About the project
The Mobile app for Beekeepers helps new beekeepers accelerate their knowledge about the technological process of honey production and harvesting. With the easy-to-use app, beekeepers can find information on bee family biology, breeds, egg-laying, overwintering of bees, honey selection and other data needed for the job.
Description
A particularly useful feature is the section about common bee diseases and how to prevent and treat them. The app also gives users the opportunity to directly contact a specialist in the field through a contact list on the app. There is a "Technological Chart" section which allows the beekeeper to keep an offline record of the financial and time costs of operation, as well as to visualize the income received from the sale of honey and other bee products. The app was developed in 2020 by the consortium of Neksigol and AgroInformAsia with the technical guidance of UNDP under the "Aid for Trade in Central Asia" project.
Technology description
The Mobile app for Beekeepers is developed by Neksigol in-house engineering team in collaboration with AgroInformAsia technical experts. It is available for smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system in several languages, Kyrgyz, Russian and English. Switching between the languages is possible in offline mode. For registered users, a "Technological Chart" function is implemented which allows to make better informed decisions based on recorded data. The app contains expert-verified information on apiary maintenance, according to the annual technological process. AgroInformAsia has worked with specialists of Kyrgyz agricultural advisory services and experienced beekeepers and used the gained knowledge and experience to create the app content.
Users’ description
The target users of the mobile app are mainly new beekeepers, who are smallholder farmers and medium farm enterprises. The app has the potential for wide outreach, first of all, across Central Asian countries as it is available in the Russian language as well as in other countries around the world because it is translated into the English language as well.
Business model description
The app is free to download and use on personal devices through Google Play Store or the app's website. Although, two types of in-app advertising are implemented in the app, that is Google Ads and its own module for displaying ads about seeds, crop protection products, fertilizers etc. from specific advertisers. The costs are 10$/monthly or 50$/yearly.
Impact
The Mobile app for Beekeepers raises awareness among beekeepers about the life and importance of bees and increases knowledge among the younger generation about honey products and processing procedures. Thus, it encourages them to start a profitable business and deeply learn beekeeping. Furthermore, the app contributes to healthier bees and better honey production through more efficient planning and management, and access to relevant and reliable information, among others. The mobile app has, so far, more than 5 000 downloads.
