GURU Inc, a Saint Lucia-based agricultural technology company has announced the release of its integrated Agriculture Market Platform (Guru MarketPlace), with a pilot programme in partnership with St. Luciaās leading supermarket chain Massy Stores. Last week the two parties signed an agreement, as the first step in this venture which is designed to better link farmers and buyers to meet the demands of the local market.
Guru MarketPlace connects food producers with commercial retailers, distributors, the tourism sector, exporters and agri-processors. The market platform will provide farmers with the intelligence needed to grow their businesses, reducing national reliance on imported foods and increasing national food security.
The platform will allow buyers to create purchase orders, negotiate price with farmers, specify time and place of delivery and even input future demand to help in production planning and forecasting.
Keigan Mayers is the Agricultural Lead for Guru. Highlighting the importance of the platform and linkage with Massy Stores he stated, āWe believe stronger linkages have the potential to tremendously impact the industry, providing opportunities for farmers to make the best decisions to maximize the sustainability of their enterprise, while helping to increase the supply chain consistency for buyers. This will effectively increase profitability for all parties while providing the nation with more locally grown food.ā
Information and data have become the main driver of industry growth in the last decade. This year alone many companies have had to rethink their strategies for sustainability and growth as agriculture is not immune to these changes.
C.E.O. of Massy Stores (SLU) Martin Dorville is excited about this new development and emphasizes, his companyās commitment to building and maintaining strong linkages with local producers; manufacturers and farmers inclusive.
āThrough GURU we are leveraging technology that can potentially propel the agriculture industry forward and develop a stronger more resilient supply chain. Now, more than ever, we need to work closely together to grow, support and network with others to express our love for things St. Lucian.ā
Perishables Manager of Massy Stores Dunstan Demille, welcomes the opportunities which this digital market place will create.
āThis innovation is a key step in helping to develop our agricultural sector. It will allow us to better connect with our farmers and provide targeted assistance, helping to create a more robust and resilient agricultural space. This will also assist us in helping to increase the variety of home grown foods to our valued customers and we look forward to a very fruitful partnership.ā
The Technical Lead at Guru, Jade Hutchinson, is confident that the partnership with Massy Stores, along with many other solutions, will help move the industry and nation forward.
āThe injection of technology into agriculture promises to revolutionise the industry by transforming agricultural operations, enticing new entrants and creating opportunities for even more innovation. A strong agricultural sector can build economic resilience and create a platform for national growth.ā