The expansion will build on the success of the Farm Pass platform in India, where it has helped smallholder farmers connect to vital services and markets.
The firm is on track to connect 30 million people globally, including 15 million in Asia Pacific, with its Community Pass services, of which Farm Pass is a part over the next five years.
The expansion of the Farm Pass platform is part of Mastercard’s commitment to supporting smallholder farmers in the Asia Pacific region.
The Farm Pass platform addresses farmers’ most pressing needs: to get digital, get paid, and get capital, giving them greater leverage in the agricultural value chain. Importantly, Farm Pass isn’t an aid program or philanthropy—rather, it enables farmers to be properly paid.
The key benefits of Mastercard Farm Pass are financial inclusion, inclusive growth, higher income, convenience, transparency, operational efficiencies, and trust, as well as transparency which allows stronger ties between agri-sector partners and greater visibility of produce.
The Farm Pass ecosystem works both online and offline, enabled by internet agnostic technology and a network of agents who meet farmers in person and connect them to the platform on their behalf. This way, farmers do not need to own a smartphone, pay for data, or be digitally literate to participate in the programme.
The success of the programme in India has benefited two million farmers. Adding on to the success, Mastercard also announced a new collaboration with Bayer CropScience and Rabo Partnerships, a subsidiary of the Rabobank Group.
The firms will introduce a new programme that is unique in India, combining Bayer’s digital advisory services for smallholder farmers with Mastercard’s Farm Pass digital platform.
Farm Pass is just one of the services offered under Mastercard’s Community Pass portfolio, an interoperable digital platform that connects even the most remote communities digitally to service providers such as governments, NGOs, healthcare providers, schools, and the private sector.