GrowConnect - Connecting Farmers and Consumers

The delivery and sharing economy app that will allow farmers to sell quality produce and land rentals directly to quality-driven consumers and potential land tenants

Creating a friendly, rewarding and efficient relationship between

those who produce food( small and medium-sized farmers) and those who buy it, as well as those who want land to farm or garden on.

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Farming Isn’t Easy, But Selling Is Even Harder

Farmers do what they do best: they go to great lengths to grow the produce that everyone eats and relies on to stay alive. As beautiful as farming is as an activity, it can’t be done without some challenges. The main problem, though, is that the main challenge that farmers face is selling their produce. Middlemen usually squeeze their margins and reduce the quality of what they produce through lengthy logistical operations that end up providing the produce to end consumers for high prices and less than fresh food. Small and medium-sized farmers have to deliver for themselves and have to put up advertisements to for those who want to pick up or have food delivered. This is called CSA or Community-supported agriculture, where you have to sign-up for a food subscription service manually. All this is a hassle and can be made similar to a service that uses an app to fulfill such service.

But what if there was a better way?

Many non-chain restaurants had a similar issue with pick-up and delivery. They would have to advertise their number, you would have to drive by the restaurant to see the sign, or look up their number for pick-up or delivery. That is coming to an end through Grubhub, Uber Eats, and Postmates. One unified app for all restaurants that can be used to get food nearby in minutes.

GrowConnect: the Bridge Between Farmers and Consumers

I am proud to introduce you to GrowConnect, an app that — with your help — is coming soon to do for farmers what food delivery apps have done for restaurants. Just as restaurants were struggling until specialized food delivery apps, such as Uber Eats or Grubhub, came to bridge their offerings with consumers’ needs, farmers have been struggling — especially now, with the added challenges posed by COVID-19 — but will find in GrowConnect the solution they need to directly connect themselves to end consumers by the touch of a button.

Main Features

● Any farmer — with a small or large farm — can directly list and sell his produce

● Any person can register as a consumer and browse per product category, location, and price and sometimes can purchase a subscription.

● Payment is exclusively made online, securely and instantly

● Farmers get paid without losing margin to middlemen and can go around through instantaneous delivery

● Consumers have a secure way of paying and finding better prices and fast access to produce

● Anyone who needs land to farm on can rent it out.

GrowConnect: the Bridge Between Farmers and Consumers

I am proud to introduce you to GrowConnect, an app that — with your help — is coming soon to create a true “E-farmers’ market” that is entirely digital and that efficiently connects those who dedicate their lives to producing food with those who need to buy and eat what farmers grow. This app will also be a land rental platform for those who want to farm on land they don’t have

Open Farms

GrowConnect will also help open up farms to the world in other ways. You can list your farm as an open farm for consumers to tour and do some agro-tourism. Through memberships, you may allow consumers to pick fresh crops on their own and enjoy themselves while you see your costs going down and profits rising. You can also offer some portions of your land or even your whole land for others to rent and farm on. In short, all the commercially-driven innovation that has been keeping the agricultural world behind will finally be available and easy for you to leverage — and for consumers to also benefit from.

For those who have entrepreneurial aspirations that are not farmers

Just like those who rent out rooms on Airbnb, you can rent out unused land. Many people who rent out rooms to Airbnb, pay all or at least half their monthly rent or mortgage. Many pay their car off using Uber, Lyft, or delivery services or by using the Turo car rental service. The same can go with land. If you have a lot of land that isn’t in use, you can rent it out for gardening or farming. Those who don’t have the land they need for such activity, can turn to you and rent the land. Even if you have a greenhouse, you could list it on GrowConnect like you would list a room on AirBnB. The “Sharing Economy” can extend to agriculture.

Showing Some Love to Those Who Make Food

Let’s face it: farmers have been struggling for a long time. Only four percent of the US population works in agriculture and the average farmer’s age is now 60. Yes, the farming population is aged, tired, ignored, and squeezed by middlemen. Far from those who ultimately buy what they produce, farmers struggle to be successful and they have fallen behind and almost entirely missed how technology changed and improved so many industries. Still, if it wasn’t for farmers, what would we all eat? That’s another reason why supporting GrowConnect is so important — because we should show some love to those who make the food that keeps us alive!

Created By a Farmer for Other Farmers

I have an urban farm, so I know exactly the challenges that every farmer faces. Producing food is what we farmers know how to do, but making the connection with the end consumer can be surprisingly difficult, slow, ineffective, and inefficient. At the same time, as a consumer who loves fruit, I’d love to have fresh fruit either to be picked up or delivered straight to me, but there’s currently no way of doing that through an app, which is unbelievable. So, as a farmer and as a developer, I decided to solve this and create GrowConnect, the app that will bring food from the farm to your plate with ease.

The Plan

While I am a developer, I cannot create this platform on my own, which is why I intend to use the funds raised through this campaign to hire other developers and also to engage the services of legal experts so that all aspects of the commercial relationships and transactions that will be developed through the platform are perfectly established for all parties. With your help, we can create this platform that will be a win-win for farmers and consumers.

Depending on how much is raised will determine the fees. The minimum goal will create a basic app with only the delivery features. Twice the goal, the possibility of onboarding our own drivers, and beta testing before the full release. The exponentiality of what is raised will guarantee the assurance of the features listed in this description.

The Most Recommended Reward:

The Ultimate GrowConnect Bundle and Grant Drawing

The most recommended award consists of the Special Edition T-Shirt and a hat with the app logo, an Ebook, and the E-Course on how to use GrowConnect. Here is why

Over time there has been a trend toward cash crops like these. As demand increases, while supply doesn’t, food prices for healthy goods like these skyrocket!

That is why this reward will include a drawing for an agricultural business grant for those interested in special in-demand farming, which includes but is not limited to microgreens, mushrooms, beekeeping, aquaponics, hydroponics, vermiculture and insect farming. Halfway through the campaign, a google form will be posted in the comment section for applications. The grant can range from $1,000 to $10,000. The higher the funding, the higher the grant will be for the winner.

We need your support to turn GrowConnect into a reality, which is why we invite you to:

● Choose one of the great rewards that we’re offering in order to get early and special access to GrowConnect while also showing your support to our project

● Share this campaign on social media to help us get the word out about GrowConnect

● Talk to your friends and family members about GrowConnect — they may also want to support it and become early adopters

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Risks and Challenges

Depending on the amount of support

Obviously, there’s no entrepreneurial project that doesn’t come with its challenges. However, in this case, I have already started to approach many other farmers, telling them about the platform and inviting them to join it once it’s built. I have also approached several developers, so I already have the team who will help me build the platform organized and ready to start, once the funds are available. That said, there is no significant risk on the project’s horizon — as long as I can count on your support to make it happen, of course! Let’s get growing!

http://bit.ly/2UYwQ7N