Njala Agritech Traceability Platform
- Njala, Sierra Leone
- 2023
- TECHNOLOGY AND SYSTEMS
INNOVATE built a produce traceability platform linking smallholder collection, quality grading and export documentation into one verifiable record.
The challenge
Exporters could not evidence origin, handling or grading to buyers demanding traceability. Collection was recorded on paper at village level, grading happened separately at the warehouse and export paperwork was reconstructed at the end of the season. Connectivity at collection points was intermittent, so any solution had to work offline and reconcile later without losing records.
Our approach
INNOVATE delivered an offline first mobile capture application for collection agents, tied to farmer records, weights and lot identifiers. Warehouse grading, aggregation and dispatch were captured against the same lot chain, and reconciliation resolved conflicts explicitly rather than silently. Export documentation was generated from the underlying record, and a buyer facing view exposed the verified chain for any consignment.
The result
Consignments carried a continuous record from collection point to export document, produced from operational data rather than assembled afterwards. Exporters could answer buyer traceability requirements directly, and payment disputes with farmer groups fell as weights and grades became jointly visible at the point of capture.
Outcomes
- Offline first collection and grading capture
- Continuous lot chain to export documentation
- Buyer verifiable traceability record