KIAG

The DHL sorting center in Poznań (Poland) recently hit a new record of processing 425.000 parcels in a single day.

We are honored to play our part in software development for this success!

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/piotr-mierzwicki-38006ab0_mcl-activity-7181680768962707457-SpTc?trk=public_profile

Image created with generative AI bei Midjourney

InnovAfrica Consortium Meeting

As the InnovAfrica project is in its final steps of implementation, all project partners met from 15 to 16 June - this time online – to discuss the projects progress and the final steps to successfully complete all activities.

For KIAG, together with its partners, the focus is on documenting the numerous results and findings. These are now gradually being processed for the Knowledge Platform (http://kp-innovafrica.africabiosciences.org/) and published hereon and thus made available to farmers, extension officers, scientists and other interested parties. Readers can learn about techniques for cultivating brachiaria grass as livestock forage, food crop production systems and other relevant aspects that need to be considered such as household’s needs and the structure of value chains.

Based on the project results and the scientific findings of the InnovAfrica project, concrete guidelines for (small) farmers and extension officers have now been developed as farmer manuals.

The knowledge gained about techniques regarding sustainable agriculture intensification for forage-livestock systems and food crop production is presented therein. Individual aspects and steps for practical implementation like e.g. intercropping or selection of cultivars are elaborated in the context of smallholder farmers.

Especially for farmers with small land size, intercropping offers a sustainable and efficiency-increasing method of cultivating maize and beans, which are widely grown crops in all project countries. Planting calendars with an overview of the different steps in the course of the year have been developed to suit the climatic conditions of the individual project countries.

The pictures show the planting calendars for Malawi and the Free State of South Africa as well as for Ethiopia. Small farmers have the opportunity to make optimal use of their available land. They become less dependent on single products and thus have the chance to satisfy their own nutritional needs and also to operate more diversely on the food market.

Data needed to perform the scientific analysis have been captured using the KIPUS framework which allows flexible adjustment of questionnaires and subsequent use in Business Intelligence analysis systems.

The complete manuals and findings will be published on the project's knowledge platform http://kp-innovafrica.africabiosciences.org/ and made usable for everyone.

For more information about the project visit the website: http://www.innovafrica.eu/

Business Impact Profile for DEG

DEG, a subsidiary of KfW, is a financing partner of private-sector companies operating in developing and emerging countries. DEG provides long-term financing and promotional programmes, and advises the companies as they implement their investments.

KIAG has developed an innovative tool enabling DEG to provide their partners with impact data in a rich visual presentation, allowing them to easily analyse the data.

Web links about DEG and the project:
https://www.deginvest.de/International-financing/DEG/
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/julian-frede_business-impact-profile-bip-activity-6689484616098742272-VAwe

KIAG creates the new website for „Antike am Königsplatz“

The museums at Königsplatz in Munich – State Collections of Antiquities and Glyptothek – rank among the leading international museums for antique art.

Working closely with the director and the curators, KIAG has developed an entirely new website that puts the focus on the visitor. Enhancing the usability on mobile devices was another key aspect.

All important information for visiting the individual museums is clearly accessible on the home page. Included are an event calendar, the history of each museum and its collections, and a gallery presenting selected highlights.

The website also introduces an online shop offering publications and souvenirs as well as reproductions of several masterpieces from the museums‘ collections.

The website is accessible here: www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de

The Global Coffee Platform

GCP: Vietnamese coffee sector advances with sustainability monitoring

The system behind this effort has been custom-built with our inhouse WeTrace framework for GCP.
We are proud to support coffee farmers in their respective countries for the sustainable production of good quality coffee.

globalcoffeeplatform.org The Vietnamese coffee sector has engaged with local government, trade, producers and GCP since 2017 in order to gather sustainability information and baselines on coffee regions. The aim is to inform local partners’ agendas for improvement and interventions.

KIAG on traceability and business intelligence mission in the Green Innovation Centre Mali

After the initial field study of ICT usage and preferences of producers in the mango, potato and rice value chains, KIAG was invited by GIZ and AFC to present the study results, elaborate an approach on digital traceability in the Malian Mango sector and to train the programme’s M&E team on data analytics and the use of state-of-the-art business intelligence software. This will help the Green Innovation Centres reporting and evaluation practices in the future.
Interviews conducted with key public and private sector representatives have clearly shown that digital traceability is the future for Malian Mango industry and next steps in implementing an ICT-based system along the value chain are now put in action.

‘Woodpecker’ Chain-of-Custody (CoC) software goes live: Lao timber chain embraces transparency

'Woodpecker' has been designed by KIAG following a joint specification workshop with Burapha and PEFC in Vientiane, Laos. The application’s principal purpose is to promote sustainable practices in Lao timber chain by tracking volumes of different wood species (Teak, Rubber, Eucalyptus, Acacia) and associated sustainability claims (Lao, Verified, Controlled, Certified) through the local value chain. This will avoid the creation of counterfeit claims and the introduction of wood from unknown sources. Deliveries of wood are thus documented in a protected and closed digital CoC, tracked and photographed in order to avoid misallocations or replacements of wood. Through this digital protocol of all wood transactions and their origin Burapha can detect any irregularities in their local supply chain and will build a stronger and more transparent linkage to wood producers in their sourcing area. Woodpecker also provides automated value estimations of different wood types based on variety, grade and dimensions. This helps small scale plantation owners and producers to value their wood appropriately and to benefit from sustainable logging practices.

InnovAfrica Stakeholder meeting in Mbeya, Tanzania

Partners and stakeholders of the EU-funded InnovAfrica research project have held their first meeting in 2019 in Tanzania’s Southern Highlands. The meeting was hosted by the Sokoine University of Agriculture and held in Mbeya. The consortium of partners visited the Rungwe project site where smallholders are introduced to innovative Brachiaria grass technologies to promote improved cattle feed, thereby scaling up milk production and marketing in the Rungwe District.
Starting in April 2019 existing farm performance data from the sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) trials in the six project countries will be digitized, subsequently analyzed and then be uploaded on the project’s Knowledge Portal ( http://kp-innovafrica.africabiosciences.org/ ), which will be run by InnovAfrica partners beyond the project’s tenure.

The Global Coffee Platform (GCP) and KIAG extend their work on coffee supply chain traceability to Kenya

Based on the GCP’s Sustainability Progress Framework (SPF) implementation with thousands of users in Vietnam, GCP and KIAG have expanded their work by collaborating with the GCP stakeholders in Kenya. Based on consultations of coffee stakeholders in Kenya a National Sustainability Curriculum (NSC) has been elaborated in Kenya. The relevant data underlying the NSC have been collected from close to 200 farms in the Embu Province in combination with farm performance metrics and geo-data defining plots. The results are currently analyzed and findings will help to identify existing challenges and prospects in promoting coffee supply chain sustainability in Kenya.

gtvp – Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET)

Ghana COTVET Registration & Accreditation Roll-Out

KIAG rolled out a new Registration & Accreditation system for the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) in Ghana. This system allows for self-service supported registration and subsequent accreditation and is a building block for further digitization of the vocational learning environment. COTVET and all users will profit from efficiency gains and process transparency. This new tool builds on top of the current Voucher Management System implemented for COTVET with PLANCO and sponsored by KfW. Further information can be retrieved from COTVET’S project website on the Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP) on http://cotvet.gov.gh/index.php/gtvp/.

cotvet.gov.gh The Ghana TVET Voucher Project (GTVP) is a project under Ghanaian-German Financial Cooperation, co-financed by BMZ through KfW and the Government of Ghana. The project is implemented by the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET), supported by PLANCO, an international c...

Workshop on behalf of the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) in Bacolod City

From 12 to 14 December, the Association of Negros Producers (ANP) invited stakeholders from the local government of Negros Province, the private sector (buyers and traders of agricultural products) and the German IT and consultancy provider Knowledge Intelligence Applications (KIAG) to hold a workshop on traceability and business intelligence. The workshop was embedded in a broader context of the Multi-Actor Partnership (MAP) program currently implemented with ANP in the lead and an IT enabled agricultural sector in Negros Province.
The workshop was conducted by KIAG in close coordination with ANP and had two major topics: (1) the exposure of participants to state-of-the art traceability solutions applied to the agricultural sector and (2) the promotion of learning for all participating organizations based on effective and software-based data analytics for improved decision making and reporting.
As a direct follow up of the workshop it was agreed that the current version of the OpenSource software KIPUS developed by KIAG would be reviewed and simplified to allow for a more effective and less time-consuming process of collection of essential data. Based on this, stakeholders and ANP will make staff available to register at least 470 farmers and collect data periodically. First results have been presented at the next stakeholder workshop under MAP program in Vietnam in March 2019. At the same time, ANP and KIAG will work closely together to seize opportunities of the usage of business intelligence software (most likely Microsoft PowerBI) to allow for effective data analytics based on the collected data.
Photos copyright: ANP

Kick off workshop with Burapha Agroforestry and PEFC
for Woodpecker chain of custody project in Laos
In December 2018, KIAG visited its customer Burapha Agroforestry to launch the Woodpecker Chain of Custody project in Laos. The project aims to establish ICT-based transparency and traceability for the local teak and eucalyptus supply chain from the production to the processing. KIAG’s OpenSource software KIPUS has been configured for the local timber supply chain and is now dubbed “Woodpecker”. A final specification will be established together with all stakeholders in May 2019. Woodpecker will then be launched and accessible to producers, traders, transporters and processing companies in the Lao timber value chain. This will further improve information about the origin of timber and full tracking along the supply chain. Small-scale timber producers benefit from improved transparency about timber prices and reliable markets for their traceable produce. The project is co-funded by funds of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and co-managed by the Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH (DEG).
Photos copyright: Phillip Styles

Togo Agricultural Information System Training

KIAG held a two week special course to enable La Direction des Statistiques Agricoles, de l’Informatique et de la Documentation (DSID) staff of Togo ministry of Agriculture to take ownership of the Agricultural Information System (AIS). This system is built on the OpenSource software KIPUS created by KIAG and used for solutions as different as voucher systems for vocational training to full traceability solutions including QR codes for consumers. DSID is now able to extend the already existing modules (market data capture and distribution) with specific modules fitting to Togolese agriculture. During the training, a Cocoa and Café questionnaire was also implemented

Location Analysis of Cotton in Ethiopia

In November 2018, KIAG conducted a location analysis of cotton in Ethiopia in order to highlight the bottlenecks of local cotton supply for the national textile industry. The analysis was commissioned by GIZ. Currently, the production of cotton is lacking value added by the local Ethiopian textile industry. KIAG analysed the conditions for cotton production and processing in five areas. The results were presented by KIAG’s digital tools in order to demonstrate the rationales and benefits of transparency and traceability, both of which is in high demand by the international trade as well as Ethiopian government agencies (see charts).

Textile in Ethiopia

KIAG is approaching the textile sector in Ethiopia and other East african regions together with RFC-Consulting. Having been invited by GIZ Ethiopia, Stephan Rehlen presents the available services towards African producers and international buyers at the textile and apparel fair in Addis Ababa from 3. - 7. October 2018. Further activities in Ethiopia will follow soon.

Implementation of ICT in cooperation with the Ghanaian FOLA-Association

Our partner FOLA association promotes organic orange maize for animal feed with small-scale growers in the Ashanti region of Ghana. FOLA not only uses the KIPUS software of KIAG, but also draws on our expertise in the development of an analogous and digital training curriculum. During a recent project visit, KIAG has introduced and discussed the basic structure of a farmer centred learning approach. In close cooperation with local key farmers the team has developed a script to visualize current and new agronomic practices to create awareness for transformation among farmers. The transition from conventional to sustainable agriculture including organic elements is a challenge in the region. Currently, farmers face the epidemic pest of the armyworm which heavily affects the current harvest. At the same time, prices for inputs are increasing which has prompted FOLA to give the appropriate answers based on the approach of bio-economy. By the first quarter of 2019, KIAG will conduct first trainings for key farmers who disseminate the knowledge at community level. FOLA will also establish a multi-purpose centre for training and maize storage.
Photo: Planned project site of FOLA in the area of Mompong. Stephan Kunz 2018

Lecture at Nairobi University on ICT4Agri

Prof. Agnes Mwang’ombe, Principal of the College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences of Nairobi University (www.uonbi.ac.ke) and member of the scientific board of InnovAfrica, has invited Stephan Kunz of KIAG to give a lecture on “Concept of Capacity Building – A Blended Learning Approach for Farmers & Extension Workers“. 80 Master students of the prestigious university discussed options for innovations in extension work. The students raised the question of doing an internship with a partner of the InnovAfrica project in order to practice blended learning at the farmer level.
Photo: Students' group of Nairobi University. Stephan Kunz 2018

Third stakeholder meeting of InnovAfrica

The Agriculture Research Centre (www.arc.agric.za) of South Africa hosted the third stakeholder meeting of InnovAfrica in Pretoria in the period of 6. – 10. August. 16 partners in six African countries collaborate in the development of various innovations to support the implementation of sustainable agriculture intensification (SAI) systems. This time the main focus referred to the presentation of research results related to the data collection of 3,817 household questionnaires in all six countries. KIAG has developed the IT-based data collection tool which was used to capture the household data and prepare them for analysis.
Another service provided by KIAG is the development of a dynamic and interactive InnovAfrica knowledge platform (http://kp-innovafrica.africabiosciences.org). That platform shall provide information and knowledge to extension workers and key farmers to disseminate and apply research results, but also to exchange experience of farmer led experimentation of SAI systems. Forage-livestock and intercropping of maize/sorghum/legume are the most relevant innovations at the twelve project sites.

Photo: Field trip with InnovAfrica partner consortium at the homelands in Free State. Stephan Kunz 2018

Field test of GCP sustainability reporting tool in Vietnam has started

Since 2017, KIAG has been closely cooperating with the Global Coffee Platform (GCP) on the implementation of the GCP’s Sustainability Performance Framework (SPF) which is linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The digital solution delivered by KIAG for the SPF’s implementation uses mobile components in online and offline modes and, thus, can be used directly at the producing farms in remote areas. This allows for the tracing and visualization of sustainability performance of coffee supply chain members in Vietnam and, soon-to-be, in other countries. Farmers use the mobile application because it helps them learn and adopt good agricultural practices by structuring the activities and documenting their application.

The consolidation of all data through a Business Intelligence component provides mobile-accessible reports on pesticide usage, sustainable coffee production practices, certification readiness, production, wages, sales information and profitability – for farmers, buyers, financial institutions and consumers alike.

After a first field test which is carried out in June 2018, a large-scale roll out in Vietnam with 35,000 coffee producers will follow in the next weeks. The reporting tool will further improve transparency and is seen – both by the public and private sector – as a crucial instrument for Vietnam’s coffee sector stakeholders to obtain better governance and accelerate their own country’s sustainability journey.

Further information on the project launch and field test is available on GCP’s website:
https://www.globalcoffeeplatform.org/latest/2018/gcp-progress-brings-coffee-sector-one-step-closer-to-measure-local-impact

“We have partnered up with KIAG to jointly implement KIPUS, a digital data collection and analysis tool, to measure and track impact of sustainability initiatives in major coffee producing countries, starting with Vietnam. Over the last year, we have incrementally adopted the solution into our organization, configuring and soon to be running it on our own with KIAG’s support. KIPUS is an innovative, flexible and easy-to-use tool which will help us track sustainability progress for ten-thousands of coffee growers across our members’ supply chains.”
- Andreas Terhaer – Global Coffee Platform (GCP)

Photo copyright 2018 GCP

KIAG @ ICT4D Conference in Lusaka

From 8 to 10 May, KIAG participated in the 10th ICT4D Conference held in Lusaka. During these three days, experts discussed the latest opportunities for information and communication technology to foster development in various sectors, ranging from digital financial inclusion, humanitarian response, agriculture and environment, health and nutrition, and education. The conference proved the tremendous potential which ICT has in helping to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Clearly, governments, NGOs, private sector and development practitioners increasingly acknowledge and seize the value that innovative ICT solutions, big data, satellite imagery and data analytics provide.

Whereas data is often abundant, many organizations still lack instruments and strategies to use the information that lays at their feet to full effect. KIAG considers its product portfolio well positioned in that regard, providing solutions such as KIPUS and website-based knowledge platforms that fully integrate data collection, data analytics and reporting for different groups of stakeholders. On 11 May, KIAG staff also participated in a training day on human centred design approaches in software development which has been guiding software development processes of our company ever since.

KIAG seeks to stay engaged with the ICT4D community aiming to offer traceability and knowledge sharing solutions in the context of development cooperation.

Photo copyright ICT4D 2018

TVET Azerbaijan

EU 4 Business Azerbaijan

KIAG staff Stephan Kunz continued his activities in Azerbaijan in cooperation with ITC/UNCTAD and carried out research on the situation in the Autonomous Republic of Nakchivan that is located to the border of Iran. In close cooperation with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and experts of the national Ministry of Economy the team inspected strong and weak points of local food processors. They range from small scale to ambitious medium-sized companies.

The special weather conditions in the area as well its high soil potential provide a sustainable foundation for special fruits and herbs. The products such as dried fruits, jams and jellies have a great potential for niche markets. The business partners intend to approach the European market and are eager to comply with food standards such as GAP and HACCP. In addition, marketing activities and the necessity of proper documentation and traceability are key features for the ongoing project – up to 2020 – in the near future.

Other companies that will benefit from the program have already been assessed in a previous visit in May 2018. Herbal tea, oriental sauces made of vegetables and local herbs as well as special fruits such as persimmon cover the range of products.

GIZ lecture series in Berlin

GIZ, Centre for Rural Development (SLE) and Engagement Global are conducting regularly a lecture series for post-graduate students who attend the SLE (https://www.sle-berlin.de/index.php/en/). With regard to the topic “Which contribution to education and training can be provided through development cooperation by government, civil society, private sector and science?”, Stephan Kunz, one of the speakers, shared experiences from African countries and particularly Ghana. The expenditure of governments into education and particularly non-formal training such as for agriculture is usually insufficient and often ignored entirely. Despite the fact that up to 80% of rural dwellers work in agriculture, this sector is neglected in many ways. Nevertheless, the policy discussion has realised that food security and food production per se have economic potential although the structure of subsistence farming will not be the future as qualification along the value chain will gain more importance. In as much as the public sector is limited civil society and private sector are in lead to contribute as there is vast business opportunity in both production as well as processing.
Kunz explained that the training sector should not only produce limited competencies such as a few technical skills, but follow a complementary, modular approach which matches the needs of farmers and the market. The modernization of agriculture is getting more and more complex and requires efficiency. Training needs to be tailor-made and ICT tools can be increasingly used in the context of smallholders farming to achieve this. Nevertheless, the public sector needs to be involved and provide support as the process takes years to materialize.

Photo Copyright SLE 2018

Launch of agri@bonn - digital solutions for the agricultural sector

In January 2018, AFC (https://www.afci.de/) and KIAG jointly launched the agri@bonn software package which is based on KIAG’s software solution KIPUS.
Farm-level performance data in agricultural value chains in the Global South are often scarce, cumbersome to capture and, if available, rarely analyzed to seize their full potential. Agri@bonn is a software package offered by Agriculture & Finance Consultants (AFC) and Knowledge Intelligence Applications GmbH (KIAG) aiming to support farmers, development organizations and companies in the mobile collection, management and analysis of data along the supply chain of agricultural commodities. It also assists farmers in the practical acquisition of agronomic and business-related knowledge, thereby helping to improve farming techniques, management practices and, ultimately, rural livelihoods.
Currently, agri@bonn and derived systems are implemented in 11 countries in Africa and Asia, with thousands of farmers growing more than 50 different crops in cooperation with various private and public sector partners. The software package has the following features:

• Fully customizable and adaptable to different crops, countries and languages based on alignment and co-creation with beneficiaries and users
• Reduced dependency on recall data through timely input into the system improves data accuracy and enables data driven initiatives
• Data is stored confidentially and securely in alignment with data privacy standards with fully customizable access rights according to regional or organizational structure

The agri@bonn flyer can be downloaded here: https://www.afci.de/newsletter/agribonn-applications-agriculture

KIAG @ PEFC Forest Certification Week 2017

In this years Forest Certification Week in Helsinki (https://pefc.org/pefc-week-2017/), the PEFC strived to explore and discover the benefits and potential for incorporating technology solutions into forest certification.
For this occasion, selected guest speakers have been invited to share their experiences and ideas.
Harald Puhl of KIAG was part of the workshop "SMART solutions for strengthening trust and traceability throughout value chains"
This session featured some of the latest and greatest technological developments from certified forestry supply chains. It wanted to inspire and re-imagine how the information flow and product assurances of certified products can continue to evolve in the future. The session built clarity around:
- What are the ‘must have’ technologies to maximize the impacts and effectiveness of Chain of Custody?
- What technology applications show promise for transferring complex information in a useable and credible form?
- How could technology surpass the current information scope of Chain of Custody and help certification to deliver more value to companies and customers?
It featured a range of tools and approaches to strengthen due diligence and risk assessment processes, supplier engagement, log tracking technology and dynamic data transfer.

Out of Africa – InnovAfrica

KIAG staff Stephan Kunz has started his field-trip through the six African partner countries of InnovAfrica (www.innovafrica.eu), a program which has been funded by European Commission up to 2020. KIAG has already developed a KIPUS tool for the complex household questionnaire that covers also value chains for various crops such as maize, millet, and bracharia grass. Now, we create with all the 16 partners in South Africa, Malawi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Kenya and Ethiopia a structure for a digital knowledge platform. It is the aim to have an information and communication platform for all stakeholders involved in the value chain. The web-based tool will generate and correlate all dynamic and static data from the field in order to deliver material for research and development. First of all extension and advisory experts shall receive knowledge and practical, applicable inside views from best practice experience to implement it in closed cooperation with small-holders. The knowledge platform will be presented at the end of the month of November 2017.