I sat down to rest that afternoon.

I was in a park.

And I just couldn’t help notice some exotic plants around me.

Suddenly, my mind went on overdrive as I asked myself how I could identify them.

In the old times (when I was a teenager), information was sought through asking another person.

Infact I even remember those days when you could stop someone in the middle of the streets to ask ‘what time it is’.

Today, such behaviour will alienate you from Gen Z.

That’s why apps thrive in our era.

And they are what I resorted to in my quest to know the plant of interest.

To do this, I embarked on an app search.

To my surprise, not so many existed out there – at least fron what I saw.

But I chose to download one.

It had an option of taking the photo of the plant and uploading it for a database search to be done and results delivered.

And the results were nearly real time – except that I was given an option to subscribe at a fee.

Now here’s where experts in agriculture, botany and plant science could reap reward.

PLANT IDENTIFICATION APPS

Plant identification apps are growing in prominence.

Just take a walk through the Nairobi Arboretum.

You’ll be exposed to a sizeable number of expatriates, visitors who stop to stare at trees we’re so used to seeing daily.

Some of them take time to even smell the scents of our indigenous plants and herbs.

These are not just people on a stroll.

Some of them have paid a fortune to make it here.

Our local botanical experts have an opportunity at hand.

The gathered plant knowledge could be used to set up entire databases which could be uploaded on plant identification apps.

These apps could be designed in two ways – a free option with basic services and paid subscription service with added benefits.

So what could some of these benefits be?

PLANT AND CROP HEALTH

Ever stumbled across pages with farmers struggling to identify crippling crop diseases?

Just have a look at the comments…

Many of them mislead the farmers because they are not from an expert.

Now imagine a young farmer who has in-depth knowledge on crop health.

He then goes ahead to highlight different pests and diseases that affect several crops.

But he doesn’t stop at that.

He utilises IT tools like AI, algorithms etc to set up an app that can identify crop diseases through photos.

He sets up the app with a 1 week promotional period before subscription.

Now imagine a peasant farmer in Indonesia trying to scout for ways to stop the spread of a crop disease.

Extension services are a ‘whole world’ away but the Internet is on his fingertips.

He stumbles on this app, downloads it and finds immediate help.

He then subscribes for a month and introduces his neighbors to do the same.

THE WORLD OF APPS

Apps enable us to share useful knowledge to help others but at a fee.

Infact, info based apps could be said to be the new form of consultancy.

But they could still be a virgin niche in many ways – an opportunity waiting to smile on anyone willing to share useful info on plants, crops etc.