Note: Click here for Indonesia version
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Hi, I hope you are well.
Different sectors of the economy have been hit in different ways by the COVID-19 pandemic. Not surprisingly, with travel at a minimum and social lives put on hold, the accommodation and food services industries are among those suffering most, along with manufacturing, wholesale and retail. The global workforce are affected. Not only does COVID-19 affect the formal workers, many informal workers have been hit hard as well.
Indonesia has the largest economy in Southeast Asia. As with other developing countries in Asia-Pacific, more than half its workers are in the informal sector, including farmers. More than 100 million of Indonesian are employed in the Agriculture sector*, and some 250+ million are depending on this very sector on a daily basis to fulfill the demand for food. it should be one of our top priorities to support the industry to ensure food security.
There are millions of farmers in Indonesia, and the majority of them have been impacted by the recent situation. A lot of hotels, restaurant, and cafe are closing down, and people lose their purchasing power, making it hard for farmers to sell their crops.
In the past three months, Neurafarm has put a lot of effort to empowering farmers to keep them productive during the crisis. If there’s one thing that we all learned about this situation, it’s about how fragile our lives and our systems are. Coronavirus is exposing the world’s fragile food system. The COVID-19 pandemic is profoundly disrupting the global food supply at nearly every level. Those problems, and the economic destruction caused by the virus, could have a devastating impact on the ability of people across the world to access and afford food. It is in the time like this that we’ve finally got the chance to reflect and rethink how we grow our food.
We’ve done something to support our farmers but it’s just the beginning.
After months of constant support for farmers, now it’s time to take care of ourselves for a while, spend a little more time with family. Neurafarm team will take a break for a week due to Eid Al-Fitr. We’re still opening free online consultation for farmers albeit only for a couple hours per day. Neurafarm hopes that you’ll stay healthy and we wish you a happy Eid Al-Fitr!
We hope that we could come back all fresh, and ready to serve more.
Data source: Indonesia Ministry of Agriculture
What have we (Neurafarm) done?
As a smart farming startup with a vision to help achieve global food security through technology, during this pandemic we have increased our Neurafarm commitment and improve our services for farmers to keep them productive during the crisis, and beyond. Some of our focus are:
- Free online consultation for farmers
- Access to training & experts
- Partnership & Digitalization
To this date,Neurafarm has helped thousands of farmers by conducting more than 500 consulation session, two free online classes, and partnerships to support 3500+ new farmers in our community during March-May 2020 period.
All New Dr. Tania released
Dr. Tania is an AI powered apps that could help farmers to diagnose and manage plant disease effectively, connect with experts, reduce risks, and increase yield. To make it easier for us to support thousands of our users, as well as to make it easier for them to getting more help, we’ve updated Dr. Tania apps with UI/UX revamp, bugs fixing, and additional new features.
You can download the latest version of Dr. Tania here
Two Free Online Classes Held
As our commitment for increasing farmers’ knowledge, we’ve facilitated farmers to connect with experts and held online free classes with our initiative called “Neurafarm Learning Academy”. There were more than 100 farmers who have participated on both events in total.
Aksi Sayur donation for farmers and the local community
Not only Free Online Class, in the second event, we’ve also held a fundraiser to support “Aksi Sayur” or “Vegetables Movement” by Mr. Karya (Farmer in Lembang), that is, collecting produce from local farmers and give it all away to the ones in need. The donations were distributed in the form of fresh vegetables packages that consist of tomato, carrot, cabbage, rice, etc each.
74 fresh vegetables packages were distributed. Thank you for your contribution, now 74 people/family can eat fresh vegetables during Eid Al-Fitr while celebrating with their families. By contributing, not only have you helped them, you’ve also helped 26 farmers who have been involved in this movement.
We believe that a small act of kindess could create a big impact. I hope it could create a ripple effect.
Free Neurafarm Bulletin Released
In the beginning of May, we released our first volume of our bulletin. Bulletin Neurafarm consists of information, inspirations from farmers, and opinion about agriculture industry. This bulletin is available for free and can be accesed in this link.
What’s next?
This pandemic has change a lot of things. Including the way we work, play, and communicate. During this unprecedented situation, various new things have emerged: the so called new normal, new habit, new experiences, new insights, and of course, new problems. But we believe that along with problems, there lie opportunies. Opportunity to reflect and rethink everything, including how could we fulfill our demand for food. For the more resilient food system.
Still with the same goals, and mission. We’ll continue to strive for a sustainable agriculture, where we could fulfill our demand for food without compromising our (future) generation(s).
Regards,
Febi Agil Ifdillah | CEO Neurafarm | More Precise, More Impact