Digitization (in) agriculture is currently on everyone's lips. But many rural areas do not even have a stable Internet connection, let alone the know-how to use digital tools. The farmerJoe app aims to solve precisely the problem of the lack of digitalization in agriculture. In an interview with Markus Unger, founder and CEO of farmerJoe Ltd: "We want to shorten the distances between people - thanks to easier communication and integration of partners and employees alike. With 26 languages and all functions in one app, it's a better way to collaborate digitally and globally."
That it works is evident from the response from a wide range of industries. "farmerJoe has already been used successfully for years, whether in cultivation directly or by renowned producers of baby food, chips, or frozen vegetables, with up to 6500ha of production area and several hundred producers per company."
The farmerJoe team at Fruit Logistica 2022.
Networking and collaboration
"We deliver a solid platform to effectively and, most importantly, easily digitize one's farm. This can also integrate the entire network of people and companies involved in the cultivation or further along the chain. You don't need a computer, you can download the app directly to your cell phone and get started - it doesn't take five minutes. 'Digitization' is not just about entering some data into an Excel list that no one else can then use. It's about being able to collaborate effectively," says Unger (pictured below).
As a collaboration 
platform, the farmerJoe app offers farms the opportunity to collect their data in a centralized manner, so that it is prepared in portions for their own team and beyond. "It sounds complicated at first, but you don't need a lot of extra effort to implement it, such as employees who have to be specifically assigned to it. You can gradually put the app into operation, see which functions work for your own company and build on them. Young farm managers can get their hands on something that even older generations on the farm can understand, who usually find digitization a bit more difficult," Unger notes. "The app is generation-friendly - everyone who can use WhatsApp can also use farmerJoe."
Benefits of the app for retailers
Unger sees the app's benefits for retailers primarily in improved planning: "If a trading company works with its own producers or purchases goods from contract farming, then the company can include producers and fields in the app. If there are problems in the field, producers can easily document them in the form of photos, notes or bonits. The company can track the impact in real time and incorporate it directly into its own planning. It is possible to react early to over- or underproduction and, for example, regulate additional purchases. Everyone involved maintains a full overview of the situation and can thus make well-informed decisions."
This information can also be found in the app independently of individual people. This adds further security to the collaboration. "The data is not collected in a chat between two individuals, but centralized at farmerJoe. Is there a change in employees? A cell phone breaks and there was no backup? All the important info is still safe and accessible."
You don't even have to travel in person to do it - saving time and money. "Producers can upload photos and comments to field notes in the app, which all responsible parties can then access." This also makes it possible to work more closely with producers around the world: "Especially in times of travel restrictions, this was of course a huge advantage for our users."
Planning reliability and app updates
Currently, producers in many places are complaining about high production costs. "Unfortunately, even the farmerJoe app has no direct influence on production costs, seed prices and everything else that is currently plaguing growers. But we hope to do our part by increasing overall efficiency on farms and improving planning reliability. With better regulated volumes, prices can remain more stable," Unger concludes.
For more information:
Markus Unger
farmerJoe GmbH
Kastanienallee 32
10435 Berlin
Deutschland
Tel.: +49 30 57 71 47 26
unger@farmerjoe.com
App Store: https://x.farmerjoe.com/iOS
Google Play: https://x.farmerjoe.com/Android