We built an end-to-end traceability and quality control solution for a Zambia-based agricultural company that enabled international buyers to gain visibility down to the field where their commodity was grown, ensuring regulatory compliance and improved customer confidence.
The agricultural potential in Southern Africa is massive, but accessing higher value Western markets requires full traceability and quality control. With the introduction of EU regulations requiring manufacturers to ensure that sourced commodities are not produced on deforested land, traceability from product origin to consumer has become a critical requirement for all industry players
Many stakeholders in the supply chain are currently not able to facilitate this level of quality control - leaving producers at risk of losing access to export opportunities and buyers and manufacturers exposed to supply disruption and large financial penalties for non-compliance.
The challenge
Hello Robin was contracted by Good Nature Agro, a major Groundnut and Soya seed and commodity producer based in Zambia and operating throughout the Southern African region, to build out a customised end-to-end traceability solution for Groundnut and Soya commodity. GNA needed a system that was capable of verifying and displaying origin and quality control metrics at each stage in the supply chain for all commodities grown through their smallholder farmer production network.
We worked closely with GNA on the ground to design and develop a farm-to-consumer traceability module, integrated into their existing smallholder farmer management solution. This module was capable of tracking inventory all the way from a specific farmer’s field, through the processing and logistical chain, to the end consumer.
This solution enables compliance with EU deforestation regulations, and the additional traceability touch points facilitate the company’s ability to grow organically certified crops for export to the USA. Beyond critical regulatory compliance, the solution enables end consumers to gain detailed visibility into the origin of the products they buy, with manufacturers able to access relevant traceability data via an API for use either internally or as part of their consumer marketing strategy.
The solution
Data collection to support regulatory compliance
By tracking a commodity from the field in which it was grown, GNA is able to track the composition of any single bag of seed. This data can be used alongside satellite data to verify that the commodity was not grown on deforested land.
Consumer-facing QR product pages
Traceability data can be displayed to the end consumer through unique QR code-accessed product pages to help build consumer confidence and drive engagement. Learn more.
Core features
Farm-to-fork traceability of commodities
The product comprises a complete end-to-end traceability solution that tracks a product’s journey from a farmer’s field - through multiple logistics, processing and aggregation steps - all the way to the end consumer.
Data collection to support regulatory compliance
By tracking a commodity from the field in which it was grown, GNA is able to track the composition of any single bag of seed. This data can be used alongside satellite data to verify that the commodity was not grown on deforested land.
Consumer-facing QR product pages
Traceability data can be displayed to the end consumer through unique QR code-accessed product pages to help build consumer confidence and drive engagement. Learn more.
Our approach
Even though we designed our solution to be simple and user friendly, under the hood, traceability solutions are inherently complex and data heavy. We invested time in developing a deep understanding of the complex supply chain ecosystem in the region, including mapping out key stakeholders and product journeys.
From our analysis, we knew that the solution would need to be powered by a combination of its own traceability specific data, as well as a number of other sources including an existing smallholder management system and ERP. Considering the activity tracking itself required a vast number of entries, we chose to use a mySQL database due to its scalability and query speed.
For the front end we chose a combination of Appsheet for data collection in the field and at processing / warehouse hubs, and bubble.io for dashboards and analytics. Appsheet gave us an easy-to-use, versatile base on which to build with offline functionality, while bubble.io gave us the ability to provide highly customised CMS and dashboards for admin users.
Farm-to-fork traceability of commodities
The product comprises a complete end-to-end traceability solution that tracks a product’s journey from a farmer’s field - through multiple logistics, processing and aggregation steps - all the way to the end consumer.
