In today’s dynamic and rapidly evolving agricultural landscape, inefficiencies and exploitative practices have long hindered progress. However, a new wave of innovation is sweeping across the industry, led by visionaries who are determined to make a difference. Join Karla Jo Helms on the Disruption Interruption Podcast as she talks with Usman Javid, CEO of RiCult International, about how he is leveraging innovative AI to transform agriculture and uplift smallholder farmers.
TAMPA BAY, Fla., July 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Although often referred to as the world’s least digitized industry by outsiders, agriculture is undergoing a technological revolution with the potential to change the lives of millions. Extensive evidence shows that digital advisories can improve farmers’ practices, increase yields and incomes, and enhance resilience, indicating a 22% higher adoption rate of recommended inputs and a $10 benefit for every $1 spent. (1) Karla Jo Helms (KJ), host of the Disruption Interruption podcast, talks with Usman Javaid, a leader and innovator in the agricultural technology (AgTech) sector, to discuss the groundbreaking work being done at Ricult International. “Our goal is to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inefficiency by providing smallholder farmers with the tools and resources they need to succeed, with a mission to address their challenges in accessing capital and improving their performance,” Javaid explains.
“Our goal is to disrupt the cycle of poverty and inefficiency by providing smallholder farmers with the tools and resources they need to succeed, with a mission to address their challenges in accessing capital” – Usman Javid
Revolutionizing Agriculture
Under Javid’s leadership, RiCult International has achieved remarkable milestones. The company has not only increased farmers’ incomes by 17% but has also attracted significant investments, securing over $12 million from prestigious entities such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
He emphasizes the staggering statistics that highlight the urgency of the situation: 75% of the world’s poor are farmers, and 84% of these farmers are smallholders with less than 20 acres of land. These farmers face immense financial exclusion, often relying on exploitative moneylenders due to a lack of access to mainstream financing. The impact of climate change further exacerbates their plight, with shifting weather patterns and rising temperatures threatening crop yields and food security.
Empowering Smallholder Farmers
Ricult International uses AI and data analytics to help smallholder farmers optimize yields, manage resources, and tackle climate challenges. “There is huge potential to make these changes to help people make a better living, but also to help them produce more food,” Javid states. His commitment to leveraging technology for social good is transforming AgTech, bringing hope and opportunity to farmers across Asia and beyond.
Javaid discusses AI’s impact on agriculture, focusing on smallholder farmers, and explores strategies with Helms to improve productivity and mitigate risks, emphasizing Ricult’s efforts to enhance farmers’ access to capital and quality inputs.
Expanding Agricultural Transformation
Ricult is actively expanding its reach across Asia and its numerous regions with significant potential for agricultural transformation. Javaid emphasizes the untapped opportunities in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. “These regions lack access to advanced agricultural technology, and we see enormous potential for change,” he notes. Looking ahead, Javaid envisions a future where technology and access to capital empower farmers to break free from poverty.
Links:
Disrupting Agriculture: Usman Javaid’s AI Revolution for Smallholder Farmers in Asia
https://omny.fm/shows/disruption-interruption/disrupting-agriculture-usman-javaids-ai-revolution?in_playlist=podcast
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/usmanj/
Company Website: https://www.web.ricult.com/
Company LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ricult/
Disruption Interruption is the podcast where you will hear from today’s biggest Industry Disruptors. Learn what motivated them to bring about innovation and how they overcame opposition to adoption.
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About Disruption InterruptionTM
Disruption is happening on an unprecedented scale, impacting all manner of industries— MedTech, Finance, IT, eCommerce, shipping, logistics, and more—and COVID has moved their timelines up a full decade or more. But WHO are these disruptors and when did they say, “THAT’S IT! I’VE HAD IT!”? Time to Disrupt and Interrupt with host Karla Jo “KJ” Helms, veteran communications disruptor. KJ interviews badasses who are disrupting their industries and altering economic networks that have become antiquated with an establishment resistant to progress. She delves into uncovering secrets from industry rebels and quiet revolutionaries that uncover common traits—and not-so-common—that are changing our economic markets… and lives. Visit the world’s key pioneers that persist to success, despite arrows in their backs at http://www.disruption-interruption.com.
About Usman Javaid
Usman Javaid is the CEO of Ricult International and Ricult Pakistan, leading an AI-powered solution empowering smallholder farmers across Asia through digital financial technology. Ricult operates as an AI-based data platform leveraging data from agriculture value chain sources like remote sensing, weather satellites, and financial institutions. Under Usman’s leadership, Ricult has scaled operations across Pakistan, Thailand, and Vietnam, impacting over 800,000 farmers with a 17% increase in income. He has secured over $12 million in grants and investments from organizations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and MIT. Usman holds an MBA from MIT Sloan, with a background in engineering and experience at Nestle pioneering mobile banking services. Passionate about using technology for social impact, he co-founded Ricult at MIT to address agricultural challenges, earning global recognition and establishing the company as a spin-off in 2015, headquartered in Boston.
About Karla Jo Helms
Karla Jo Helms is the Chief Evangelist and Anti-PR® Strategist for JOTO PR Disruptors™. Karla Jo learned firsthand how unforgiving business can be when millions of dollars are on the line — and how the control of public opinion often determines whether one company is happily chosen, or another is brutally rejected. Being an alumnus of crisis management, Karla Jo has worked with litigation attorneys, private investigators, and the media to help restore companies of goodwill into the good graces of public opinion — Karla Jo operates on the ethic of getting it right the first time, not relying on second chances and doing what it takes to excel. Helms speaks globally on public relations, how the PR industry itself has lost its way, and how, in the right hands, corporations can harness the power of Anti-PR to drive markets and impact market perception.
References
1. Kremer, Michael, and Gilbert Fossoun Houngbo. “Grow Back Better? Here’s How Digital Agriculture Could Revolutionise Rural Communities Affected by Covid-19.” World Economic Forum, 9 July 2020, weforum.org/agenda/2020/07/digital-agriculture-technology/.
Media Inquiries:
Karla Jo Helms
JOTO PR™
727-777-4629
jotopr.com
Media Contact
Karla Jo Helms, JOTO PR™, 727-777-4629, khelms@jotopr.com, jotopr.com
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