Supernova Award Category
The Problem
Only about 20 million (4%) of the world’s 500 million farmers are able to access laboratories that perform fertilizer tests. To combat this, Springg developed an app called SoilCares that helps farmers in some of the world’s most desperate places gain insight into the nutrients and composition of their soil along with advice on how to fertilize their crops. Previously, farmers had to wait for weeks, even months, for soil testing results to be returned—and that was IF they could afford the tests.
DutchSprouts’ SoilCares started by literally driving sensors out to the areas of need. But the mobile soil testing labs were very expensive, totaling around $100,000 each, and the trucks could never reach the hundreds of millions of farmers in need. In 2013, Springg was ready for a more scalable architecture and began looking for a fast, reliable solution that could grow to handle all the data they had now and expected in future.
The Solution
Springg started with a clear definition of where they wanted to head and what they wanted to get out of a big data project. Springg knew they wanted to help all farmers have access to laboratories as the western world has. You can make the biggest change in countries outside Europe and not in the western world, but in places like the middle of Africa. Keeping this vision in mind helped Springg select a big data technology that could help them achieve their goals.
The Talend team presented a POC, and Springg liked what it saw. From day one, Springg said it was positively surprised by how quickly they could roll out solutions, thanks to Talend’s solutions and customer service consultants. To make soil data more accessible, DutchSprouts created a smartphone-enabled app that allows farmers to take their own soil samples, then connect with the SoilCares app on their phone– and in just two clicks, get the calibration of nutrients in their soil.
The results
Today, Talend is helping Springg collect and connect all the various forms and sources of data coming in from its 25,000 farming customers. Now Springg can help all farmers gain access to the capabilities of large-scale laboratories at a fraction of the cost. Based on the insights gathered from the thousands of sensors used in Soilcares mobile laboratories located in rural areas around the globe, farmers can dramatically increase their crop yields, which not only helps them feed more people, but can also mean enough income to send their children to school, for example.
Springg is able to correlate multiple sources and varieties of field data for delivery to their lab for real time analysis. Each farmer sends their soil for testing using the app, which gathers sensor information, then runs it through Talend to produce a .pdf file that is sent back to the farmer within 30 seconds. Not only is Springg able to offer best of breed farm lab data analysis – they provide instant ROI potential to the farmers using the services.
Metrics
Springg now reaches more farmers than ever before, and its solution costs 1/10 the price of testing in a classic laboratory. The biggest success Springg has seen is with a farmer they visited in Kenya. He was a trial customer – exploring if the fertilizer advice would work. Now he is able to produce 4x more crops, earning him about $100 more a year. Earning one hundred dollars more a year may not seem like a lot of money to some, but for that farmer it meant the difference between his ability to feed his family or send his kids to school.
The information the farmers get truly spurs a ripple effect: A farmer who used to earn 50-60 dollars per month, gets data to help them earn another 100-200 per month by increasing target yields. Then they get more leftover crops to feed to milk producing cattle, and the farmer gets that milk – giving him nutrients he needs to work on the fields, because in most of these areas the farmers have no machinery, it’s all human power.
The Technology
Talend Data Integration
Disruptive Factor
Farmers used to have to wait for weeks, even months for soil testing results to be returned. Only about 20 million farmers are able to get to laboratories to get tests, and there are 500 million farmers that need access to this information.
Shining Moment
Jane Wanja, a farmer and mother of two in Kenya’ Meru region, noticed her crops were dropping and becoming susceptible to diseases. Through a quick data analysis conducted by SoilCares, she discovered that her topsoil had become low on potassium and nitrogen. By making a few simple fertilizer changes, she was able to raise her harvests from 50 bags to 125.