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Hillary Mageka  @hillarymageka

The past three months have seen retail prices of tomatoes skyrocket in local markets, forcing consumers to dig deeper into their pockets to afford the vegetable. 

Tomatoes have become the subject of jokes on social media as Kenyans wonder about the price hikes.

The irony is that in the rural farms, growers have been selling produce at usual prices.

For example, a farmer in Kajiado sells a litre of milk for as low as Sh20, at the supermarket the average milk prices for a half a litre ranges from Sh50 to Sh60.

 According to the Kenya Agribusiness and Agroindustry Alliance, farmers put a lot of effort in production, but they earn the least in the value chain.

It is only through value addition that this trend can be reversed.  

One tech startup, Famobile, operating from Nairobi, is providing solutions for farmers to instantly access urban markets.

The firm has developed an e-commerce platform that links farmers to vendors and vendors to customers. 

The newly launched on-demand grocery and delivery service promises to deliver online purchases within 60 minutes to customers. 

“The farmers list their various produce on the App, complete with prices and quantities,” says Famobile CEO Nelly Lagat

The produce is fresh and direct from farms, so custmers get direct and instant benefits.

The App, which is available on Google play store, features more than 5,000 products —groceries, organic products, meat, pastries and confectionery, dairy products, pet feeds, flowers, bulk water and alcohol.

“The tech startup aims at creating value for all actors in the value chain from the farmer to the vendor and customer.

We also want to lower prices for consumers and ensure farmers get direct benefits,” says the CEO. 

Famobile  is currently encouraging farmers across Kenya to supply produce through the App.

“In our time- pressed society, providing consumers with a swift, on demand grocery and more delivery service is like giving them back time; today’s most precious commodity,” adds Lagat . 

We all know that going to the market for shopping can be time-consuming and a bit of a hassle.

Thankfully, this startup is here to make lives easier and create impact for more Kenyan farmers and consumers.