Exam (elaborations)
OBS371
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This was my groups project for OBS371 assignment 2. We did very well and won the most viable business idea for the module.
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, Executive summaryAfter identifying the social issue of farmers' inaccessibility of markets, we came up with the
Lodi application - which will provide small-scale farmers in Mamelodi with the opportunity to
market and sell their fresh produce to the community. We conducted online surveys and
telephone interviews to gather insight into the social issue from the local community’s
perspective. The community members pointed out that supermarket prices are expensive
(and only rising), and they often have to go from one supermarket to the other to compare
prices and check for specials, which is time-consuming and costly. 1 The local farmers
emphasised that they lack the equipment and funding to open a physical market 2, and this is
how the idea of an online market came about. Most business operations have moved online
since the start of the pandemic hence an online market was the most convenient, feasible
and inexpensive solution. We analysed various types of markets – physical market,
Instagram business account, delivery application, farming application. Upon weighing the
pros and cons, and taking our user feedback into account, a farming application had the
most favourable and profitable social impact.
We named our application Lodi, derived from the community we aim to impact, ‘Mamelodi’.
The application consists of 6 main features being: My Garden Shop, Mamelodi Map,
Weather Updates, Farming Resources and Beginners Guide. This application will allow users
to observe which fresh produce is grown in the community, where to find the fresh produce
and provide users with weather forecasts. The positive change that we intend to achieve
through this application is to provide local farmers with access to the market, provide
community members with affordable fresh produce - community members won’t have to
travel long distances to supermarkets and thus this reduces the need for transportation,
create jobs for members in the community in the long run, and keep the land healthy,
replenished and benefit the natural environment. To get the project into the pilot phase the
application requires users to subscribe and pay a subscription fee, which will cost R20 per
month. Upon paying the subscription fee users will have access to in-depth statistics,
weather forecasting and academic agricultural articles. By providing these services through
Lodi, we aim to provide a solution for the lack of access to market and resources for small-
scale farmers within the Mamelodi community.
The Social Issue
The social issue experienced in Mamelodi within the agricultural sector is that local
community members have the capabilities and desire to grow their own produce but they
lack the knowledge and resources to grow their own produce. According to the most recent
analysis of Essential Food Pricing Monitoring reports issued by the Competition Commission,
barriers of access to finance, infrastructure and routes to the market have left emerging and
small-scale farmers hopeless with poor yields, low productivity and struggles in growing their
operations. The report also includes a thesis reiterating the fact that after the Covid-19
Pandemic, customers have been increasingly buying local as a result of climate and
environmental concerns, quality and logistical considerations and food safety. 3
After engaging with our user, we discovered that they had similar opinions such as the
agricultural market being opportunistic; there is land to accommodate local farming; capital
issues are relevant and if cheaper options were available, they would switch from supporting
supermarkets to locally grown. Members involved in this area of expertise have stated that
the access to market is their biggest concern. They believe that the benefits of farming
include a decrease in unemployment, skills development of the youth, less illegal behaviours
such as crime, drug abuse and other detrimental issues. Our users feel that working
collaboratively with other small-scale farmers and finding ways to obtain relevant knowledge
1
Appendix: Audio’s 1.1-1.3
2
Focus group with Mamelodi Members: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55-69sXR_bo&feature=emb_title
3
https://www.news24.com/fin24/economy/sa-losing-more-and-more-farmers-as-agriculture-faces-tough-challenges-20210908
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