Digital Platforms for Farmer Connectivity

Abstract

The agricultural sector faces challenges in connecting small-scale farmers directly with consumers, often leading to inefficiencies, unfair pricing, and lack of transparency. \"Farmers Connect\" is a cross-platform mobile application designed to bridge this gap by enabling direct transactions between farmers and consumers. The application leverages Flutter for its user interface, while using Google Sheets and Google Apps Script for lightweight and real-time backend data management, eliminating the need for complex server infrastructures. Key features include a profile management system, product listings with pH-based food safety indicators, and the ability for farmers to manage and update product details directly. Customers can easily browse products, check quality indicators, and make informed purchase decisions. The system promotes food safety, enhances transparency, and empowers small-scale farmers by offering fair pricing and a direct market. Future enhancements planned for the platform include IoT-based pH sensors, AI recommendations, secure payment gateways, and blockchain integration, which would enhance scalability, efficiency, and trust within the ecosystem. This paper presents the design, implementation, and potential of \"Farmers Connect\" as a transformative solution for a more sustainable and equitable agricultural marketplace.

Introduction

The agricultural sector, especially small-scale farmers, faces challenges due to reliance on intermediaries who inflate prices and limit direct market access. This affects farmers’ earnings and consumers’ access to fresh, quality produce. Farmers Connect is a mobile app designed to bridge this gap by creating a direct, transparent marketplace between farmers and consumers. Using technologies like Flutter for cross-platform development, Google Sheets as a backend, and Google Apps Script as middleware, the app offers a lightweight, cost-effective solution without complex servers.

Farmers can easily list products with critical details, including pH values that indicate food freshness and safety, while consumers can browse and purchase directly, ensuring fair pricing and transparency. The app’s design emphasizes food safety, quality, and ease of use, empowering farmers and improving consumer trust.

The system was developed using agile methodology, featuring user onboarding, product management, order tracking, and real-time synchronization of data. It overcomes existing agricultural market limitations such as middlemen dependency, lack of food safety transparency, and limited digital access for rural farmers.

Farmers Connect promotes a sustainable, equitable agricultural ecosystem by providing direct trade, real-time updates, user-friendly interfaces, and scalable infrastructure ready for future tech integration. Testing confirmed its effectiveness, especially for rural users, delivering a stable, responsive, and intuitive experience that enhances market reach and food safety awareness.

Conclusion

Farmer join mobile application successfully addresses challenges confronted in conventional agricultu ral trade by using supplying a direct, transparent, green digital platform for farmers and clients. through leveraging Flutter for cross- platform development and using Google Sheets with Google Apps Script for backend operations,the software eliminates the want for com plex infrastructure whilst making sure actual- time records synchronization and consumer- pleasant interactions. The integration of Ph value monitoring complements meals safety by using permitting customers to make well- informed buying choices based totally at the freshness and edibility of listed gadgets. The machine promotes fair pricing with the aid of casting off intermediaries and empowers small- scale farmers with a platform to exhibit and control their produce with ease. Through intuitive modules along with farmer and consumer dashboards, profile control, and order monitoring, Farmers join provides a unbroken person revel in that is handy even to customers in far off regions. The a success implementation demonstrates how cellular generation can play a transformative position in modernizing agricultural markets, improving transparency,fostering consider between manufacturers and clie nts. Typical, Farmers connect now not handiest supports sustainable agricultural practices however also contributes to constructing a more equitable farm-to- table environment, paving the way for destiny enhancements that incorpo rate AI, IoT, and blockchain for broader impact and scalability.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mrs. Latha S., Akshaya S., Amul Sughirtha A. S., Karkuzhali S., Kowsalya S. E.. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.