I. Executive Summary Group Background We are a startup from the University of Illinois who is sponsored by Randy Sandone, who is the Assistant Director of Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute at Illinois Applied Research Institute. His expertise and oversight provides us with a unique advantage because of his breadth of knowledge as an experienced technology professional. Through Randy’s vision to empower the rural farmers of India, we will look to make his vision a reality through our in-depth knowledge and research of the rural Indian agricultural marketplace and target market (rural Indian farmer). Our team is derived of diverse professionals. Kylie McBride worked previously in the pharmacy based managed industry, within corporate finance, and is currently pursuing her MBA. She is a second-year MBA student concentrating in Data Analysis. Subarna Bhattacharjee is a Senior in Economics and Computer Science. She is concentrating in Data Analysis and wants to work in Business Insights/Strategy after graduation. Chloe Kim is currently enrolled in Masters of Accounting Science program, concentration in International Business. Chloe has experience in transaction services specializing in M&A and risk consulting. Abhishek Wagh is a first-year MS in Information Management. Abhishek is planning to work as a consultant to help companies improve their IT and electrical infrastructure. Jacob Dallas is pursuing an MBA with a concentration in supply chain management. He is currently a Detachment Commander in US Army and has extensive experience in leading and motivating teams. Adrian Vera is a junior at the University of Illinois and is a double major in Statistics and Computer Science. He has experience in technology consulting and provides technical expertise to the team. With the help of our diverse background and varied expertise, our team is looking to assist subsistence farmers in becoming more self-sufficient in their current marketplace. We will do this by offering a product or a service to the disadvantaged farmers that will displace the current offset of wealth. Due to social norms, current socio-economic trends, and cultural influences, this will be difficult to do. To help the farmers, become more self-sufficient, we will have to enact a behavioral change amongst the farmers along with a social change amongst the community the farmer lives in. Introducing any amount of change to an organization is no easy feat as it is human tendency to resist change unless it has a relatively larger benefit that is easily gained. Our team will use our diverse background to convey benefits and to decrease the amount of change needed so that subsistence farmers will have the tools and resources to be more self-sufficient in their work.

II. Situation Analysis A. Internal Strengths and Weaknesses

Strength:

Our strength is that our solution is self-sustainable. We do not have to depend on external sources of income once we reach the breakeven point. Since our app will be designed to collect feedback from users, we will have a large dataset which we can analyze. This data analysis can help us improve the services which the app provides. Ours is an independent organization in terms of political affiliation and so we can execute the business plan without the patronage of political parties. We have the knowledge of the technical capabilities required for this app and so we can upgrade and scale the app requirements based on demand. We have a diverse team of consultants from different backgrounds and have an array of skillsets, so we observe the business plan from different perspectives which is important for the rapidly changing IT industry.

Weakness: We have limited exposure to the local conditions and so we need to partner and take help of local organizations to understand the local conditions better. Our connections with the local organizations are a few but we can expand the number of local organizations with whom we have contacts. Also, we have a limited budget, but through careful planning, starting on a small scale and doing limited activities till we achieve break even, we can operate within the budget. Since our team is mainly based in the US, we have limited experience about operating in subsistence marketplaces. But through our field agents and by getting consulting help from companies who have successfully operated in subsistence marketplaces, we can get the required experience. B. External Opportunities and Threats

Opportunities: Around sixty percent of India’s population does not have access to modern technology. If this sector of India’s population gains access to technology, it will help increase penetration of mobile technologies by a great extent. Increased diversification can help reduce pressure on the land and can help people start small businesses. The food processing centers if placed near agricultural communities can help increase earnings for farmers since the farmers can form contracts at a higher price and thus get better income. Organic farming techniques can greatly help increase productivity since there is no requirement of chemical fertilizers, pesticides. Only manure and other natural products are used. Thus, organic farming will help maintain soil fertility. Many areas of India, still use traditional agricultural techniques. If technology is used in agriculture, and land and water resources are correctly managed, there can be a second green revolution in India. One of the biggest opportunities is agribusiness. Farmers and their families can be educated about how to start and run an agricultural business along with a farm. Farmers can be trained in the latest technology. Agribusiness can thus help in technology penetration and increased food production. Increase in agricultural infrastructure such as transportation, electricity, cold storage can help increase longevity of crops and thus increase revenue to farmers.

Threats: The threat to Indian agriculture is the issue of climate change. According to our field survey, farmers have said that the weather has changed and so they had to modify their crop patterns. So, if agriculture is not modified to climate change and the wrong type of crops are planted, agricultural progress can be threatened. Technology can be used such as satellite mapping, weather forecast, direct information to farmers can be used to adjust to climate change. The yield per acre of land is quite low compared to other countries due to inefficient farming practices, as a result, farmers do not get enough income per acre of land. Due to lack of water management, there has been a severe water depletion in agricultural areas and the water used is not being replenished. Around 70% of India’s water is used for agriculture. Any change in water levels can affect agriculture heavily. Due to heavy soil usage, land has been heavily degraded. Land thus required intensive fertilizer usage to increase yield. Due to improper postharvest management, grains are damaged during storage and the grains that can be distributed at a lower cost are left to rot in the silos, thus increasing infestations. Due to issues such as climate change, traditional methods of farming, water shortage issues, farmers earn less per acre and so must take a loan to plant the next batch of crops. They are not able to repay loans and thus debt increases. To increase financial earnings, farmers need to be given a better price for the product and be given help to raise own crops. There is severe land

pressure in India. Due to this, more forest area is removed and forest land is converted to agriculture. Trees in a forest help in rain formation due to increased water circulation. Reduced trees cover can affect rain and soil erosion in a deforested area. Also, we have seen that farms in many places are sold to real estate agents and other agencies, thus reducing fertile soil for agriculture and increasing unemployment since the affected farmers find it difficult to learn other skills. Macro environment: The demographics of India supports mobile phone usage. Sixty five percent of India’s population is below the age of sixty-five. Fifty eight percent of India’s village population depends on agriculture as the main source of income. Farming is one of the leading occupations in India and the farming industry is varied from place to place, to uplift the condition of a farmer, the basic needs must be fulfilled. The government’s Niti Aayog scheme has promised improvements in agriculture such as direct purchase from farmers by private players and consumers. Government wants to open Krishi Vigyan Kendra in each district to provide technical assistance to farmers. To get a broad picture of the overall agriculture in India, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has launched satellites to map drought patterns, cropping patterns, crop production estimate. As a result, it is essential that all these activities are connected by mobile technology. Indian government is planning to increase the daily minimum wage to Rupees 350 per day from Rupees 160 per day. This will help increase purchasing power of farmers. The Indian government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Portugal for cooperation in the field of agriculture, exchange of technology and knowhow. The government is implementing a five-year roadmap to increase pulse production to 21 metric tons in 2021 from 17.06 metric tons at present. Market (for product) – Size and growth potential: Due to India’s economic progress, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will increase by 7.1 percent in 2017 because of growth in consumption by individuals. According to First Advance Estimates, India’s food production will be around 135 million tons while the production of pulses is around 9 million tons. Groundnuts production will exceed 700,000 tons this year. This increase from 538000 tons in the previous year is mainly because of good rains in 2016. India’s agrochemical industry is expected to grow by 7.5% every year with demand growing by 5% every year. India’s food consumption will increase by three percent every year and this growth will be fueled by good quality food such as fruits and vegetables. India’s food processing industry will also grow by 5.2% to 5.7% per year for the next twenty years. This increase in food processing will increase technology and knowhow penetration in the agricultural sector, thus increasing food production, and can thus increase income of farmers. This increase in food production will increase the use of transportation and agricultural equipments, whose sales will again increase.

Competition: The competition for our product is in the form of pricing apps. There are a few pricing apps in the market such as Crop Rate India, Digital Mandi, Jayalaxmi Agro Tech, AgriMarket, Crop Insurance Mobile Apps. These apps mainly display useful information to farmers. If we must compete in the market, we need to offer an app which will can be distinguish from other apps in terms of the services the app can provide. The app which we are proposing does not just give information, but users can use the app to find information about the best places to store crops in the vicinity and get transportation for their crops from the fields to the storage spaces and to the market.

Customer information:

Profile: Agricultural workers such as storage space owners, traders who are equipped with a smartphone, who are trained in using the app and will use the app for transactions. Benefits to customers: There will be only one easy to use app that will fulfil the users three needs: Transportation for crops, equipment rentals and storage space for crops. This app will help give buyers and sellers the best price possible for the above three purposes. Needs served: The customer need not use own land to store crops, thus the space saved can be used to grow more crops. The app users need not worry about transportation since the app usage will take care of transportation requirement of the crops. The farmers can directly access the market without having to depend on intermediaries, thus the farmer will get the best price for the crops. The farmers can get available equipment for various purposes thus not needing to buy own equipment which can be quite expensive. This app will also develop the need of agricultural workers becoming smartphone literate as they will realize the benefit of the app.

III. Mission/Objectives in terms of Profits, People, and Planet The mission of our organization is to improve lives of people living on subsistence by utilizing app-based platform to share resources to raise income. Many people in subsistence area, particularly farmers, have difficulties in affording mode of transportation, storage and equipment for their produce. This prevents them from trading directly with sellers in the market and requires them to sell their crops through so called “middle men”, who many times take most of profit. In some cases, farmers receive unfair return from middle-men but they are limited in choices due to their lack of resources such as transportation and storage. We wish to create a sharing platform for many farmers and people in subsistence to freely trade their storage space and tractors. Our organization believe sharing platform business model can help users become more profitable and confident while keeping our planet healthy through reduction in wastage. People: This platform will bring extra source of income to seller farmer and higher capability to improve farming to the users. In the long-term, utilization of the sharing platform can bring users in subsistence with more confidence in their ability to access resources, raise income, and understand fair trade. We hope to bring confidence to each subsistence community. The application will be an easy to use mobile platform for farmers with low-literacy level and low financial knowledge. We plan to build an app that is simple and easy to locate and search while providing short tutorial at the initial access. Planet: Sharing platform can help not only optimize revenues of the users but also reduce wastage in resources. For example, people with low usage of storage, equipment, and cars can better utilize their resources for people who cannot afford to purchase new product but are willing to use at a

lower payment. This free trade can be a solution to help sustain our environment by reducing contamination through high volume of vehicle and equipment production. We need to learn to utilize of what we already have rather than producing another to preserve limited energy and resources in our planet. Profit: We act as non-profit organization by taking minimum return from each transaction for us to sustain the platform cost such as initial cost of creation and implementation and recurring cost of maintaining the application. We believe it wouldn’t take long time for us to reach break-even point to cover our cost as more users on the platform will create incurring network effect.

IV. Field Research and Product Development

A. Discussion of learning from virtual immersion and emersion Throughout the course, we have participated in various forms of virtual immersion exercises. Both online and in class poverty simulations gave us an opportunity to see and feel what it is like to live in subsistence context. This has pushed our team to understand the needs of the people living in subsistence, as we had to think in their shoes. These exercises were difficult to successfully complete. Even though our team is educated, some members had difficulty with the exercises. This taught our group an important lesson that it is not the level of education that builds the strength in this environment, but it is about the understanding of how the marketplace works and resilience to survive. These simulations helped us identify some of the drivers of the need that we normally would not have identified. A lot of the drivers were the resources that our group takes for granted. For example, the transportation system to buy grocery, access to pricing information, and access to clean water are just a few of the resources that we take for granted in a normal marketplace. In subsistence context, the lack of those resources are the drivers that prevent people from reaching financial independence. Watching “A Day in the Life” video allowed our group to see the needs in certain geographical, social, and poverty environments. We could identify many activities people in the video completed throughout the day prevented them from earning more income and improving their living situation. The amount of time spent for obtaining clean water, lack of functioning farming technology, lack of transportation, and unsanitary cooking conditions were a few of the drivers we identified. In the poverty simulation, our team was subject to both a real-life poverty simulator as well as an online simulator. In the real-life simulator, we were separated and assigned into groups. Each group was a family with each person having a specific task to do. Based on the task, we had to collect enough money to sustain the family through a month-long period. After the exercise, it was very evident how difficult subsistence life is and what can we do to reduce the burden on such people. In the first-person profiles, we had to read the interviews of a few people in subsistence marketplaces and then write a first-person profile of the people. Through the first person interviews we realized the challenges people in subsistence marketplace face in their day to day life, their emotions and how they adjust to changing situations.

Within the poverty simulation, our group had to earn income by doing several online tasks at the same time. Tasks included, but were not limited to managing a household and buy food from the wholesale market in a nearby town or the local grocery. As the days went by, it was evident that our character in the simulation was earning less than what we had spent. So, we had to take out more debt on top of the existing debt we had. On some days, we did not receive payment for our services, but if we protested, we did not get work the next day. This online exercise showed us the reality of vicious cycle of debt and how people suffer from it. In the model building of poverty, we were arranged into groups and then we had to build models of issues which people on poverty generally faced. The groups were continuously changed so that we could adjust to continuously changing groups. This simulates a work environment where we work on different groups for different projects. In groups, we discussed issues such as needs and then drew an economic model based on buyer, seller, needs, products and the market in general. We had to examine the intersection of the marketplace and the ecology, identify how ecology affects people on subsistence and how can we find a solution for this ecological problem. We had to make a model on poverty and its root causes. After making these models, we then explained the models in class as presentations. These model building exercises gave us a deeper understanding of life in subsistence marketplace. B. Description of idea generation and screening When developing ideas, our group took two main approaches: Bottom-Up Need Deconstruction and Top-Down Need Deconstruction. Starting with Bottom-Up Need Deconstruction, our group assumed the roles of people living in subsistence and tried to exercise “informed empathy” to understand the needs better. We used the ‘Day in The Life’ videos, individual interviews, pictures and the virtual immersion to learn about daily traditional practices of these people, their financial conditions, the social construct and cultural norms, environment they live in, etc. Following is a sample Bottom-Up Need Deconstruction of the need, “Farmer supporting his family”

The process was to start with a very basic existential need, and add related needs with increasing layers. For example, the basic need of “supporting his family” was enveloped by the need of “securing a safe future for his children”. This was continued all the way up to the need of “arranging for efficient transportation systems”. This exercise let us identify the multiple layers that lay underneath one broad need, and thus design solutions at different layers to address two/three smaller needs with one fix. Top-Down Need Deconstruction was a comparatively isolated process to Bottom-Up. In this process, our group assumed the roles of external agents within a market. The roles were broken down as companies trying to enter the market, Non-Government Organizations, and Government agents. This process helped our group get a broader perspective of the situation. In general, we used secondary research to identify needs of a community and then broke down a broad generic need. Following are the top 7 needs (with the corresponding drivers and context) identified by the team based on the insights and information gathered on our trip to India. 1. Capital funding and loans

2. Information, training and education

3. Sustainable income

4. Transportation (to markets)

5. Equipment

6. Storage facilities

7. Confidence and self-esteem

Idea Generation Activities Irrespective of the type of approach, our group followed a fixed “idea-generation” practice to make the most of our team meeting times and generate as many ideas as we could. Team members always came prepared with a list of ideas that they generated individually, which we would then discuss and rank as a team. The following is an example of one of the idea generation activities we conducted. To begin the idea generation activity, the professor showed the class videos, read interviews, showed pictures, and had all of the students participate in virtual immersion. Everyone took notes and generated ideas based on individual understanding. Later we met to discuss the ideas generated, and ranked them based on a criterion chart we created. Once the entire team decided on the final ideas, we created product flowcharts. The flowcharts are within the photos below for reference. This photo is a preliminary drawing of the text based and smartphone application idea developed by the team. For the text based version, farmers would receive a daily text. If farmers want a certain type of information, they simply respond with the number that corresponds to the type of information that they desire. For example, if weather corresponded to the number 1. A farmer would simply reply to the daily text message with “1”. The request would be fulfilled by our company's server, matched against the geospatial data from the text, and the pertinent information would be sent back to the farmer. If the farmer has any problem or question with the service, a support staff is available by phone to answer any questions. The smartphone version of this application essentially plays the same function. Instead of the farmer having to reply by text for information, the information is available at the farmer’s fingertips within the application. The photo on the right is a simple descriptor of the image exercise conducted in class. Out of this exercise our team developed one of our more radical ideas. It takes the original idea conceived by the project client and converts it into a large non-profit organization. The organization goes to the manufacturing and production companies and secures contracts. Our organization then hires farmers to fulfill these contracts. The farmers are paid a salary based on the how much of the contract they are fulfilling. If the company happens to make any extra money off the contracts, then those funds are given to the farmers minus expenses generated by our organization. Our organization also provides the farmers with the correct seeds and fertilizers to use on their fields. This takes the risk out of farming for the farmers, and utilizes the pricing data our organization has access to.

The picture on the left depicts the three ideas listed above along with three other ideas that were generated during a post-it note exercise. Ultimately, we rid ourselves of the three ideas not listed above due to other companies already offering those services or the idea was out of scope or unmanageable.

Discussion of process and outcomes and appendix of matrix Before developing concepts, we generated a list of criteria that we could use to evaluate and rank them. We wanted our solutions to meet the following 7 criteria - ● Social acceptance of the product ● Social inclusion ● Feasibility or ease of use ● Affordability of the product ● Cost of implementation ● Financial and ecological sustainability ● Economic empowerment of the community - local business development

C. Market Research The market research first began by understanding the subsistence farmer. We immersed ourselves in life of Indians who live in subsistence settings. By breaking down their lifestyles and trying to understand their needs we can see the need or value the subsistence farmer will find in the AgICT product. The product is a platform that, at its simplest form, is a way to raise awareness for the prices of produce at the market. Farmers can understand where they are in the value chain. We travelled to India to immerse ourselves in the subsistence life and marketplace. As our understanding of this way of life was limited, we looked to leave behind our preconceived ideas and bias. The goal was to gather clean unaltered information that will be provided through interviews and observations. The interviews were to be conducted in the villages where the individual lives and this will allow for more meaningful conversations. There is a grave difference between reading about something and seeing and hearing it from the people who are living in subsistence. Our interviews were conversational and not in a surveying format. The most valuable information comes from a story that is told by the individual because the person will disclose more information if they are able to express themselves in their preferred manner. From our research, we have learned that it is best to not push subjects that seem to result in a negative response from our interviewee. Additionally, documentation and signatures prior to interviews induces stress and apprehension, so someone else other than the interviewee signed off on documentation that would protect the interviewee. We insured that all interviewees were treated with respect and we ensured they provided consent. Farmers will be our target market so majority of our field research focuses on the subsistence farmer. The farmers who have access to a smart phone will be able to use the product. Our sponsor has expressed their desire to use a mobile application to administer pricing information to the farmer. Our team looked at understanding what the farmer currently uses to determine and

negotiate price. We needed to understand who provided all pricing information to the farmer. Farmers could also be pulling information from their close network of friends and family, so we will look to understand their sources of information. What resources do the farmers must help them negotiate with middlemen? Also, what middlemen do they work this the most? We looked to understand these relationships with the middlemen and what drove those relationships. If we can understand the current situation and what farmers value in their current relationships, then we can better understand our target consumer. Additionally, we will look to understand their literacy levels and how best to communicate with them. What information is of most interest and what will make them want to use the app? We first want a broad range of people to use the app and then our sponsor can begin to play a bigger role in the subsistence marketplace. Furthermore, we want to understand a subsistence farmer’s daily life and find how our product fits into their lives. We want to make the change in behavior low so the likelihood of adoption is higher. We want to understand the likelihood of adoption and what other substitutes exist in the marketplace. We look to understand the middlemen and their connections to the farmers and their villages. What are middlemen in the farmer’s culture and what are the middlemen roles? It is possible the middlemen serve as much more than just a buyer and transporter of goods. They could be a information source and trusted friend. Also, it would be beneficial to understand is the middlemen are politically connected and, if so, they will be much harder to negotiate with. Middlemen could potentially work with the entire population of farmers who live in a village and as a result they could possibly control the flow of information to the farmers. Also, what connections do the middlemen must the auctioneers and marketplace leaders? Could farmers get around the middlemen, or are the middlemen so ingrained in the marketplace that they still control the farmer’s livelihood regardless of whether the farmers are able to negotiate for informed. Again, we will look to understand the livelihood of the middlemen, so we can better understand the marketplace that the farmers are engaging in. Trip to India We traveled to India to immerse ourselves into the subsistence life and marketplace. The goal is to gather clean unaltered information that will be provided through interviews and observations. Interviewing Tactics: The most valuable information comes from a story that is told by the individual because the person will disclose more information if they are able to express themselves in their preferred manner. From our research, we have learned that it is best to not push subjects that seem to result in a negative response from our interviewee. The interviews will be conducted in the villages where the individual lives and this will allow for more meaningful conversations. Our interviews will be conversational and will not be in a surveying format. Additionally, documentation and signatures prior to interviews induces stress and apprehension, so someone else other than the interviewee will sign off on documentation that will protect the interviewee. We will insure that all interviewees are treated with respect and we will ensure they provide consent. Field notes and images are in the Appendix. Interviewees: Farmers

They will be our target market so majority of our field research will focus on the subsistence farmer. The farmers who have access to a cell phone will be able to use the product. Our sponsor has expressed their desire to use a mobile application to administer pricing information to the farmer. Our team will look to understand what the farmer currently uses to determine negotiate price. We need to understand who provides any and all pricing information to the farmer. Farmers could also be pulling information from their close network of friends and family, so we will look to understand their sources of information. Do farmers have cell phone and do you use the phone for? Data plan and internet? What types of technology do you use? How do you use technology to gain information? Do you text friends? Use television? How do you gain information? Source of information? Additionally, we will look to understand their literacy levels. What resources do the farmers must help them negotiate with middlemen? Also, what middlemen do they work with the most? We will look to understand these relationships with the middlemen and what drives those relationships. If we can understand the current situation and what farmers value in their current relationships, then we can better understand our target consumer. How does that initial relationship begin? How best to communicate with them? What information is of most interest? We first want a broad range of people to use the app/tool and then our sponsor can begin to play a bigger role in the subsistence marketplace. If I gave you Rs. 5,000 what would you do with it? What is prioritized most? What would you spend your money on? What is your financial plan? What is your financial goal? Do you have financial goal? We want to make the change in behavior low so the likelihood of adoption is higher. We want to understand the likelihood of adoption and what other substitutes exist in the marketplace. Farmers’ daily life? Find how our product fits into their lives? Describe your typical day. What is lacking in your life (i.e. What is the biggest issue you face?) We look to understand the middlemen and their connections to the farmers and their villages. What are middlemen in the farmer’s culture and what are the middlemen roles? It is possible the middlemen serve as much more than just a buyer and transporter of goods. They could be an information source and trusted friend. Also, it would be beneficial to understand is the middlemen are politically connected and, if so, they will be much harder to negotiate with. Middlemen could potentially work with the entire population of farmers who live in a village and as a result they could possibly control the flow of information to the farmers.

Furthermore, what connections do the middlemen must the auctioneers and marketplace leaders? How did they connect with the farmer? When did the relationship begin? Please describe your relationship with the farmer? What do you do to make the farmer happy? Have you faced competition in the marketplace? Do you find the governmental trainings provided to them beneficial? What trainings or resources do you think are most beneficial to the farmers and yourself? Would you be willing to push new technology or the idea of using technology? What do you like best about the current system or process? Where do you see the industry improving and why? What is the long-term goal of working with certain farmers? Are you looking to build new relationships with farmers or are you trying to just maintain current relationships? Female in the community Describe your typical day. Are there female support groups in the community? Available educational resources? What is their relationship with the farmer? How do they get produce? Would they buy directly from the farmer? Could a farmer set up shop in his village and make money that way? What do you know about the middlemen? What would help you live a better life? What are the barriers to improving your life? Conclusion Overall, these interviews are intended to find a way around the middlemen, if that is most beneficial to the farmer. Is it feasible to move around the middlemen? Could farmers get around the middlemen, or are the middlemen so ingrained in the marketplace that they still control the farmer’s livelihood regardless of whether the farmers are able to negotiate more informed. Again, we will look to understand the livelihood of the middlemen, so we can better understand the marketplace that the farmers are engaging in. Additionally, understand the role women play in the village and see if they have ideas for how they can move around middlemen. Field notes and images are in the Appendix.

D. Learning and Reflection from Field Research Our goal is to help the farmers become more independent and obtain sustainable income. After many interviews (with farmers, middlemen, intermediaries, agricultural officers, women in community, laborers, labor contractors, agricultural scientists, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) | Indian Council of Agricultural Research) we realize that there are many challenges in assisting these farmers. Many ideas, tools, apps, platforms, programs, etc. already exist. Many of these preexisting items are not effective or failed. There is a real challenge to assist farmers without implementing an ecosystem, educational plan along with product. Most likely, the farmers are of low education, lack monetary funding, and unable to adapt to changes for various reasons. Nearly all farmers do not have smartphone and they lack the confidence to learn new technologies on their own. To educate them on new technology, it requires a team of people who understand

the needs of the farmer. This segment of farmers, who do not have a smartphone, is large and has many issues. There are farmers who have smartphones, but that is much less than those without farmers. In the next 5 years, many farmers will begin using smartphones. There are already apps that exist to help farmers and the founders of those apps, are from the area and understand the rural Indian farmer well. People see that the farmers are struggling and many from India have taken actions to help them. The farmers have a network of people who assist them currently and they rely heavily on their contacts to inform them about best practices. Many farmers would reach out their agricultural officer. We found through our research that about half the farmers do not have interaction with their agricultural officer. The officer supports many villages, so their time is very constrained and they spend little time with each farmer. They offer solutions and react to bugs or issues farmers are having. So, the agricultural officer will assist with getting rid of pests, bugs, plant diseases, and chemicals. The officers rarely focus their time on teaching the farmers how to grow more profitable crops. They are usually focused on resolving immediate issues to allow the farmer to grow the crop (that they have always grown) in a way that will make them some money. The assistance of the agricultural officer is reactive and they do not focus on the long-term livelihood of the farmers. Currently, the land is drying and the environment is changing drastically and unpredictably. The farmers are unable to predict with the rains will come. For this reason, rice paddies in the south-east region have not grown successfully for some time and this is causing great losses for the farmers. The environment is changing, due to global warming, and this is causing the farmers hardships. The farmers are unable to adapt to the change because they lack the knowledge, tools, resources, and confidence to begin new farming practices. The training that is provided by the agricultural officers should focus on what crops will grow well given the current environment and explain the profitability of growing new crops. There is a large information/knowledge gap that the officers are not addressing and the farmers are suffering at a much higher rate due to the gap. Farmer’s need to learn how to grow crops that are more profitable and sustainable for the region. Other sources of information farmers have is from their pesticide/chemical shop, which the agricultural officers say is not a good source of information because they are not educated with bachelor of science. There is a lack of information sharing from the officer to the farmer otherwise they would not reach out to unreliable sources. Additionally, farmers reach out to friends and family in the area for information. If they want to know the prices at market/local mandi they would call their friends at the market. Also, many of the farmers sell crops that the government purchases, so they like to grow those crops that the government will buy. Those crops that the government will buy are not always the best crop to grow though. For an example, in some farms the ground was dry and rice paddies were ruined, but the paddies is what the government will buy, so farmers prefer to grow that crop. The farmers know they can sell it. Middlemen are a crucial element to what makes a farmer successful or can be the demise of a farmer’s sustainable income. Some farmers enjoy selling to middlemen because they do not want to transport and sell the goods at market. The farmers like doing farming and don’t want to meddle in other activities. The middlemen are timely in their pickup and payment, and the farmers like that. The government shops, where farmers can sell their goods, are not open at reliable times and

the payment is delayed. Farmers do not like working on the government’s schedule and many farmers cannot wait until government is available to sell to. The farmer has no storage, so they must watch their goods closely until it is sold off. If they don’t sell the goods right away there is a fear that the goods will be stolen. Additionally, middlemen are trusted partners in the process of growing crops. The middlemen are invested in these farmers and work harder to assist them. On the flip side, some farmers despise working with middlemen. Farmer’s needed the loan to buy seeds and chemicals and then the middlemen can take advantage of the farmer once they have established this relationship. The farmer can barely make enough money to support his family and the middlemen take much more profits than is ethical. Of the total profits gained from a crop sales, the farmer will get 30%, the middlemen will get 30-40%, and the remaining profits (30%) goes to the retailer. After realizing there were little smartphone usage within this demographic, we realized that a mobile application would not assist these farmers that we were speaking to in the near future. 1/15 farmers “used” a smartphone. Smartphones are used sometimes by the children. Farmers do not think they need access to internet nor a smartphone. Most used phone: Nokia - basic phone with SMS. Many farmers only use mobile phone for calls. Many farmers cannot understand texts if in English. Their children read the texts to their parents, who are the farmers. We saw a hint of what future might look like for the rural Indian farmer and it was at a farm near Bangalore. This “Integrated Farmer” had been farming for 15 years and had developed a sustainable farming practice. The farm is located near Krishi Vigyan Kendra Knowledge Network, so he benefits from projects and programs held by KVK. He sells many different items (i.e. milk, fish, pigs, banana (fruit, leaves, seedlings), coffee (on contract), flowers, chickens, eggs, beans (seedlings), berries, fruit, finger millet, puppies, ‘pongamia’ seeds), which is why he can maintain a sustainable income and has a positive future. Although, he does not use technology to make transactions, we believe in the near future he will use his phone for this. The marketplace must mature and begin using smartphones before he would use it for transactions. He sells milk to the milk society, and society will send him SMS text of the quality/rate for milk through a machine. This was encouraging and shows texting is a trend that is working and farmers like this form of information sharing. He uses canal irrigation so his land never runs out of water (2 acres of land) and he uses a farm pond for irrigation water (weather/area - dry for many years). To get market rates, he has many sources (determined through contracts, phone calls, TV, paper, & son uses smartphone to look up prices. This farmer does not like the idea of working with people outside of his network, which is the same sentiment all the other farmers had as well. Additionally, like the other farmers, he was aware of weather patterns and how to predict it from experience, but that intuition is less relevant as climate changes.

E. Concept Generation and Evaluation

Ranking the concepts

F. Technical Specifications Timeframe and goals Goals - The technical goal with delivering · Create minimum viable product · Create a working beta to be tested by small controlled user group · Create intuitive UI for users · Empower farmers through our network · Create trust through our software and design Primary Application Planning Stage o Create Wireframe Design of application o Engineers decide on STACK o Engineers decide on MVC framework o Designers and Engineers generate user stories together o Create MVP o Create SCRUM board with user stories SPRINT 1 · Create login functionality · Create backend communication · Establish hosting servers SPRINT 2 · Complete first set of user stories to achieve MVP · Add user stories as needed to SCRUM board SPRINT 3 · Complete any additional functionality or wish list items for the application Technical specifications and Detailed Drawings For the technical specifications of our application we want to make sure that our application is running on most of the smartphones in the market, but not sacrifice functionality in the process. We want our application to be supported on all phones, so we will use HTML5, CSS, and pieces of JavaScript when writing our application. This will ensure that all phones will be able to run the application. The specific API level needed for Android and iOS phones will be Android 19 and iOS 8 respectively. Following this type of buildout will allow us to reach over 90% of the smartphone market. Within the application, we will need to access the user’s geolocation, contacts, default messaging application, default location services application, default phone application, internal memory storage, and basic profile information. The reason that we need access to these parts of the user’s phone is so that the application will run smoothly. The requests are not uncommon for any application currently in the market. In addition to these requests, the application will have two

special functions that will need to be built out, different types of user login and the sharing platform. For the login, we will use the User’s cell reception to login using a username and password. Additional login types may be used depending on the user’s preferences. The login will connect to a secure database using encryption to ensure user’s information is safe. Once a user is logged in they may request that the application remembers them and not have to login with a username and password from that point on. The Sharing platform is the meat and bead of the application. The purpose of this section of the application is to provide a place for farmers and providers to come together and share storage space, equipment and transportation services. Those looking to use the services (lessee) provided by others (lessor) will pay for those services in currency. Legal documents and agreements will ensure protection of privacy, property, equipment, and products partaking in the activities relating to this application. There are three types of sharing a user can partake in once they log into the application: storage, equipment, and transportation. The whole purpose of the application is to make it easier and more economical for our target market to make more value out of their current practices. The purpose of the storage section of the sharing platform is to allow lessees to store their product in hopes that open market prices will rise. Once the lessee deems appropriate or time has expired on the contract, the products will be removed from the storage space. The target demographic typically does not have the financial background to purchase farming equipment outright. The equipment sharing section in the sharing platform is to give lessees a chance to rent equipment for a short period of time from the lessor. Finally, the target demographic typically does not have the equipment or financial backing to move their product to market. The transportation section of the platform will allow the lessees to rent transportation to bring their product to the marketplace. The following table outlines the metrics we will use for each of the sections of the sharing platform. These metrics assist the user in defining how much of our services they are requesting. The metrics will be put against a background database and return the proper amount of and who can provide the storage, type of equipment, and/or transportation needed.

Storage Equipment Transportation

Quantity Volume to be stored Number of specific type of equipment

Volume and weight

Type - Equipment name -

Duration # of days # of days Time of pickup

Through an intuitive UI/UX, the user will input each of these metrics for the respective service they are requesting. For example, if the user needs Storage they will select the quantity to be stored, the amount of time they need to store it, the distance preferred to the lessor, and the environment they would like to store it in. As said before this information will be put against a database to extract the best match the user's needs. Quantifiable metrics derived from the table above are as follows: ● Measurements for storage quantity will be in cubic meters ● Measurements for transportation quantity will be in cubic meters and kilograms ● Measurements for equipment quantity will be in number of specific types of equipment ● Measurements for Type of Equipment will be the name of the piece of equipment ● Measurements for duration of lease will be the number of days the equipment or storage is

needed ● Measurements for the duration of the lease for transportation will be the time of pickup ● Measurements for the distance will be automatically calculated based on the distance of the

lessee to the lessor ● Measurements for the condition of the storage facility, equipment, and transportation are

categorized by new, used, and old. All conditions are approved by the company. Below is the step by step process for how the lessee will receive each of the following categories of service. The steps the application is taking in the background is also included for reference.

1. Storage a. Lessee chooses Storage from menu

i. Application redirects to request_storage_quantity page b. Lessee chooses volume to be stored

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_storage_duration

c. Lessee chooses start and end date i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to request_storage_condition d. Lessee chooses desired condition of storage facility

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_storage_confirm

e. Lessee confirms information

Distance Distance from lessee Distance from lessee Distance from Lessor to lessee to market

Condition Environment* Usage Usage

*Environment attributes - wet or dry; covered or uncovered; cement, tile, wood, or carpet

*Usage attributes - Like new; used; well worn

i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data ii. Application accesses user location

iii. Application puts user inputs against lessor database iv. Application returns results filtered respectively by:

1. Capacity of lessor 2. Distance from lessee to lessor

a. minimized f. Lessee chooses desired storage location

i. Application sends confirmation to respective lessor account g. Lessor approves

i. Application sends confirmation to respective lessee account h. Lessee final approval

2. Equipment

a. Lessee chooses Equipment from menu i. Application redirects to request_equipment_type page

b. Lessee chooses type of equipment i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to request_equipment_quantity c. Lessee chooses quantity of equipment

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_equipment_duration

d. Lessee chooses start and end date i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to request_equipment_condition e. Lessee chooses desired condition of equipment

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_equipment_confirm

f. Lessee confirms information i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data

ii. Application accesses user location iii. Application puts user inputs against lessor database iv. Application returns results filtered respectively by:

1. Capacity of lessor 2. Distance from lessee to lessor

a. minimized g. Lessee chooses desired equipment

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to respective lessor account h. Lessor approves

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to respective lessee account

i. Lessee final approval 3. Transportation

a. Lessee chooses Transportation from menu i. Application redirects to request_transportation_quantity page

b. Lessee chooses quantity of equipment

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_transportation_duration

c. Lessee chooses start date i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to request_transportation_condition d. Lessee chooses desired condition of equipment

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to request_transportation_confirm

e. Lessee confirms information i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data

ii. Application accesses user location iii. Application puts user inputs against lessor database iv. Application returns results filtered respectively by:

1. Capacity of lessor 2. Distance from lessee to lessor to market

a. minimized f. Lessee chooses desired equipment

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to respective lessor account g. Lessor approves

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to respective lessee account

h. Lessee final approval The following is a step by step process for how a Lessor is a approved through the Company. Application steps taking place in the background are included for reference.

1. Storage a. Lessor chooses Storage from menu

i. Application redirects to provide_storage_quantity page b. Lessor chooses volume of capacity

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to provide_storage_condition

c. Lessor chooses subjective condition of storage and uploads video/pictures of facility i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to provide_storage_confirm d. Lessor confirms information

i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data ii. Application accesses user location

iii. Application submits information to company e. Company approves information

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to Lessor f. Lessor Final Approval

2. Equipment a. Lessor chooses Equipment from menu

i. Application redirects to provide_equipment_type b. Lessor chooses equipment being provided

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to provide_equipment_quantity page c. Lessor chooses number of equipment

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to provide_equipment_condition

d. Lessor chooses subjective condition of equipment and uploads video/pictures i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to provide_equipment_confirm e. Lessor confirms information

i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data ii. Application accesses user location

iii. Application submits information to company f. Company approves information

i. Application sends confirmation and notification to Lessor g. Lessor Final Approval

3. Transportation a. Lessor chooses Transportation from menu

i. Application redirects to provide_transportation_type b. Lessor chooses transportation being provided

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to provide_transportation_quantity page

c. Lessor chooses number of vehicles i. Application temporarily stores input on local device

ii. Application redirects to provide_transportation_condition d. Lessor chooses subjective condition of equipment and uploads video/pictures

i. Application temporarily stores input on local device ii. Application redirects to provide_equipment_confirm

e. Lessor confirms information i. Application accesses relevant temporary stored data

ii. Application accesses user location iii. Application submits information to company

f. Company approves information i. Application sends confirmation and notification to Lessor

g. Lessor Final Approval

G. Prototype

V. Marketing Strategy A. Target Market Selection - Rationale based on market research and consumer behavior (start from bigger picture then to specific) As over 58% of rural households in India depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood, our mobile app will help farmers to improve in their farming while providing alternative method earnings to farmers or anyone leasing their own property. Meanwhile, one of the important factors to consider for target selection is the ownership of smartphone and access to the internet. Compared to 2011 when internet users in India only took 10% of the population, it has drastically increased to 35% of the population in India by 2016, which is approximately 462 million. In addition, in semi-urban and rural areas, there is a huge potential telecom user base that needs relevant and affordable content, connectivity and 4G devices. This research gives positive light to expansion of potential target market for our sharing platform app.

Lessee – Farmers Our target user pool for lessee can be any farmer and person in agricultural business with smartphone or internet-access. This pool applies to all rural areas in India with accessibility of Internet or data usage through smartphone. To narrow down to specific regions to target, cities with highest Internet users are Mumbai and Delhi, followed by Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, and Hyderabad. Another factor to consider for geographical targeting is the high agricultural productivity region. Based on the research, high agricultural productivity states include Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, and Punjab. (Bhalla and Singh, 2012) This helps us to concentrate our targeting effort in four cities that are with both high internet usage and high farming productivity - Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad. Potential target for lessee can be anyone in need of farming storage, equipment, and tractor. Service will not be limited by income level of lessee; however, initial marketing can be targeted towards middle to low-income farmers as they may find the most need in renting at an affordable rate.

Lessor – Farmers and other owners Potential target market pool is broader for lessors as it can be anyone who is interested in leasing out the storages, farming equipment, and tractors that they own. The target regions for lessors should overlap with target regions for lessee as the closeness of rental location is crucial to create community based sharing platform. Lessors can be middle to low-income farmers who have extra storage, equipment, and tractor to share to earn extra cash or any professional renters wanting to reach more customers through this platform. B. Sustainable Marketing Mix

Our market research provided us with insights on the consumer psychology and behavior. Based on that we generated a marketing mix that would communicate our message to them in an honest and straightforward manner. The four main challenges in developing a marketing mix for our app are - ● Product - with respect to acceptability ● Price - with respect to affordability ● Place - with respect to availability ● Promotion - with respect to awareness After considering the challenges, following are the key marketing elements that we considered to create our marketing mix - ● Advertisement and Sales - Our typical consumer lives in a rural or semi-urban setting with limited access to technology and with low literacy rates. Our market research showed that these populations were very sensitive to the price of the product while preferring a high-quality product. Based on these insights, we would primarily use pull sales promotion techniques to enhance our advertisement and sales strategies - ○ Free distribution of the app to small group of farmers in every village to gain traction. ○ With-pack premiums ○ Fairs and exhibitions - Village haat, melas and mandis We could implement a few push sales strategies as well by involving third-party players (i.e. ambassadors) to help us with promotions - ○ Display materials - sign boards and wall paintings ○ Door-to-door demonstrations of the app ○ Lucky draw contests, etc. ● Public Relations - Public relations is very critical for our product to create a formal relationship with newly acquired consumers. ● Pricing - We are dealing with consumers with low levels of income, thus our company wants to adopt a penetration-pricing strategy that would allow for deep market penetration and long-run profit maximization. Since we do not have competitors at this point, our pricing strategy would focus on just recovering distribution and production costs. A few other considerations that guided our pricing strategies were - ○ Low interest rates - Instead of lowering the price of the product to gain market share, we could implement an EMI payment scheme with zero interest rates.

○ Product positioning - We want to promote our app as a high-quality product that is worth the farmer’s money. We would position the app as a valuable tool that would make the farmer better off. ○ Income and consumption basket pricing - A typical rural Indian farmer has the highest amount of money in hand right after harvest season. In such cases pricing not only depends on the income of the farmer but also on the surplus income (or savings) that they have. ○ Psychological pricing strategy - This is one of the most common pricing techniques in the Indian market. By pricing the product such at Rs.29, Rs.59, Rs.199, instead of Rs.30, Rs.60, Rs.200, the consumers often perceive the product to be within their budget and feel like they are saving in such transactions. ● Product Development - The New Product Development process involves four main steps - idea generation, followed by concept testing, followed by product development and ultimately test marketing. While implementing the 4 steps some key observations that helped with designing the development process were the following - ○ Product Life Cycle - The PLC of our app would be longer than that of apps made for urban users because of the challenges in distribution, adoption and communication. ■ We cannot introduce our product without serious planning as otherwise we risk dying out during growth stage. ■ We must invest in brand building and constant customization to accommodate the needs of a rural demographic. ○ Branding - ■ Name - our brand name facilitates an easy brand recall ■ Identity - our brand is associated with virtues like honesty, transparency, durability and accountability. ■ Image - our brand has a personality of its own and allows for brand connect. VI. Action Plans

A. Targeting and Positioning Statement Including Sustainability Issues “For the agricultural marketplace, FarmShare will be a unique one stop solution app among all the available existing agricultural apps through which people in rural areas who have spare assets can rent out storage space, agricultural equipment and vehicles for crop transportation without having to physically go to see the assets.” We are targeting the rural marketplace because based on our field visit we have seen that there was a lack of a proper and streamlined leasing process. Even if some of the farmers did not have smartphones, their children own and use smartphones have received higher education. The target segment will use our product because we found that in the rural areas, many people wanted to lease out spare space and equipments. Also, there were people who wanted to rent rather than buy equipments due to lack of funds. If they know that there are many places where they can rent equipment and storage space, the cost of rent will reduce. There is a hidden demand for easier renting of space and equipment. Through our app, both the lessor and the customer can contact each other for out storage space, agricultural equipment and vehicles for crop transportation. Other apps only mentioned the real price of the farm produce, but our app in the market will allow streamlining of leasing activity in the subsistence marketplace. This leasing activity using our app makes our app unique.

Our app is sustainable due to mass usage of the app. Since people will come to know that they can earn money by using the app, the sales of smartphones will also increase and the app will be downloaded in the smartphones. We can get commission on each transaction based on the amount. Our product will be sustainable because we have low overheads since the product is software based and there will be less manpower requirement. Software development can be outsourced to an IT company in India, so development costs are very less. Our product is environmentally sustainable also as there is no hard product, only an app which is a software. Even if more phone will be bought to use the app, it will not cause environmental pollution such as improper disposal of mobile phones because based on our field survey, we found that people on subsistence use and maintain their phones properly as they may not be able to afford a new phone. The app we are proposing is credible because of the amount of research we have done by research materials, field surveys and interviews taken by our team members. Based on the research, we saw a hidden demand regarding leasing of spare materials at subsistence levels. B. Sustainable Product Design C. Sustainable Value Chain Our sustainable value chain can be broken down into two separate categories of activities, the firm’s primary activities and support activities. The main differentiator between the two categories is that the primary activities are directly adding value to the product while the support activities assist and create an environment for the primary activities to operate efficiently in. Each of the categories have multiple departments operating within them. The departmental breakdown is as follows: Marketing, Sales, Operations, and Service are the departments acting within the primary activities; Accounting, Human Resources, Legal, Finance, and Strategy are the departments acting in the support activities category. Each department adds its own unique value to our end product to ensure that the end consumer has an application that is intuitive, easy to use and ultimately adds value to their life. Starting with the beginning of the Value Chain, Marketing, our company will use this department to grab potential target consumer’s attention about our application. Marketing will understand how the target market consumes information, develop a marketing strategy, and then communicate the value our application offers the target market. Marketing will use the information that we have gathered and stated earlier in this document as a starting point for targeting and communicating to our target market. By completing these actions, Marketing will be encouraging and driving target consumers to download our application. Marketing will work conjointly with Sales to drive the target consumers to download and use our product. Sales will focus on promotional incentives, face to face, over the phone, and over email contact to drive consumers to download and use our product. Prior to Marketing and Sales driving consumers to using our product, Operations will have already built out our application. Operations will focus on ensuring that the application is running correctly

and that any changes that need to be made are running smoothly before the change is applied to the application installed on current user’s phones. For the Operations department to understand what needs to be changed, they will receive work orders from the Service and the Strategy departments. The Service department main goal is to keep consumers engaged by understanding the shortcomings of our application, troubleshooting consumer’s issues, and ensuring that the application is running smoothly with a 99.9% application uptime. All these departments need the assistance of the support departments to ensure that they are running effectively. Human Resources assists through talent management, payroll, recruiting, hiring, employee outings, and firing. These are all critical and necessary functions to attract and keep talent at our firm. Accounting will focus on attending to the tracking revenue flowing in and out of the business to ensure that all funds are being used for appropriate and legal reasons. This department will tend to ensure that we are compliant with taxes and that all payments are made on time to the correct entities. The Legal department will protect our intellectual property through the development of non-disclosure agreements, non-compete documents, and contract development. This department will deal will all legal proceedings within and outside of the business. The Strategy department will work with the Service and Operations departments to ensure that our application is keeping the end consumer engaged with application updates. Also, this department will focus on searching for alternative avenues of revenue through understanding other applications we can develop. Once an alternative form of revenue is found, Strategy will develop a working prototype, and a strategy for bringing it to market. The Finance department will work with accounting to manage our financial leverage, investment opportunities, and general financial wealth to ensure that we are optimizing the fiscal side of our business. As stated before, without any of these support departments our primary activity departments would not be able to function properly and would regrettably and inevitably breakdown. Although they do not provide direct value to the end consumer, the department's actions are still felt. Through the cohesiveness of inter- and intra-departmental collaboration, our product will generate value to the end consumer. D. Design of the Value Proposition Key target users: Farmer: ■ Usage: Will use application to rent storage, equipment, and tractors ■ Phone: Access to a smartphone or has smartphone ■ Technology familiarity: Familiar with how mobile applications operate and can teach themselves how to uses the app (through our tutorials). can search and download the app.

■ Income: Any income level and lacks the financial means to purchase storage space, equipment, and/or tractor. ■ Gender: Predominantly male ■ Lifestyle: No criminal background, has a family, social with neighbors, lives in rural India ■ Behavior: Familiar with farming, harvest and plants every season, educated on farming practices, part of farmer society, financially stable, marketplace literacy level is medium to high, it is difficult to locate and rent items/space in his immediate network. Rural Indian Resident: ■ Usage: Will use mobile/online application to rent their equipment, tractor, and storage to rural farmer. ■ Phone: Access to smartphone ■ Technology familiarity: Familiar with smartphone apps and can teach themselves how to use the app (through our tutorials), to search and download the app. ■ Income: Low to middle income ■ Gender: Preferred male (less likelihood of crime, shared respect, and safety is of less risk) ■ Lifestyle: No criminal background, has a family, social with neighbors, lives in rural India ■ Behavior: financially stable, interacts with others often, marketplace literacy is medium to high, needs additional income, thinks outside the box to find new sources of income. Marketplace analysis - Next Best Alternative ● For both farmers and rural customers, they have the option of reaching out to their

immediate network to find individuals who will rent or willing to rent from them. ● Uncertain demand and supply leads to unforeseen issues ● Lack of access to people outside of close network ● Must do monetary transactions in person and cannot pay electronically ● Constrained to what your immediate network can provide as far as equipment, storage

space, and tractors (i.e. tractor size, poorly maintained equipment, storage space is of in appropriate size)

● Unable to compare prices and less knowledgeable about potential profits that could be gained with more information available to bargain with

● Use manual labor for harvesting and planting: more expensive, unpredictable, less efficient, and more time consuming

● Sell goods immediately due to lack of storage: less profits, inability to negotiate, potential for less from theft

● Farmers Cooperatives: provide storage to farmers who pay the fees that are required by the cooperative

Usage Experience: ○ The application will be downloaded to their smartphone device. After downloading, the customer will be required to complete a tutorial to understand how to use the application. Then, they will need to provide their banking information and account information. Next, they will be

asked what they want to use the app for and it will direct them through the steps for how to accomplish their goals. Farmer Needs Equipment: ■ Ready to begin planting and he needs equipment. Farmer will open application and specify what he wants to rent by clicking on the category of item he wants to rent. ■ Next, he will search through available equipment for rent that is within a prespecified distance from his location. ■ He will select the equipment he would like to rent. ■ Transportation of the equipment will be part of the selection process. ■ The individual who is providing the equipment will get a notification on their phone that someone wants to rent their equipment. ■ The farmer can specify the date and time he will need the equipment by and this will be confirmed and approved by the equipment owner. ■ The equipment will be leased and the monetary transaction will occur once they both approve the transaction. Farmer Needs Tractor: ■ Farmer will open app, search for tractor type, and will have preselected the distance from his location. ■ Additionally, the farmer will select the number of days and times he will be renting the tractor. ■ The tractor owner will approve the rental and will either provide a driver or not provide a driver. This will be specified in the product description. ■ The monetary transaction will occur once the renter approves the request from the farmer, but the farmer will not be charged until he has received the tractor. Farmer is needing storage: ■ The farmer is down harvesting and needs to store his goods somewhere until the prices of the produce increases in the marketplace. ■ Farmer opens app, searches for storage by environment, size, location, and time duration of storage needed. Then he will select the storage unit. ■ Specifies the date and time he would like to drop off the goods. ■ Farmer will wait for request to be approved or for a counter response from storage owner (who might be requesting a different drop off time) ■ Once date and time of drop off are approved by both parties, then the monetary transaction will occur. ■ Farmer will be responsible for transportation of goods to location, unless the storage owner specifies they will pick up the goods to be stored, which would result in a higher expense to the farmer.

Risk Mitigation There is potential risk the tractor/equipment/storage owners do not give to the farmer what was agreed upon, in those situations, the farmer will not be refunded and the owners will be removed from the application. We will conduct background checks on all individuals using the site and confirm they have active bank accounts. Users will be required to produce an application, submit UIN, and submit a PAN Card. Unlike the traditional method, the users might not know each other, so the users will have to overcome the fear of renting to/from people who are not within their immediate network. Culturally, this idea of sharing is already part of their culture, but strict guidelines and application use policies will help ensure this sharing community grows and users are not exploited or cheated. Resulting Consequences

Farmers can more efficiently farm and market their goods. Leads to increased profits, which in turn leads to more savings. The likelihood of the farmer being more independent greatly increases when they are given access to the tools they need to be more independent. Furthermore, the farmer can wait to sell their goods when it will be most profitable for them. This removes the uncertainty of demand and supply of goods in their immediate network. The farmer now has another way to find what he/she needs in a timely manner and quickly move onto the next task. Additionally, this application helps them track expenses and contact information. Rural individual/customer has another source of income and a more sustainable source of income. They are not dependent on the people within their network and can more effectively manage contacts and financial transactions.

E. Communication of the Value Proposition

1. Marketing Channels

a. Farmer societies Through these societies, we can tap into a dense network of rural farmers. Each society has a leader who oversees the operations and communicates with the agricultural officer who is assigned to that village. The leader would be an ambassador and we would pay him to promote our application to his farming community. He will be paid per new customer he brings to the application and signs up as a user. He will be given a Rs1200, same as all other new users, to try out the product and it must be used in the first 90 days. We are confident that these farming societies are the best way to quickly penetrate the market and these leaders are well respected in the community. If we can show these leaders the benefits of the product, then they will be our biggest asset in the field. We are eager to train and teach them, so we will provide them with training and offer them access to our onboarding tools. We will need a small team to set up meetings with these groups and facilitate the user experience.

b. KVK

c. Farming leaders in their communities

If farming societies do not exist, then we will work with the contacts we have made through this class to find farming leaders. The Marketplace Literacy Program and their constituents have many contacts that can be utilized. Furthermore, the contacts that can be obtained through the KVK and farmer contact database will provide us with enough details to implement an on the ground training/ambassador program through the farming leaders.

d. TV commercials

2. Value proposition will be communicated through user examples and cases. By showing success stories and explaining how their friends and family members in the community will benefit from this, it will greatly increase usage. Through trialability we can increase users, we will pay individuals to use the app one time. After the initial hurdle of overcoming fear of fraud and other, the individual can see how easy it is to use and will want to use it again.

F. Manufacturing Plan Exchange Model The lessee who needs harvesting equipment will enter the FarmShare app and look for available equipment to rent in the surrounding area. He will find the equipment through an easy to use search engine and then select the duration of time he would like to use the equipment. He will specify if he needs it to be transported to him or if he will pick up the equipment. The lessor will approve the rental request by entering FarmShare and approving the rental. Once both parties have met and exchanged the goods, then both the lessee and lessor will open the app and confirm they have met and the equipment was transferred from one party to the other. To ensure the lessee brings back the equipment with no damages, FarmShare will charge him a deposit and will return the deposit when the equipment is returned. To ensure no fraudulent activities are occurring, we will require a photo of the equipment before the transaction and a picture immediately after the equipment is returned.

Any party that is caught doing fraudulent activities will be removed from site. Also, all users will rate their fellow users after a transaction to ensure people are aware of who is a good user and bad user of the platform. PayTM will be the payment system supporting the application and will allow for the transactions to occur between the two parties electronically. Due to demonetization, this form of payment will be

preferred to cash. The money will be transferred from one bank account to another using PayTM. PayTM will generate revenue by taking a percentage of the commission from the transaction. We predict this percentage will be 3-4% of the transaction based on their current business partnership guidelines. FarmShare will generate revenue by taking a 5% commission from the transaction. These percentages will be shown to the lessor who is looking to rent his equipment, tractor, or storage. When the lessor enters the rent about, he or she will see the percentage increase in rental price which will be given to FarmShare and PayTM for using their services. Once the lessee returns the lessor, they will each rate the other on their overall experience, then the lessee will be given their deposit back. Implementation Schedule Prior to actual Launch, we will pilot this application with 30 villages 50 kilometers outside of Chennai and in an area where there is a KVK center to help facilitate training. Again, we will provide YouTube training videos and send promotional materials to the farming society leaders and KVK office. We will allow the users to have Rs1200 to use and to test the application. This pilot will last about 6 weeks and we will highly encourage participation. In year 1, Chennai we will roll out the application to individuals living 50 kilometers in and around Chennai. Chennai has a more technology savvy market and they have a large farming community around the city. FarmShare will provide all residents with RS1200 preloaded to their account that can be used for a transaction. This will ensure trialability and will help FarmShare work through any bugs while people are using the application in the first year. Promotion in Year 1 will consist of partnering with KVK in the area around Chennai and have them help us train and facilitate the usage of the application. We will train the KVK members how to use the application, which will be easy to learn and easy to train others. We will have our connections from our initial India trip and will use them to provide us with KVK contacts, who we would train via Skype and through pre-recorded marketing materials that will be uploaded to YouTube and can be used for training. In year 2, we will have worked out any kinks in the development process and will roll out the application to individuals living within 50 kilometers from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad. Every new user, who has a bank account setup on the application will be given RS200 to encourage trialability. Again, we will partner with KVKs around these cities to help promote the mobile application.

Marketing and promotional materials will be sent to farming society leaders and KVK centers. We will look for influential leaders in the community to promote the application. Furthermore, we will pay individuals for referring a friend. When a new member signs up for FarmShare, and they specify their friend referral via the application, then their friend will be given Rs200 per referral. G. Financial Forecast Prelaunch: Initial investment cost (of development and labor): $75,000 Market Entry - Marketing and Promoting: $100,000 Estimated Usage Rate: Estimated transaction in Year 1

- Chennai Surrounding Villages - 50,000 transactions

Estimated transaction in Year 2 - Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Ahmedabad - 300,000 transactions

Estimated transaction in Year 3: 600,000 transactions Estimated transaction in Year 4: 1,000,000 transactions

- It is estimated that in about 5 years many more rural Indians will begin using smartphones more regularly and this is the reason for the substantial increase in usage in Year 3 & 4.

Estimated Revenue: FarmShare per transaction Revenue: 5% per total transaction amount Average transaction amount: Rs1200 OR $19.20 Exhibit: Financial Projections for Years 1 - 8

Break-Even Point:

Based on Initial Costs Estimates in Prior to Launch, which we estimate to be $175,000, we can project breaking even in Year 2. H. Ecological (Planet) Impact Forecast Every business needs to analyze the ecological impact of its products and service. Our app main use is to increase the efficiency of the leasing process. Through the app, the transporters can gather as much grain as possible from the workers in fewer trips, also the app will result in existing equipment being used more frequently, thus reducing the need to buy excess equipment. Due to the poor conditions of rural roads, any reduction in required transportation will minimize emissions from vehicles. This reduction in purchase and usage of extra equipment will reduce wastage once the equipment reaches end of its service life. Also, the farmer need not use own motorcycle to go find a space to store crops, thus reducing fuel consumption. By the app, the farmer will know where the storage space is available. We estimate that fuel consumption will be reduced by 10% by using the app. I. Societal (People) Impact Forecast

Our app can also play a role in people’s lives. During field research, we found that the middleman gives a lesser price for that number of crops. Using our app, the farmer can arrange for transport without the help of middleman. The farmer can get 30% more income for the same crop amount because the worker can directly approach the buyers. Farmers can also save money by around 10% by renting of essential due to the increased competition amongst the lessors. The farmer can increase income by 10% by storing crops in storage spaces because moisture content in crops will reduce. Productivity of rural workers will increase because the workers will have more time for education and have more money to buy or lease products such as cattle, equipment, better seeds. Also, the workers can take more independent and educated decisions based on the app and can decide whether the product should be leased. We are trying to encourage a positive relation between the app and the worker’s livelihood. VII. Implementation, Controls, and Evaluation

A. Measures of performance – meeting triple bottom lines To measure performance, key performance indicators are required to keep track of project progress. First, we want to see that how many people are using the app and whether the number of people using the app is increasing. This is important since more people using the app means that there can be more transactions, thus there is more income generating potential from the app. The income earned through the app should match or exceed the financial projections. If the income is less than the financial projections, then we will have to evaluate our business model.

If the time taken to pick up crops is less than or equal to the assured time of pick up, it means that the app is helping the workers to pick up the crops. Also, we will also see that how many less trips will it require picking all the crops each time. The reduction in trips will help us know whether the environmental impact of vehicles has reduced after using the app. The workers should get a better price for their product and services. This is important because this issue is on our main goals which is to increase income of workers and reduce expense. Also, the translation of our app into the local languages and the symbols in the app will be monitored so that we get an understanding if the people can comprehend the translations and symbols. B. Monitoring and evaluating performance on multiple dimensions Monitoring will be done with the help of non-government organizations, field workers, technicians and software developers who will continuously monitor the performance of the app. Capturing data: Since our app is connected to cloud servers, we can get almost immediate results about our app’s adoption and performance. Since the field workers have already established relationships with the market segment, they will get accurate response from the app users. The field workers will continuously collect data and feedback of the app and will enter the data into the system. Based on the data we get, we can get an understanding of the success of the app. Since the app will be used in many areas, we can get an overall picture regarding the success of our app. Improving the app’s performance: If our team realizes that the app is not working according to expectations, a team will evaluate the reasons for the poor performance and will then initiate steps to improve app performance. Our teams from the back end will also go to various villages and take surveys to further find the reasons for poor response to our app so that we can further analyze the user’s responses and get a clearance idea regarding how to improve app performance. We will also keep contact with village heads who can help convince the villagers the advantages of the app. The feedback we get from the app is very important and will be acted upon immediately. The feedback will be collected digitally by the field workers who will convert what the user’s say into numbers and words. Then a team will accumulate and analyze the feedback. The solutions to the issues of the app will be implemented by the software developers. The feedback and the solutions will also be stored for future referencing,

Appendix: · Farmer interview day 1 o Has Nokia phone, no data plan o 8 acres of land (6 acres wet and 2 acres dryland) § Wetland crops: rice patty & Dry land: vegetables § Vegetables sold at wholesale market but have no bargaining power OR sell in local town and have bargaining power OR sell in local village § Used to sell to government, but bad financial straits and had to go to middleman for loan. He prefers to sell to gov’t. Trying to leave middleman but can’t. o Farmer: Government loans are “unreliable” - Provides “crop loans” – you do not get your money on time because the government/society is unreliable (they went on strike). Loans are interest free. § Further digging found – the loans can be renewed every year so the farmers never repay the loans. They just apply and get another loan every year, so these loans rack up over time and the government pardons the loans because they realize the farmers are in financial straits. So, the government workers that provide the loans went on strike because they are frustrated that the farmers get better benefits than them. § Additionally, these government banks went out of business due to the lack of financial payments by farmers and workers on strike § Middlemen are unfair in weighing goods o Government officers are set up in the districts § These officers have B.S. in agriculture and understand the local soil. § Provide support to farmers on weather, soil, and agricultural help § They are available via phone (usually) § Most villages appoint one person to talk to the officer on behalf of the farmers § The officer will do demonstrations in the village § Many officer’s availability varies and some are helpful and some are not § Many farmers think the officers are not helpful or provide good information. § Farmers don’t think the officers listen to them § Good officer examples · Provides expertise on how to grow crops correctly · What seeds are the best · What fertilizer and pesticides to use and weather · Text messaging – the government has a mass text service to provide weather report § Officer only comes to village during crops season o Farmer sells milk § Milk society – Bring your milk into the machine and it gives rate. The machine tells you how much fat is in the milk and then tells you how much they will pay you for the milk per liter via text. § The milk society is government run and they use rations shops where they register their phone numbers and the payment for the milk is texted to them. o Local “panchi” is a small committee of village leaders and the government officers come and talk to them, who then filter information to the farmer o Source of information

· Farmer 1 - interview day 2 o Children educated, no college degrees o 4-5 acres – 150 bags of rice a year and 4-5 bags for his family per year o Grows seasonal crops, grows ground nuts/peanuts and rice § Harvesting done by machine, little manual labor o Pricing and selling § Sells to middlemen – got a loan from middleman so has to sell to him’ § Sell to the government – rice has a fixed rate when selling to the government o Farmer thinks the government could do better at providing seeds and pesticides – they used to get pesticides at subsidized rates and no longer do o Farmer does not work with middleman o Phone – Nokia – no data plan – kids translate English texts into Tamil (native language) o Communicates with farmer through phone calls not texts o Government officer – mandatory to respond to farmer when farmer reaches out to him o Source of information § Government officer talks to village leader who communicates that information to the farmers, but the farmer has the officer’s contact information. § Officer must visit 3 villages daily and place information on the “panchi” board – there is a panchi office where there is a board that officer place information on to help the farmers with agricultural related items § 1 government office per 10 villages o There are farmer societies that are formed and those have a leader who talks directly with the officer – most of the societies are not well developed or managed. Communication flow is not good. Many farmers do not receive the information because they have no relationship with the farmer society leader or they don’t know or talk to the government officer so they don’t feel comfortable reaching out to them § Many farmers liked the idea of getting all the information from the officer at the same time via text so that it was timely and fair. § Also many times when there are demonstrations or meetings, farmers cannot attend and then do not get the information needed, so they would like to have overall beneficial information sent through their phones. § Many officers are not good at giving information that is beneficial and don’t do enough to help the farmer… according to the farmer. § Farmers want standardized information sharing § Farmers feel it is more political so some people get the information and others do not § Farmers are willing to pay for a text service if the information is beneficial · Beneficial info: Seeds info, growing info, pesticides to use, anything related/specific to their lands and would help them do better – the lands vary greatly across villages/India so the government officer/universities are most ware of the best for each area. o Weather is much more unpredictable now and it did not used to be this way, now they have had droughts and cannot grow rice because not enough rain. Little rain. o There is a fixed rate for the rice so it is more profitable so they prefer to grow rice of the fixed rate government bought product. So, many do not want to grow just vegetables or flowers. They do not get enough money with those crops. o Transportation – rent a tractor to transport goods.

· Farmer 2 – interview day 2 o Leases 5 acres of land – Rs. 8000/acre/8 bags of rice – Rs.1000/bag o Crops? Rice paddy, sugarcane, lentils, peanuts o Takes loan from middleman and pays lease of land o Harvesting process – machine o Nokia – no data plan – no internet o Rarely people can leave the middleman and begin selling to government o Farmers help each other and have little issues with each other o Farmer is trying to make ends meet, cannot save up enough to begin selling to government o Middlemen come to fields and take the crops and takes care of transportation, it is easier for the farmer and the farmer likes that, the farmer cannot hold onto the produce long because he has no storage so the goods could have been easily been stolen. o If farmer wanted to sell to the government he would have to find transportation for the goods. Lease a tractor. o Middlemen relationship is good because farmers father had good relations with middleman, but still unable to make ends meet. Unable to pay for their family household costs, but this farmer has a friendly relationship with middleman. o Government officer isn’t giving them good information, not happy with officer or the help received. He doesn’t use the government officer. o Anyone who grows better crops or does better than the usual farmer works closely with the officer – the farmers that don’t reach out to the officer don’t receive help – so they don’t do farming so well – closer the relationship the better the farmer does – not good that this farmer doesn’t want to work with officer – want to talk to government officers… if possible – we have one sided view right now o Best source of information he says comes from the person that sells him seeds, which is not the government but a private seller – same with pesticides (Kylie side note – in a later interview one of the professors at the university in Bangalore said that is one of the worst things they can do because the information is coming from someone uneducated on the soil and it is an easy way to get answers. They choose to not reach out to the officer because they do not feel comfortable or find the officer’s office is too far away. But they just need to call the officer.) o Farmer hires laborers to farm his lands because he is unable to o Government officer provides trainings but not consistent and not always helpful according to the farmer – training based around how to grow certain crops. To help them grow new crops or current crops better o Farmer is worried about the farmers going away forever, hears of farms being bought and used for housing. · Woman laborer – interview day 2 o Has husband but he is “sick” o There is a self-help group in the village, 14 members, 3 groups in the village, meet monthly, talk less and mostly focus on financial support, they have one leader who collects Rs100 per person per month and this goes into one fund that is there for the women when they need a loan. The women will sit in your house and hunt you down if you do not pay in time, they prefer to use this group because more personal than a bank and also the bank might not loan to them o Work is seasonal, not consistent, she asks around the village to see if there is agricultural work that day.

o If no farming work available then she will go do construction work – carry cement around in buckets o Finds work through friends o His father gives her money sometimes when she needs it, and her husband has not worked for a while because he is ‘sick’ o She has two cows and sells the milk o First cow bought with loan from self-help group and had to pay them back and the other cow was a gift from her family o Children go to college and then come home at night to help her at home. They live at home while going to college. o Children use smartphone but her and husband do not. o They rarely hold meetings with the self-help group to learn new things and the group is mostly for financial means o Women in the village who have husbands that work find work easier through their husbands and their connections, she is on her own and must find work through her friends in the village. · Farmer interview day 3 o 5 acres of land, does the farming, owns land, o Crop: paddy, sugar cane, peanuts, vegetables – depends on rain amount o Uses cow dung and pesticides for farming o Sells to middleman or government o Has savings and does not rely on middlemen o Was able to transition away from middlemen because 2 sons working who bring in money and his family sells ‘chemicals’/pesticides so he gets those items cheap and has a good source of information on new products/methods o Rents tractor to sell to government o The way people sell off middlemen is they take a loan of Rs 20,000 and give them crops worth Rs 40,000 and that pays back loan and gives them a little income. The farmer does not get paid much from these transactions. o This farmer could get loan from bank and prefers to do so because it helps him stay connected and be kept on record. The bank charges interest on the loans. He is a regular payor so he continues to get approved for loans without having to pledge jewels. o Loans can come from the farmer society/government bank and there is no interest for the last two years. The loan of Rs 20,000 might come in Rs18,000 of rupees and Rs2,000 pesticides. Sometimes the pesticides are not available so they only receive the rupees and then have to wait for the pesticides, but they cannot wait for the pesticides, so they go and buy the pesticides from private seller and then receive the farmer society/co-op pesticides later and then must store them and it does not help him. So, this is another reason he does not like getting loans from the farmer society/government/co-op bank. These things have many different names. These people are not as reliable as the bank. The farmer/co-op bank are not reliable. These people work mostly with larger farmers and go on leave a lot. o Farmer has little to no storage and lives 3km from village o Phone – ‘Lava’ – no internet plan – reads Tamil only so kids read the English messages to him – he does not text and only read texts o Uses machine to plant and plow

o Source of information is his uncle who used to be the village officer and he says the new village officer has provided similar information, so both are good sources of info o Hopes Sons will take over farming – they are currently drivers o He sells to the government 2km away, there is committee and sells to gov’t there. But the gov’t/committee is not reliable. Sometimes they are there and sometimes they are not. Usually they will leave the offices and he will miss them. So that is why he prefers to sell to middlemen because it is more convenient. He doesn’t have space to dry the patties before selling, but the middlemen take the patty’s when they are not dried. You must dry the patty’s and that is something the middlemen can do. He does not have the storage for the patty and it can get stolen. If the price is too low he will use the rice mill to store and dry. But that costs money. Also, likes the middlemen because they pay same day as pick up. Where the committee/gov’t does not pay right away. o Weather the last 4 years has been unpredictable. The patty is most profitable for him but cannot grow it due to lack of water. Takes 4 months to plant and harvest rice. Crops dried up and took a loss this year. o Many farmers planted peanuts this year and those that planted rice lost money. Usually irrigation helps farmers, they have pipes that go 20-30 feet down and pump water to the surface. Their lands are rocky and cannot do that unless they have dynamite. So, they fetch water from the lake and the lake is dried up. o The technology of the scales that middlemen use is improved and this makes it more difficult to cheat them. Middlemen never have losses. They own rice mills. o Farmer not willing to work with middlemen outside of village because they cannot be trusted. He does not like the idea of finding a new middleman outside of his village or current network. o Some middlemen are helpful though- the rich ones – they are not stressed out and will give them more time to pay off debts. But middlemen who are poor are “mean” and will not let them pay loan off later. · Cooperative bank interviews – day 3 o They provide loans to farmers, so if their land can produce Rs 100 of produce, they will give them a loan of Rs 75 o Only farmers who own land or are members of the coop bank can use their services – so help mostly rich farmers o They give loans to farmers and allow members to use their storage facility. When prices go up the farmer can then sell when the price is higher by storing the rice. o Farmers believe the cooperative provides fair prices for goods but farmer must get transportation/tractor to bring the rice to cooperative. o There is no change in rate due to different quality rice – government will only buy rice – but they will not buy the rice if the moisture is too high. o Cooperative allows use of storage for 90 days. o Farmer – o Farmer says cooperative is unreliable because they are rarely in the office so that is why they are forced to sell to middlemen. They have no place to store the goods until the cooperative is open. · Middleman - interview – day 3 o Random note on page: 4-5 middlemen per village

o 2 daughters, wife, father died young, little/no education, had 3 acres of land and sold 2 acres o Started business, takes patty from farmer and stores it. o Bag=77kg o Pays farmer immediately – Rs1000/bag if good patty and Rs900/bag if bad patty o After storage, the moisture removes, and bag weighs 72 kg o Takes loan Rs1,000,000 which allows him to buy the rice and then sells it and pays off loan and keeps profits o Sells the rice to mills, calls around to find the best rice mill price in the area o He prefers to work with mills in the area and with people he knows. He does not want to work with people far away from the village o Costs Rs10M to buy a mill o The 1 acre of land he farms and uses to feed his family o He will buy rice from any farmer but usually must buy from the farmer who he gave loans to, so regardless of the quality of patty he should buy it from them. o Source of information – newspaper or government/committee o Uses a book of accounts to track expenses and profits o 25-30 farmers in the area and that is all he can handle – he does not want access to farmers outside of current network because he is not able to work with more farmers. o If he had more money and more storage he would go outside his network and look to expand his business but currently not trying to. o Middlemen process: he goes to bank and gets loan of 5-10 lakhs, pledge jewels, gets loan, goes to buy farmers patty’s, and pays the farmer immediately. o He provides loans to farmers. Rs10,000/acre and only to farmers in his village. He does not want to loan money to farmers outside the village because he does not trust them. o There is a lot of competition for middlemen. o Owns a tractor o No government relationship and only relationship with coop bank o Has cellphone – it is smartphone – but only uses for calls. Kids read text messages to him. He uses the phone for financial transactions. Wire money. o He thinks in the next couple years you will need a license to be a middleman and you will have to start paying taxes on income. o He wants market rate for peanuts and patty (from rice mills) on his phone and would like to know what other rice mills further away are paying. Rice mills have brokers and he calls them. He cannot understand the concept of seeing prices on his phone or market rate. He did not understand the question but he would like to know that rates. He does not believe that he is smart enough to understand the technology. He would need training and help. o He does not understand the concept of increasing his network and connecting with others outside the village through a phone app. · Interview 12/31/16 Farmer o 2 acres of land, owns It, unused, no rain, grew peanuts last year, flooding though, o Income – find work by helping people carry things to temples or for religious purposes. Rs200/day o Sells to middleman – gets loan from him and seeds and has good relationship o There is no farmer’s society in their village or around them because it closed. No one used it. People preferred to work with the middlemen because the society was not convenient or helpful.

Also, people don’t have room to dry the patty before selling so they must sell it right away to the middlemen. There is no space to store it. So, the government / farmer society was not an option. They could not wait until the society leaders were available to sell to. o Govt only wants patties and their inefficient in payment. Middlemen pay right away. The farmer society/cooperative/govt does not pay right away. o Pay middlemen back in goods not money. Provides more produce than the loan amount. This is how they pay interest. o Phone – Nokia – no internet. Does not use any type of technology o Most interested in pesticide, seed, and growing information o Source of information? He goes to the government/ Agriculture officer’s office or goes to the pesticide seller and asks for help or information. But doesn’t trust shopkeeper and tests the products and then buys more. o Weeds are big issue, consumes all the water, and dries up the land. Many people blame weeds for the dry soil. o Typically buys seeds from the government. o There are two types of rice he can grow and sell. The rice with the highest yield he gets paid less per bag than the rice that yields a lower amount. High yield = 40 bags/acre and low yield = 20 bags/acre · Female agricultural labor contractor o She rounds up people to work in the fields for the farmers o Apparently, it is difficult to find enough people to work, so when she gets a job from a farmer, she goes to house to house the night before and the morning of and makes people go work. Many people don’t want to work. She only recruit’s females to work in the fields. She has been doing this for 40 years. She is part of the Marketplace literacy program in her village (Madhu’s program) and she has learned how to buy wholesale and what discounts are. She is very bright. She works to pay for her brother’s education. o How she obtained the role of contractor – she saw a need a long time ago for someone to let people know in her village and neighboring villages that there was agriculture work. So, she filled that need. She takes a % of the workers’ pay because she provides them with the access to the work. The farmers go directly to her and she brings the laborers to their fields. o When there is not agriculture work, she will do construction. o She has never been married. She is well respected and her marketplace literacy teacher was very proud of her. o She usually must drag people out of their homes to work. People don’t want to work it seems… very odd. o Men still dominate the higher up more important roles. So, a man will always be overlooking their labor in the field. Same thing in the construction, men will oversee the women carrying cement in their buckets on location. o She has no phone. o She doesn’t want a phone. She can only get people to come to work or trust that they will come to work if she talks to them in person. Or makes them leave the home with her to go to work. She goes to 40-50 homes the night before work and the day of work. o Construction work she makes a little more money per day, but she prefers the agriculture work because she can rest whenever she wants because she is considered the boss.

· Farmer 12/31/16 – Interview o Lowest literacy level. Unable to read o Leases land – 5 acres – Rs20,000/acre to lease, why so high? ‘This is the way’ – they have access to water – water pump on the land - big benefit – possibly why the land lease is so high. o Employs laborers o Does not plant patties because of lack of rain o Plants peanuts but incurred loss this year and prior year o Pays lease on only 3 acres because that’s all he can handle – landowner OK with that. o Veggies are more labor than peanuts and less income. o Has children who are educated and will not help on the farm o What is source of income if incur loss? Children o Does not need loan from middleman but sells to middleman o He had land in the village he grew up in. The land was taken from him from his cousins who were violent with him and his family. He had to leave or be badly hurt. He was pushed out of his village and had to start over in a new village with his family. His inherited land was stolen from him by his cousins. o Has phone – Lava – no internet – calls people only. Remembers people's numbers because he knows the frequency of calls and can associate the number with his family members. o Source of farming info? Farmer friends, mimics other farmer’s methods, talks to pesticides shop owner. He is not connected with the farmer’s society so he doesn’t talk to them nor do they talk to him. He is shut out of the society possibly because he is an outsider. o He gets loans from friends or local financier (someone with money willing to give him money and then he pays them back with interest but they are mean to you if you don’t pay. They will humiliate you.) o He can also get a loan from a local group/shop where he can pledge jewels and get loan. With little to no interest. o Bank will not give him a loan. He owns no land o Cooperative bank or local panchi do not help him. Only local financiers provide loans. o Has high blood pressure and cannot work outside. · Farmer 1/1/17 Interview o Lease 5 acres – sold land in 2006 because needed money and regrets doing that now. He was taken advantage of. Sold for much too low. o He is aware of the prices at market because they are fixed for rice patty by government, which is why people like to sell rice. They know they will get good money for rice. o Fixed price for rice o Lentils are more profitable, than rice patty, and lastly peanuts. So, more money in lentils than rice. o Farmer understands technology. o Leases Rs2,000/acre o Samsung phone – no internet – no texting – only calls – cannot read English o Explained product concept to him (I said it would be voice not texting) he was interested. He liked the idea of getting help with agricultural, seeds, weather, chemicals, and he would pay for it --- “If it was beneficial” – That would be hard to prove to them that it is beneficial. Trialability key

o How did he know to grow lentils instead of rice? And how did he learn how to grow? Friend told him it grows better with less water and he learned how to grow it from a friend. He benefited from this and now makes more money. The lentils were new to his village, no one grew lentils before o Lentils are less maintenance as well – Thought: Why did the agriculture officer not teach these farmers this??? Why did he have to go to his friend to learn this?? o How did friend learn about lentils? Small politician saw it being grown in another village and told his friend, the farmer about it. So those villages shared the same soil so they could grow the same things. Very profitable. o Lentils seeds, easy to get? – Yes, very easy – sold at private shop owner, 50KM from village is the shop. Takes bus to get there. o Lentils also do not require any cleaning – unlike rice. o Also the pesticides he used he changed because he saw his friend was using another chemical and the yield was better, so he changed his chemicals and has better yields. o He only prefers to call people and talk on the phone. He has no interest in texting or using apps. o Gets his loan from his wife’s self-help group. The women are relentless J they sit in your house until you pay them back. o Hires laborers, does not have savings, usually no profits and has losses. Side job – works at gas station. o Why farm if you always have losses? He said if he was educated he would have left, but this is all he knows. Very unsure about the farming future and whether it will be around in the near future. o Loans from the government are better because he can dodge payments. But cannot get loan from gov’t because doesn’t own land. The loans from the government can get renewed every year and then farmers never pay off prior loan. Then eventually loans get pardoned. o He can also get a loan from a local store, where he can pledge jewels, but if he cannot pay one payment they will sell his jewels. – lower interest. o He can get loan from local financier – must pay back with very high interest. o Does he use the gov’t agriculture officer as a resource? No, the officer only talks to rich farmers so they do not talk to him. I asked if he talks to rich farmers to get info, and he said no, they do not talk to him. o No need for storage with lentils. o When asked if he would like to have a network or broaden his farmer network to learn more and he was interested. And he would like to help others. Such as how to grow lentils. · Marketplace literacy coordinator Interview o His father was a farmer o Learned plumbing from his brother, made it to the 9th grade o Started working for MLC – rural officer o MLC – impact training… Explained… and entrepreneurship o Questions about the tool that we would provide to farmers – he said the information would have to be very specific to the soil in that region. That is why the agricultural officer are the best resource but never go to the villages. You must contact them via phone or go to their offices. o Main mistake people do is go to the pesticides seller for information – they are not educated o Officer the best source of information o Would it be better to engage those officers to better provided information to people?

o Weather and current climate biggest issue – people cannot grow what they are trained to grow – their lands are drying up and they don’t know how to adapt and are having losses o He believes there is a positive future for farming because educated people are starting to farm. Educated people want to give back and see the value in farming. They want to do something that is meaningful and see the benefits of farming. They start farming not for the money but as a duty to do something good and give back. They want to make sure farming does not go away. So, he is excited about that. That is also why he owns land. The translator also added that his friends who have money feel the same way. They want to buy land to do farming because it is a noble thing to do. A way to give back. People take pride in the farming. So, the farming will get better and new technologies will be adopted because more educated people will begin farming. · Agriculture worker – interview o Work depends on rain. If land is dry – no work o 30 years old – 14-year-old son (3 total kids) o Husband is security guard o Mother daily wager o She does construction when there is no farming work o 2 cows – sells milk o 100 days of work through government so she will do that – that is cleaning up the plastic bags – picking up trash o Marketplace literacy program – 3 times – she has 8th grade education o Married young o Mother in law watches kids when they are working o She finds work through word of mouth – agriculture work – only gets work in her village not from other villages. o No phone – her husband has Nokia phone – no internet o Only read Tamil (language) o She is part of women’s society – there are 8 societies in her village · Interview – 1/3/17 – multiple in one – leader of agriculture office – professor from university in Bangalore who is very well known in the industry – met with farmer who lives near university – who has received awards for his farming practices (integrated farming and water pump product design) – also the facility we were at trained farmers in the area- the farmers in this area were part of a project/survey where the university identified that jack fruit was abundant and very good quality in the area so many farmers started growing jackfruit. They have a jack fruit grower’s association. o The professor we spoke to said they taught these farmers how to grow these jack fruits well and then who to clean and sell them. o Additionally the university and others who work out of the office, that is owned by the university, (where they teach farmers and have projects hosted) said they trained them on how to get around the middlemen. The farmers formed a group. And appointed someone to take in fees/membership and then use that to rent tractors and take their goods to market and sell it. They can cut costs by joining forces. Also, profits are brought back and given to the farmers based on the amount of produce they sold.

o Also the professor explained that they taught them how to set up contracts ahead of growing. So the farmer we spoke to had a contract with an ice cream company to produce jackfruit for them and sells to them. This insures payment and can plan for profits. Can start to save or plan ahead. o Also under university project the farmers benefit from receiving seeds to grow new crops. They are taught how to grow the plants and benefits from the information given to them from the university. o The university trains the government/agriculture officers who are in each district in India. o It took a long time before the farmers successfully created the jackfruit group. Many meetings to spread the word and arose interest. It was hard to show the benefits of joining but once they convinced the farmers that it was beneficial they joined the group. About 40 meetings to just get 18 members and start the process of selling the jack fruit as a group. o So within the group – 180 members, 3,500 trees, 70 villages. o The farmers sell their jackfruit at local festivals or local markets – No irrigation because it is tree so great for farmers – little expense o The farmers also sell to horticultural society who sells the fruit for the farmer. · Farmer who is associated with the university in Bangalore – He is an employee of KVK (the office where we just were - the university owned and ran- office) o He owns 3 acres. He learned many skills and how to be sustainable through the teachings of the university. Rainfall is less in the region o He grows finger millet o 10 years earlier he used to grow rice but no longer because of rain. o Finger millet is popular there – government has fixed price for finger millet o Why can’t people in Chennai grow finger millet? “Not something they eat, they prefer rice” o Contract? They do not require a contract for nonperishable goods (finger millet and red grain) but they do need contract (or they suggest they get contracts) prior to growing perishable goods like jack fruit or fruit. o How does he get pricing info? Government has fixed prices for millet but for other things he calls people he knows who sell at the market. He calls about 3-4 people and determines, over the phone, from regular buyer’s wat the price would be at the market for the goods he would sell. o The government provides a location or collection point for buyers and sellers to come together o What also enabled them to get around the middlemen is that the number of markets in the area increased which allowed them to have more options for selling that were close to home. · Company visit – “ARTOO” Company name o Takeaways from conversations: Voice only interactions with farmers o Platform should be texted based – companies specialize in this o A lender to rural India – “Samunatti” – They know the founder and the co-founder of ARTOO was willing to connect us with them to discuss how to overcome the technology barrier of working with people who are uneducated or working in subsistence places o “Avais” – Voice -based technology solution company o Suggested we have 2-3 different models for our idea – App, voice, and text. o Need to get back in contact with these individuals. · Ag scientist interview 1/3/17

o Part of the university in Bangalore and works as the KVK office (office ran by university for research based on the rural farming/farmer practices) o Trainings they hold at KVK § Which plants to grow and what pesticides to use § Guidance with understanding the soil § Water conservation and irrigation § Reduce cost of production § How to market their products § How to package and sell the products § Methods of harvesting § Take in soil and water samples and gives guidance to farmers based on this info § Organic fertilizer – save money and better for environment and waterways § Finding and signing contracts with companies or individuals before growing the produce (fruit especially or anything not bought by the government) · Grow was the customer asks for – not what you want to grow · Farmer 1/3/17 Interview Won many awards works with the university – integrated farmer – 2.5 acres o Integrated farming practices o Grows food for personal and commercial reasons o He knows how to do his own marketing, people now come to him to buy the goods they want o Cows, pigs, fish, plants, trees, chickens, rice, worm compost, biofuel from cow dung o He is secretary for farmer society o Messages through his mobile phone – customers, buyers, sellers, - text o Sells cow’s milk – high quality – swiss cows o Dry climate lack water o Farm pond used for fish and irrigation – rain water – o Sell pigs for money o Have nice looking dogs who breed and he sells the puppies o Sustainable farming practices through integrated farming o Designed his own water pump from a motorcycle bike. o Employs little to no labor – does the work himself o People know him well and come to him to buy goods o How does he know market rates? Discussed over phone with buyers, contracts, newspaper, TV. o He has a smart phone – but he is the only one yet to have a smartphone o Receives SMS regularly o His son’s look up tomato prices on this phone – he is unable to o He is not interested in working with people further away or he doesn’t know – he wants to sell to people he knows. o Weather information he knows from experience and from the university scientists helping him – asks them to help him when needed. o He thinks the app would be useful for others who do not have a connection to the university or KVK office o Willing to try an app if it gave helpful information o Banana tree – sells leaves and fruit – sells at market o Coffee tree – sells beans at market

o Flowers he grows and sells o Eggs he sells from the chickens – the chickens were expensive and are expensive to breed o Sells tomato juice o Has a room for storage inside his house o Uses drip irrigation and has the water pump to water plants o Beans – he sells the seedlings not the beans – on contract only o Berries from trees he sells o Owns small tractor and planting and hauling things · Interview program coordinator at KVK office o “farm science center” o 540 districts in India – group trains all the officers – multiple disciplinary based on soil and local conditions o Different centers throughout India to train o Moto: “transfer of technology and knowledge from Lab to Land” o Want to help but very focused on local conditions and meeting their needs o Currently value of goods profit distribution: 20-30% goes to farmer; 30% goes to middlemen; and 30% goes to retailer o Formation of groups is key to help get around middlemen and combine efforts to sell goods and share costs of production o One person in the group goes to market and sells o Teach them how to prepare foods and sell them at higher price at market o Messages are sent to farmers when they are needed. The demand is low. There is already a text service to help farmers. Automated. Toll free number 1551 and they can text on a needs basis. There is also a local kiosk a place in nearby village and the farmers do not use it. But it is picture based. § What does your plant look like? Click the issue you are seeing with your plant. (pictures provided) touch based. And then move forward with the solution to that problem. § It is a software application § They do not have a voice service that is available – call method with questions – has not been tried. Click through method. Over the phone – good idea – has not been tried. **** § 10-12 villages there is one “panchi” – government office – where there should be agriculture officers available. Not always available. · Indian Institute of science o Projects they are working on: § Uber for tractors § Augmented reality game/ for program to increase washing of hands in rural hospitals § Monitoring of electricity in rural areas and find the power is cut nearly every hour so energy power is inconsistent and cut regularly so people don’t like to rely on technology because anything that is ran on the power will be shut off randomly. Even though they are paying for a service 24/7. There is research showing that energy is never cut off around politician’s homes or offices. Political issue. § Electrothermal activity to detect if someone is drowsy and it a wearable device for drivers – need for better detection to save lives – drivers are unreliable § Block chain technology – look this up. Helpful.

o Helpful information for us § Localized radio – Mesh++ § Language, lingos, symbols - explain it in a way that makes sense to them. Relate it to something they work with or seen before to explain something to them- to help them understand the use or value of tool § Examples from their own lives and transfer to technology explanation § Newer farmers have smartphones and WhatsApp – Groups have been formed through WhatsApp – interact through there to learn about farming or to get help with something § Many farmers sign up for 4G but only get 3G. § Type of person/farmer/target consumer · Has children · Needs based – looking for solutions · Understand they have an ego and need to find farmers who do not have an ego about their farming – “this is the way it is from experience. I know this.” Unwilling to change – avoid · Already looking for technology solutions · Interview farmer outside of Delhi – 1/5/17 o Farmer, middleman, and mill owner o Bachelors of commerce – business o 1.5 acres – family passed to him but he owns 12 acres o He bought the mills o 4 kids – highly educated and 2 servants o After education went and bought mill o Loan to buy mill from bank, interest 10%, and could get loan because he was educated o 3 mills (oil, rice and flour) o Grows rice and wheat o Gets water from two wells and the nearby canal o Rain is good there o Selling § Before harvest § Mustard and wheat, gov’t rate fixed § 16.5Rs /kilo = wheat § 35Rs/kilo = mustard § Rice sold to private entity o Sells at mandi – Market § Sells to e choupal system § This mandi is a govt area created to bring together buyers and sellers § Intermediaries buy and sell to factories at this location § Farmers do take loans from intermediaries but he does not o Nokia phone – no internet o SMS from government” “Chance of rain” and date. provides weather updates. § Info on temp and weather § Government prices § And how to preserve crops – increase yields o Pricing for different quality rice § 3 kinds of rice

§ Poorest kind Rs.1550/kilo – govt – sells to govt § Better quality sells at Mandi to intermediary for Rs3000/kilo – better quality goes to private buyer o People take loans from intermediaries (middlemen) for seeds – you must sell your goods to the middlemen or they will retaliate – if you take a loan from them o He leases a tractor when needed and shares the lease with other farmers o Government officers are not helpful and do not listen to them o Government doesn’t give good pesticides anymore · Farmer interview outside of Delhi o 3 kids, mom, wife, grows wheat and rice, no veggies for sale only for family use o 2 acres o Water from well and canal o Phone – no internet and gets seeds from govt o Transports to Mandi to sell goods to intermediaries or sells to govt o Mustard, rice, wheat o Doesn’t sell to government – why? Because the agent/intermediary sells to the government § Only big farmers can sell to government directly so he cannot § The government is unreliable and are not there to sell to when needed § Office only open for short period of time, if he had storage then he would sell to government but instead no storage so sells to middlemen/intermediary/commissions agent § He lets friends borrow his tractor § Govt will leave the office while he is there unloading so if he takes too long unloading they can and will leave. That is why the bigger richer farmers are able to only sell to govt because they have more labor to unload and sell faster § He has to call and ask if they are in the office – otherwise he would never know when they are there o Knows the fixed price for the goods he sells so he knows what the middlemen are making and the profit he is missing out on o He has no savings and can barely make ends meet o 2 cows and sells the milk o Govt is messaging him as well about the weather and temp info o Commissions agent/intermediary/middlemen will do the drying for him of the patties o Gets pesticides from private entity o There are markets nearby they he could sell at (other crops veggies etc.) o He claims to know how to go to market and sell his goods o He calls the agents and seller at markets to learn of the prices at market. o He does exactly what the agriculture officer tells him to do when given advice o He would like to connect with more farmers in the area to learn more about farming and teach others and lease his tractor · Shashi Ratnakar Singh - Ph.D. University of Cambridge - Department of Geography Interview with man who is well known in the industry for helping rural farmers make a living after their lands are acquired o He is attending Univ. of Cambridge o There is large scale land acquisition going on

o In one district the farmers were paid well under what they should and other districts found out about it and refuse to sell their lands now o The farmers are not paid what the land would be worth as far as lifelong income for the farmer. So, they acquired the land without paying what the lifelong profits would be for the farmer, so farmers are unable to recover after their lands are bought. o He is working on finding them other work, and the work they must transition to has to be something they already know how to do for it to be a success. o So if they’re good at making baskets then they must continue to do that and sell them to make money. o They must find a new way of life but are unable to because farming is all they know. o But this man stated that the farmer’s inability to sell lands is hindering growth for India o He said in 5 years: 1.2 hectares will be acquired (land) and 3.2 million people will be affected by this o He wanted us to think about the new life for rural farmers and help in the cause to sell their lands and find new work. To think about the transition that will occur and there is no stopping it and to try to make sure those farmers are able to live and sustain a quality life by making a living doing something else. o This is his passion and said we should know the whole picture and understand where the industry is going and to be aware of the real issues the farmers are facing in the near future. 3.2 million people will be affected by this. o He said to google: SROWT- source for change…. Rural BPO… · UIUC alum - Anshul Pathak - Vice Chairman - Delhi Public School - Ghaziabad Society o ITC echoupal o Confident that farmers will use smart phones o The ITC echoupal did training to help them learn how to get around the middlemen and to grow new crops and this has not shown to be beneficial – he said if this entity cannot make change happen from the trainings then how would a smaller group make it happen. You have to have the agricultural know how and industry know how to train these people and promote change. No change has occurred. o He is confident that smartphones and farmers will get around the middlemen – no reason to believe this and provided no explanation but says it will happen… o OLX is an example of an online platform that rural farmers are using I believe Crop insurance doesn’t exist today

References ● Bhalla, G.S. and G. Singh (2012): Economic Liberalization and Indian Agriculture: A District Level Study, Sage Publications, New Delhi.