[dropcap]W[/dropcap]ith a unique blend of farming and new age technology, FARMS AI (Artificial Intelligence) is not just out to change the interface of local agriculture but the team is also ushering in an era of efficiency—efficiency we crave but hardly encounter on Saint Lucian soil. I sat down with the company’s founder and CEO, Philip Wells (who recently returned to Saint Lucia following his participation in London’s Pitch @ Palace at Saint James Palace) to discuss FARMS AI’s vision and the formidable path of entrepreneurship.
WHAT DOES ‘FARMS AI’ DO?
WELLS: FARMS AI is a platform which will allow for the collaboration and collection of data along the Agri-business value chain from all the players in the sector; but more so we are looking at wholesale distribution, hotel and tourism and NGOs. What we found is that there is a lack of information being shared, even in the government department, so FARMS AI, with the use of Blockchain technology, allows players in the value chain to securely share information— information that is important to running their businesses and actually developing the sector.
WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO UNDERTAKE THIS VENTURE?
WELLS: For me, my background is in Information Technology and security; I’ve been doing that for the last 20 years. The concept came about when I faced a particular problem while out getting a meal. I was told: ‘We have no broccoli and our shipment never came in.’ I thought to myself: ‘No, we—Saint Lucia, does have. On the island there are people who plant the broccoli that you’re looking for.’ When I did a little more research, I found out that there was this lack of information; people were not aware of what others needed and who needed it. For those looking, they did not know where to find it and I realized, across the value chain there are a number of instances.
That is part of it; the other is that I’m passionate about the people at the lower end of the economic scale. For too long I’ve realized that the farming community are not being rewarded for what they are doing; they are not fairly compensated even though they feed the nation. Also, most of the farms are poorly managed or disorganized. My passion is to help people become better at what they do and to find workable solutions which are not too expensive.
WHY DID YOU INCORPORATE BLOCKCHAIN TECHNOLOGY INTO YOUR BUSINESS MODEL?
WELLS: Two reasons: Blockchain is what’s happening and is popular now; it’s current. Blockchain is not just Bitcoin; it has been driven to other industries. Even African nations have taken advantage of Blockchain, and in a number of ways, as it relates to logistics in agriculture like early warning detection systems. So there are a number of functions Blockchain has and I saw that it was an opportunity for us here as well.
Secondly, the technology allows more people to be part of the solution and the data collected on it is secure. People are sharing their data, which everybody can have a copy of but it cannot be altered or tampered with.
HOW CAN ‘FARMS AI’ POTENTIALLY CHANGE THE AGRI-LANDSCAPE OF SAINT LUCIA?
WELLS: We live in a region that is prone to natural disasters, hurricanes being one of them. We are very much manual in all that we do but we are developing precision farming equipment.
If you are a farmer, in the event your crop were to get wiped out, the data would have been collected over a period of time up to the point where the event actually took place. If you are insured—and we have insurance companies on the platform as well—the insurance would be in a position to assess your damages because both of you can access the data. You would then be in a better position to make a claim based on the value of your estate, of your crop and also your instruments.
We also import a lot here. We have farmers who have stuff but they do not know who needs it. On a farms network, once you go out and search by farmer or by crop, you will get a return of everybody who has the crop available and with a forecast for the next three to four months. We would be in a better position then to know how much is going to be available on-island. That way, we won’t need to import so much.
As it relates to quality, you would be able to trace which farms and farmers are certified, which farms are organic and what pesticides or weedicides are being used. If you only want to eat organic, you would know exactly where to get it.
CAN WE EXPECT TO SEE THESE SERVICES AND BENEFITS APPLIED TO OTHER BUSINESSES?
WELLS: Well that’s a possibility. What I could say is that the market demands and depicts where you go. Amazon started selling books, now they sell household items, clothing and have gotten involved in every single thing. They started with one thing, and the market just changes; you just need to adapt to it. For us, right now, we’re focusing on farms—one thing—but there is always the possibility to grow.
For more information contact FARMS AI or Philip Wells at: info@farmsai.com/ 1 758 719 7648
