From Farm to fork : how to use technology to improve the way we eat?

During a panel on food industry issues, Kongossa Technology has invited Catherine Lefebvre, Cathrin Rintoul and Jean-François Auchambault for the debate.

In this discussion, the nutritionist Catherine Lefebvre acknowledged that the idea of a platform between farmers, producers and restaurants owers is interesting. For her, putting those different parts in touch will not only bring them closer but will ensure a better quality of products to satisfy customers.

Caithrin Rintoul, founder of the platform « provender » revealed the goal of his platform as aiming to introduce technology in the food market in order to establish equality between producers.

Indeed, he realised that most of the farmers aren’t able to deal with the realities of the market where the system tend to favor distributors. With the help of ICTs, we can fix the broken chains between farmers and consumers. Hence, it become easier for producers to have control on the products on the market, easier to have more autonomy without need to move.

Caithrin rose up the fact that the agriculture sector is no more attractive for the following raisons:

• The activity is not physically easy
• Lack of  tools for a better management of the business
• The difficult integration of technologies

Thus, the project « Provender » aims at putting in place a network to connect producers and the market through internet for a better capitalisation of their offer.
Meanwhile, Catherine Lefebvre rose up two mains issues:

• Obstacles that can slow down the work of farmers namely doubts consumers about their cleanliness
• Solutions that have been put in place to overcome those difficulties are slowing down the work of farmers

As other panelists, we had CEO and Founder of La tablée des chefs which mission is to feed people in need and to develop youth’ culinary education. Their sustainable food brokerage service serves as a liaison between food surplus producers, particularly the donors from the Hotels, Restaurants and Institutions and the organization that distribute them to people in need. Since 2016, two million portions of meal were collected and distributed among which 75 tons of foods in 2014.

Jean-François Archambault presented another great challenge that his organization is trying to address by helping people to earn cooking skills. With program such as the the focus is on basic cooking techniques and principles of healthy eating. Over 300 youth have participated to the program and the result are outstanding. So, through ICTs, it is much easier to link restaurants owners from all over the world using a platform.

Catherine Lefebvre, lifted a question, on how can the platform could widened at the level of supermarket and convenient stores. But Jean-François responded by saying that most of supermarket do not fairplay, because these dread the creation of secondary market. Indeed, supermarket think that the food is not really given but rather sold.

But the network of bank of food of Quebec plays an important role by managing to dissipate the doubts on the system. A project was set up by the members of the platform in association with METRO and the project was transferred to the bank of food. In four months 12 tons of foods were successfully collected.