Imandi Avinash, Nabajit Bora, Rahul Kumar Mishra, and Vivek Kant
Gigamapping approaches can successfully enhance existing systems by enabling designers to identify intervention points using perspectival analyses that were earlier not comprehensible by conventional design approaches. In this project, we used the gigamapping approach to comprehend and design for organic markets in India.
Agriculture is the pillar of the Indian economy, and vegetable cultivation is a major source of employment and food security. However, the involvement of middlemen greatly decreases farmers’ revenues, which often results in economic hardship and debt. Despite government actions and the advent of online sales platforms, the disconnect between farmers, small-scale vegetable retailers, and consumers remains inefficient.
The design process seeks to improve the experience of buying and selling vegetables by tapping into the widely used technology, especially the services of the communication app WhatsApp™, to create direct farmer-to-consumer links. The methodology for the study entails a thorough examination of the Indian vegetable market system, farmer adoption of technology, and the problems encountered by the major players.
Using ZIP analysis, five essential areas of focus were determined: (1) the current vegetable selling structure, (2) waste management, (3) healthy vegetable growth, (4) pollination processes, and (5) crop damage by animals, as initial intervention points. A cost-over-time assessment further supported enhancing the vegetable selling pathways by bringing sellers and buyers into direct contact with each other. The solution proposed combines WhatsApp™ as a main platform for transactions, allowing direct sales between farmers and consumers using a third-party plugin service. This method reduces reliance on middlemen, minimises wastage of food, and enhances accessibility for vendors and small-scale farmers. The inclusion of video calling for quality checks, payment options, and real-time communication increases trust and ease of use, making the platform a convenient and trustworthy solution for everyone. By leveraging a common, inexpensive, and popular digital platform in India, this business model will help to transform the Indian vegetable industry, providing improved price realisation to farmers, increased convenience to consumers, and generally a more efficient supply chain.
KEYWORDS: systemic design, holistic diagnosis, agricultural sector, ecosystem services, Indian vegetables, organic markets, Indian agriculture, vegetable selling structure, supply chain efficiency, olericulture, technology adoption
This is a map from the HFSS Studio (Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur). Related talk by Vivek Kant.
