Agriculture News South Africa

New app uLima will optimise the farming potential of Africa

The uLima mobile platform, developed by Imperial Logistics company Resolve, provides farmers across Africa with access to a toolset, database and the latest market information with information on crops, seed, soil, livestock, agri-chemicals, weather updates and market prices, all at their fingertips.
Image Supplied
Image Supplied

“uLima allows for ease of reference to best practice methodology,” says Imperial Logistics chief strategy officer, Cobus Rossouw. “One of its key features is a tailor-made solution for each farmer in terms of crop calendars, which offers step-by-step assistance from pre-planting to post-harvest.”

Africa, despite having vast tracts of land that are available for agricultural usage, remains a net importer of food. “This concern needs to be addressed, and the ability of our farmers to increase their yield is a step in the right direction,” says Sunesh Bhoola, CEO of uLima, who commissioned the development of the app after his organisation recognised the importance of improved yields for farmers. “Not only do improved yields mean that farmers can provide for their own families and communities better, but the growing demand for food across the continent means that output needs to increase.”

Users have immediate access to crop libraries, livestock libraries, real-time localised weather information with weather alerts, and the latest market price information by crop, grade and country. An added key feature is the access to tailor-made crop calendars and smallholder farmer forums that allow for shared learning across various crop categories.

“uLima will optimise farming potential,” concludes Bhoola. “We are providing farmers with all the information they require on a ‘one-stop shop’ platform that we hope will drive efficiency and improve yields, and in so doing, improve farmer livelihoods.”

uLima is available for free download via the Google, iOS and Microsoft app stores, or via webpage, and for non-smartphone users, via USSD.

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