National Youth in Agriculture winners to launch ‘Agriconnect’ app by 2026

‘AgriConnect’, a new mobile application (app) that gives farmers direct access to customers, is expected to come on stream by 2026.

The app was developed by a four-member team—Khrisean Stewart, Davado Evans, Ackeem Messam, and Livingston Mitchell—who were crowned the 2025 National Youth in Agriculture winners in the mobile app category at the 71st Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, held in May Pen, Clarendon, in August.

They are students of the Amber HEART Academy in Stony Hill, St Andrew, where they are pursuing studies in Mobile App Development.

According to Stewart, the project leader, the app is designed to provide farmers with streamlined access to the market while enhancing convenience for customers.

“People usually go through the stages of, ‘who do I know that I can buy a tomato from? Who do my friends know that I can buy a tomato from’… or they would go to search online where they can buy a tomato. So we decided to pretty much bridge that gap and create an Amazon-type [platform] where it would just be for farmers. So people would just go online, search how much a tomato costs and maybe get it delivered to their doorstep,” he told JIS News.

Stewart explained that farmers must be registered with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), as their identification details are required to access the dashboard and upload product images, pricing, and other sale-related information.

Once sales are completed, arrangements are made to deliver the products to customers’ preferred locations.

Stewart disclosed his intention to partner with RADA and a designated delivery service to ensure timely and reliable product distribution.

While receiving the $40,000 cash prize and the distinction of winning the National Youth in Agriculture competition was gratifying, it was the enthusiastic feedback from patrons that inspired the team to further refine the application and prepare it for public access.

Stewart stated that the team intends to continue refining the application to ensure a more seamless user experience, noting that they only had three weeks to conceptualise and develop the programme for the Denbigh competition.

“There were some user interface challenges that we ended up having to cut because of the time. We started it in three weeks… so certain integrations… like artificial intelligence (AI)…that we wanted to add, [we] didn’t really get to [do those],” he said.

Stewart told JIS News that the app will also feature an integrated payment system and notification service, designed to alert farmers about stock levels and inform customers of each stage in the delivery process.

He indicated that, based on feedback received during the competition, he is considering expanding the app’s offerings to include additional farm materials, such as agricultural machinery.

Following the app’s tentative local launch in February 2026, Stewart said he is looking to expand its availability across the wider Caribbean.

‘AgriConnect’ is expected to complement the existing Agri Linkages Exchange (ALEX) mobile platform—a joint initiative of the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) and RADA—which connects local farmers with buyers in the hotel and export sectors.

- JIS News

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