A mobile application for agricultural market integration in Luwero District. A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

Background:

This study aimed to develop a mobile application that enhances agricultural market integration by addressing the information asymmetry, limited access to buyers, and logistical challenges that farmers face.

Methodology:

A cross-sectional study design was employed using qualitative methods to collect data from approximately 40 purposively selected participants, including smallholder farmers, market vendors, agricultural officers, ICT experts, and farmer cooperative representatives. Data were collected using interviews, questionnaires, observations, focus group discussions, and document review. Findings informed the design and development of a hybrid mobile application using Progressive Web Application (PWA) technology, Android Studio, Java, and Supabase. The system underwent unit, integration, system, acceptance, and performance testing.

Results:

The study identified major weaknesses in the existing manual marketing system, including delayed market access, high transaction costs, insecure transactions, and limited geographical reach. UnikAgric was developed with features such as secure user authentication, product listing and management, real-time messaging, product search, and offline PWA functionality. User evaluation showed high acceptance, with 75% rating the application as very useful, 80% finding it easy to use, and 90% reporting that the user guidelines were helpful. Additionally, 53% of respondents preferred mobile applications over websites for accessing agricultural market information. The application successfully enabled direct communication between farmers and buyers while improving access to market information. 

Conclusions:

UnikAgric effectively addresses key agricultural marketing challenges by providing a scalable, user-friendly digital platform that strengthens market integration, reduces reliance on intermediaries, and improves access to buyers and market information.

Recommendations:

The application should be scaled to other districts and enhanced through integration of mobile money payments, advanced search filters, user ratings, multilingual support, stronger offline functionality, and logistics services. Future studies should evaluate its long-term impact on farmers' incomes and market participation.