Bringing pay-as-you-chill cold solutions to Zambian farmers directly!

Kukula seed and Frontier Technologies Livestreaming (FTL) sought out to test a new frontier in the pay-as-you-chill (PAYC) cold storage solution piloted in Zambia. Previously (over the first two sprints), PAYC targeted market vendors in order to answer two key questions, 1) does cold chain fit into the daily business routine of marketeers selling horticulture products in Soweto Market (one of Lusaka’s biggest and busiest markets)?; and 2) can cold chain reduce food wastage by serving marketeers? The learnings from those two sprints can be seen here and here.

Now, Kukula Seed and FTL saw an opportunity to pivot the pilot to target smallholder farmers to essentially tackle the aforementioned key questions. The how to this pivot was to experiment the connection between the farmer and the market and would cold chain fit into that process. Sprint 3 focused on that pivot and here’s what we have learnt so far:

1. Kukula Seed was not equipped to handle this project alone and needed to recruit an expert on the ground. Step in Ubuntu Meal Deliveries, a local Zambian meal delivery service with a vast network of smallholder farmers and restaurants. Kukula Seed partnered with Ubuntu to try and engage farmers to utilize the cold hub in Soweto. Kukula would do the business modeling and Ubuntu would do the ground work.
2. Famers immediately engaged in the pilot with 5 smallholders bringing over produce to the cold chain in the first week. Progress was being made!
3. A guaranteed off-taker was needed to finish the farm-to-market logistical cycle and here, Ubuntu made the connection from it’s network. During the sprint, 2 restaurants engaged with the unit to purchase the produce stored in the unit.

What is progress without challenges? Sprint 3 allowed us to learn more about our tech and the need for it to be constantly and consistently sound to avoid produce losses. Additionally, farmers were very sensitive to price, selling avenues, and the logistical nightmare experienced from farm-to-market. This provided for a potential opportunity for PAYC cold chain to plug a gap that was never in the cards to begin with but essential for the success of the project.

If Kukula Seed and Ubuntu worked towards making sure the tech works, guarantees an off-take, and plugs in the logistical gap, smallholder farmers would be happy to engage in PAYC cold chain solutions and adopt it as part of their daily business transactions and routine. All with the result of observing food wastage caused during the farm-to-market process.

Kukula Seed and FTL have therefore initiated sprint 4 which allows us to dive deep into the importance of cold chain in the entire farm-to-market process. Exciting results are sure to follow!