into their own hands, especially through partnerships,” he said.
De Graaff applauded Supang for being the first creative mind to start this initiative. He said Supang had always been passionate about agriculture.
“It is important that we strategise on how to tackle climate change as it affects agriculture negatively,” he said. Through AMEWI, farmers could diversify their markets and sell their services or products globally. The initiative is endorsed by many organisations such as Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa, European Union, and Botswana Innovation Hub (BIH).
BIH’s Tshepo Tsheko, hailed AMEWI for being an innovation that could change the lives of farmers with an improved business environment.Tsheko advised farmers to harness the opportunities that AMEWI offers to empower themselves. he women economic empowerment programmes managed by the Gender Affairs Department.
Chilinde-Masebu said the foundation receives proposals from women – young and old -- coming from both established and start-up businesses.