Fresh Move, a startup built on Artificial Intelligence (AI), has launched to make Malaysia's farm produce supply chain more modern and efficient. Founded by two Bangladeshi and one Malaysian former students of the University of Malaya, the platform will connect farmers and importers directly with grocery shops, hotels and restaurants.

Founder and chief executive Md. Farhad Hossain said that on a study trip to the Cameron Highlands as a student he saw that, although high-quality fruit and vegetables were grown there, large amounts went unsold for lack of market links, proper packaging and reliable transport. That experience inspired Fresh Move.

To test the idea, he brought an experienced farmer from Bangladesh and grew crops not usually produced in Malaysia on a trial plot in Puchong, Selangor. The results exceeded expectations, and some produce was of better quality than imported goods on the market. He then realised that the bigger challenge was not production but an effective supply chain between farmer and buyer.

Co-founder Md. Shahin Alam, a Bangladeshi computer science graduate of the University of Malaya, is chief technology officer, and Malaysian graduate Nur Shafiqah binti Roslan is chief financial officer.

• Its AI analyses demand and supply data in real time to connect farmers and reliable importers with grocers, hotels and restaurants.
• Farmers receive training and support on quality production, packaging and supply.
• Its own logistics network delivers produce quickly from farm to buyer, using smart routing and demand forecasting to reduce spoilage and cut unnecessary steps in the chain.

The company says its long-term aim is to reduce Malaysia's dependence on food imports, increase local production and raise farmers' incomes. Under a contract farming programme it will provide land, training and production standards; farmers will focus on growing, while Fresh Move handles market links, transport and sales.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.