Kacific, a satellite operator providing high-speed broadband internet service for the South East Asia and Pacific Islands regions and Farmer Charlie, an enabler of connectivity, data and agribusiness to remote smallholder farmers globally, have partnered to grow agricultural output and support sustainable development across South East Asia and the Pacific
The two companies will work together to deliver agricultural advice, localised weather information, and agribusiness information – including data from in-field sensors to smallholder farmers and agribusinesses, helping improve land management and food production using smart digital tools. The solutions are also said to help farmers reduce post-harvest loss, better manage the risk of drought, floods, and other extreme weather events and address the impacts of climate change.
The companies also share a common vision of helping farming and rural communities achieve meaningful economic, social, and environmental outcomes and impacts in support of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The agreement will extend Farmer Charlie’s reach into remote communities in the South-East Asian and Pacific region, and enhance Kacific’s overall offerings to include Farmer Charlie’s expertise and solutions. It will alos bring what is said to be fast and affordable broadband directly to the field, where connected weather and in-field sensors, together with other low-cost IoT devices, will be able to deliver agribusiness information at a cost that smallholdings and remote communities can afford.
Christian Patouraux, Kacific’s CEO, said, “The combination of Famer Charlie's expertise and our connectivity capabilities has tremendous transformational potential for thousands of small communities.”
Kacific will provide accessible VSAT terminals that connect to beams drawing bandwidth from its powerful Ka-band satellite, Kacific1. Farmer Charlie will develop targeted systems for rural communities in those markets covered by Kacific, based on the solutions it has developed for small and emerging agricultural operations.
“It is an opportunity to optimise the synergy between Kacific and Farmer Charlie, especially as we both aim to support those remote communities with an affordable solution through the provision of smart localised tailored agribusiness information,” said Betty Bonnardel, Farmer Charlie’s CEO.
The two companies will also work together to develop and implement systems to facilitate disaster recovery and emergency assistance for connected farms and businesses across the region.
