In a groundbreaking move to address the challenges faced by small-scale farmers, AXONS, a leading Thai AgriTech company, has developed the FarmPro app on Amazon Web Services. The app aims to digitize small-scale farming and improve productivity, helping farmers meet the rising demand for food in the face of a declining farmer population and an aging workforce.
FarmPro is a tool designed for small-scale farmers in the contract farming project under the umbrella of CP Group. Farm agents use the app to manage a network of more than 30,000 farmers across Thailand and Vietnam, with plans to expand the service to Myanmar and India this year. The app helps agents and farmers predict, detect, and manage crop issues such as disease and poor irrigation, ultimately improving livelihoods and helping farmers expand and improve their businesses.
By leveraging AWS's scalable infrastructure, FarmPro provides farmers with valuable cultivation insights that have helped increase yields by up to 60%, driving profitability through actionable data. The app also connects users with other farmers and agents, facilitating knowledge sharing, yield prediction, crop suitability advice, and more efficient management of raw materials like seeds and fertilizer.
AXONS plans to explore advanced generative AI and machine learning services, including Amazon Bedrock, to provide monitoring and prediction of weather conditions such as temperature, rainfall, wind, and humidity. In the future, AWS AI/ML technology will help empower farmers to better identify and predict crop issues, enabling more efficient deployment of treatments and ultimately increasing food security and farmland profitability.
The development of FarmPro began in the AWS Builder Studio, where customers can connect with AWS's Prototyping and Cloud Engineering Team to create working prototypes based on Amazon's unique culture of innovation methodology. This engagement allowed AXONS to validate and test ideas before investing valuable resources in launching the solution into real-world production.
AXONS utilizes Amazon Elastic Container Service to easily launch and scale the compute capacity required to handle increases in user demand for FarmPro, particularly during harvesting or planting seasons. The company also stores all FarmPro's data, including information on farmers, plots, and crops, on Amazon Relational Database Service, simplifying database management and allowing developers to focus on their applications.
Teerapong Wichayaruangrom, Director-Strategic & Digital Transformation at AXONS, emphasized the positive impact of FarmPro on AWS, stating, "The app enables agents to promptly address issues like insect-related diseases, weather fluctuations, and other problems that small-scale farmers face, as well as providing advice on suitable harvest times for each crop. By leveraging AWS, we have improved the company's supply planning, crop management, and traceability to build a sustainable agriculture industry."
Vatsun Thirapatarapong, Thailand Country Manager at AWS, commended AXONS for building a service that uplifts the lives of thousands of small farmers on a user-friendly app. He expressed excitement about the company's future plans to experiment with the latest generative AI technology services to make farming easier and more lucrative for all.
