Page 42 - Islands Business May-June 2022

HELP FROM ABOVE

‘AGWORLD’ APP AIDS FARM MANAGEMENT IN TONGA

From the clouds fall the rains that bring much welcomed as production details such as spray diaries, chemical rate and
moisture and nutrients for farmers the world over. so on,” added Nishi.
But for a group of growers on the island kingdom of Tonga, a The app has brought about cutting-edge knowledge to local
cloud of the virtual kind offers a whole new world of innovation farmers on how they manage their resources and improve
in agriculture. efficiencies all within an easy-to-use application.
A cloud-based application called AgWorld is making a huge Nishi said the app is very new to Tonga.
difference in how growers manage their farms on the island “It was launched in February (2020) here in Tonga and we
kingdom. had farmers, ICT companies, NGO’s and Government officials
Developed by an Australian company, the AgWorld app is a attending.
data management system that aids in farm planning, budgeting, “We gave two of our growers a subscription and iPad – they
tracking and managing product inputs, job management, both said it was a really important tool for them and one of the
compliance, agronomy, logistics and grower services. wives said it was like a diary for her.”
The app collects data at every level of the farm’s operation, “Sefo’s Diary” is how she labeled it.
and it is also in a position to share the data with everyone you Ksuta Mone is a name in Tonga that is synonymous with
want to share it with. women that are taking the agriculture landscape by a storm as
All this data is stored in the cloud, and once subscribed, can be a result of the AgWorld app.
accessed from any computer, tablet or smart phone. She assists her husband farmer Sefo in managing the family
In Tonga, Nishi Trading was able to introduce the AgWorld app farm, particularly when it comes to planning, record keeping,
to a number of farmers. finances and farm yields.
Jenny Nishi, the Project Manager for Nishi Trading Company, “The farming platform (“Agworld”) is very useful to track
based out of Tonga said her company had been looking at the activities in my husband’s field as it outlines financial expenses,
farming app for some time with the hope of capturing real-time identifies best practices for managing the plantation and stores
activities and work plans at their farms. a history of activities addressed in their field and many more.”
“As our farm is widespread over several locations this has She said that she fully supports her husband in managing
improved efficiency in production by being able to post daily and monitoring their farms, both in administration and field
work plans with the farm manager without physically being responsibilities.
there. “I’m proud that my husband and I are given this opportunity
“It also enables Nishi Trading to capture financial data as well to utilise this advanced platform, which has improved our

capability to closely monitor and manage our respective Samoa and China.
plantations.” For a business that has operated for nearly two decades,
This among a few is the change that has impacted the Nishi Trading has grown and diversified and today is ready for
agriculture sector in Tonga. a future of integrating digital platforms such as the AgWorld
So much so, that Mone has been celebrated as a strong app with agriculture to make it more efficient, consistent and
entrepreneur – now changing the dynamic that farming is an productive.
enterprise and farmers are now entrepreneurs.
The AgWorld app also harnesses the communal aspect of This is one of a series of impact stories featured in the Pacific
Pacific life – farmers helping farmers thrive by sharing ways in Farmer Organisations undertaken by members in 9 Pacific
which they can capitalise on the skills and resources available. Island Countries under the Farmers’ Organizations for Africa,
The family-owned Nishi Trading Company Limited is one of Caribbean and Pacific – fo4acp programme – which is
Tonga’s largest exporters of frozen taro, cassava, breadfruit and managed by Pacific Farmer Organisations and funded by the
fresh butternut, butterkin, pumpkin and watermelon. European Union (EU), the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)
The company has a proud history of exporting quality products group of countries and the International Fund for Agricultural
to markets like Japan, New Zealand, Korea, Samoa, American Development (IFAD).
42 Islands Business, May-June 2022