Why We Invested in Tolbi | Data-Driven Precision Agriculture Optimizing Food Production in Francophone Africa
Photo courtesy of Mercy Corps.
Guess-work and outdated production methods are at the heart of the food production bottleneck in Africa. Farming is a traditional livelihood as opposed to a thriving sector built on well-timed, data-driven production.
In a region where over half of the population is engaged in farming yet still faces food insecurity (90% of smallholder farmers earn less than $4 a day) the need for better production methods is urgent and critical. Smallholders that have access to some form of irrigation and/or fertilizers do not have access to technologies to adjust to the exact needs of their crops at a given moment, affecting costs of production and yields (20–30%) on which a broad value chain depends. Service providers in the ecosystem from inputs to harvest to processing have no visibility on the needs of the farmers they are meant to serve.
Precision agriculture eliminates or limits guesswork in food production and leverages technology to determine what target crops need and when, enabling farmers to adjust their production methods and save costs. Yet many solutions present unsustainable business models that charge low-income farmers.
THE TOLBI SOLUTION
Operating in Francophone Africa, Tolbi is a data-driven agriculture platform optimizing food production. Tolbi collects a mix of data from farm-level information, satellite images, and field samples. The Data is processed with in-house agronomy algorithms and AI to determine the exact plants’ needs and issues (water, fertilizers, pests etc…). Based on the information it provides farmers with critical recommendations for inputs savings or faster reaction against pests via SMS or voice notifications in local languages.
Tolbi can provide daily production guidance for farmers.
Recommendations are provided in local languages. For instance, from a simple image of crop leaves, Tolbi can detect:
if the plant has received too much or not enough water or fertilizers,
if the farm suffers from pests (then sends agents to confirm the exact type of pest), and
if the plants have had growth impairments that would delay the future harvest yields
The company then re-processes primary data to get high-level production status, yield predictions and risks for crops in the target region. This information is shared with a broad range of stakeholders such as financial institutions, agri-business brands, governments, and climate players. The entire ecosystem is then able to make smarter decisions and offer the most accurate and relevant services to the farmer.
Visual of the Tolbi dashboard
The Tolbi SAAS platform is paid by off-takers (often agribusiness brands) and third parties to get the production status and predictions.
“Tolbi could be one the first startups to prove that precision agriculture isn’t just critical to optimize the way we produce food, but a sustainable business model. Tolbi is mostly free to farmers while providing relevant, enriched production and yields prediction data to a broad range of players for a fee: inputs providers and off-takers, regional brands and climate players and financial services providers. This is similar to the Google business model which the founders took as a great example.” Toffene Kama — Investment Principal, Mercy Corps Ventures
“We believe that AI and data are the enablers for achieving efficiency and sustainability within the agricultural value chain in Africa; with smallholder farmers at the forefront.” Mouhamadou Lamine Kebe — Founder & CEO, Tolbi
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