Some personalities at the event
Yara Ghana has launched a new digital platform, ‘YaraConnect,’ aimed at establishing retailer loyalty in the smallholder farmer ecosystem.
The mobile application is expected to provide value-added services for retailers to enable them to offer farmers improved services that will also foster thriving relationships among customers.
“By providing value-added services to retailers, retailers are in turn empowered to better advice farmers and recommend Yara as an effective solution to the farmers’ needs,” the West Africa Regional Director for Yara, Mr. Danquah Addo-Yobo emphasized at the launch event held in Accra, last week Friday.
He said, YaraConnect, therefore seeks to provide a strongly connected input channel from Yara to farm, driving sustainable growth and contributing to thriving smallholder farm communities.
He revealed the new digital platform can also be accessed in India, Indonesia, Kenya, Philippines, Tanzania, Thailand and Vietnam, and seeks to serve retailers through three (3) core functions: sales loyalty creation, value loyalty creation and retail-farmer connectivity.
The Sales Loyalty Creation rewards loyal retailers of Yara products. As products are being purchased on regular basis and sales are unarguably increased, Yara retailers accrue points, which can be redeemed for discount coupons and other customized rewards for themselves. All that is needed is to scan the QR code found on products or purchase receipts to earn these points.
The Value Loyalty Creation serves as an advisory platform where farmers gain access to knowledge on better farming products, inputs and purchase decisions via articles, videos, feeds, and FAQs every week to answer questions they mostly ask. This is also known as the Retailer Knowledge Hub.
The Retailer-Farmer Connectivity: this categorizes two main services such as the Farm X and Marketplace. The integration provides distributors the ability to involve in Business-2-Business sections while showcasing their products online and gaining farmers to patronize them by making ‘product bookings’ This, however, introduces the expansion of the businesses of retailers to farmer buyers on Yara Connect.
He noted that Yara Connect is not limited to Yara retailers only, but other farmers who may have access to the app. To which, Non-retailers of Yara Ghana who may use the app directly need to connect with a retailer for Yara and buy products from to enjoy the benefits.
For his part, the Head of Digital innovations at Yara Ghana, Mr. Kwame Okyere demonstrated how the app can be effectively used; outlining the various features and their functions.
He urged the media to spread the word about the app, as it has been designed specially to contribute to the development of the agricultural sector, as well as the efficiency of farmers in the country.
