About AgricultureSA.io
The definitive source of data in South African agriculture
Empowering South African Agriculture with Insights.
Agriculture is fundamentally multidimensional—events in one area inevitably cause ripple effects throughout the entire ecosystem. When water scarcity affects irrigation, it impacts crop yields, which influences market prices, trade dynamics, and ultimately food security.
AgricultureSA.io recognizes these complex relationships, offering a holistic view that helps farmers anticipate and respond to these interconnected challenges. Our platform serves as the definitive source of truth in South African agriculture, providing a highly interactive, mobile-friendly platform for farming communities and AgriSA members.
How Does It Work
Our platform uses a segmented database layer with separate logical databases for Public, Private, and User data
Public Database
Stores records from web sources, tagged by source and date for transparency and traceability.
Private Database
Contains partner-contributed records, tagged by provider and subject to partner-specific access rules.
User Database
Stores personal data entries like incident logs and user profiles, indexed by user ID or report ID.
Data Flow Architecture
Data flows into the system from three source streams (Public, Private, User) and flows out in the form of insights or outputs:
Input Flow
- 1Public data is pulled into the backend via data collection mechanisms, then stored in the public database for analysis and index calculation.
- 2Private data from partners is securely stored with partner-specific access rules and primarily used in aggregated form.
- 3User data is submitted through the frontend to the backend via API calls and stored in the user database with strict privacy controls.
Output Flow
- 1The backend processes may combine these sources for richer analysis but maintains logical separation of the raw datasets.
- 2Outputs like Food Security Index values, charts, or reports are sent to the frontend which displays them to users.
- 3These outputs contain no raw personal data beyond what the requesting user is authorized to see, ensuring privacy and compliance.
Security & Compliance Benefits
By structuring the system in layers and segregating data flows, AgricultureSA.io ensures that each data type is handled with appropriate safeguards at every stage. This architecture also simplifies auditing and applying updates.
For example, a change in POPIA compliance requirements for personal data would mostly affect the User database and related code, without risking exposure of public or partner data, and vice versa.