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Tuesday, 17 September 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Dedicated to making a positive contribution towards a sustainable Sri Lanka, the first digital agriculture marketplace - the Govipola app – was launched by Croptronix Ltd, a company led by a burning ambition to create the next big story in the Sri Lankan agriculture arena.
Agriculture is a key sector in the country and has spawned many agri-related SMEs which are dependent on the growth and expansion of the sector. Govipola is an innovative mobile app that benefits farmers by enhancing market linkages, price awareness and supply and demand matching to give easy access to markets. The Govipola app allows grassroots communities to benefit from fin-tech to enhance their incomes. Developed by Fortunaglobal, Govipola is a free mobile app that bridges the gap between farmers and buyers by creating a digital market that allows agriculture produce buyers to connect with sellers and thus expand the network as more farmers adopt the app. 
Offering simplicity and ease of use, the app guides the user to post and view advertisements. The easy-to-navigate app offers a simple registration and sign in, empowering farmers to browse through various posts or even post their own requirements to connect directly with other Govipola users. The Govipola app ensures fair prices for farmers, who in some instances get a mere 10% of the retail sale price. The app facilitates open access to the market via direct contacts, eventually leading to a price stabilisation of commodities and all agriculture produce. In the next phase of the app’s development, it will further empower agricultural communities with agri-tech information and other logistics to empower their livelihoods. The Govipola app is also positioned as an entrepreneurial tool for young farmers and is available in Tamil and Sinhala and can be downloaded from the Android or Apple app store.
Croptronix is an agri-tech company founded in 2018 by a diverse set of individuals who are united in their passion to help and improve the livelihoods of farmers and all stakeholders in the agriculture industry. The business aims to support the transmission of localised information and services towards making farming socially, economically and environmentally sustainable, while contributing to the delivery of nutritious and economical food by promoting digital agriculture such as Govipola.
The founder Suresh Ellawala is an avid farmer, established grower and exporter of mangoes out of Dambulla who was already aware of the problems faced by farmers and exporters alike. Ellawala was instrumental in looking for an avenue to address these concerns and Suren Kohombange of Fortunaglobal and Faiq Faaiz of Oensys together provided the technical and strategic know-how in creating Croptronix. Further information about the Govipola app is available on its Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Govipola-325606364597443/ and YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiZl4R5cdURdG7aCoETFoVg. The Govipola app can be downloaded from the Apple App Store and Android Play Store.
