Agricol Case Study | Emile Potgieter

The Brief

Challenge & Objectives

Challenge

Modern farmers face increasing challenges in optimizing crop production due to varying soil conditions, climate unpredictability, and the need for precise input management. Many existing solutions lack tailored insights, making it difficult for farmers to maximize yields while maintaining cost efficiency.

Agricol sought to bridge this gap with an intelligent, data-driven application that seamlessly integrates their product range. The goal was to create an intuitive platform that provides real-time analytics, personalized recommendations, and streamlined workflows, ensuring farmers can make informed decisions specific to their farm and region.

Objectives

Develop a user-centric application that enhances farm productivity through advanced insights. Design an intuitive workflow that simplifies engagement with the Agricol product range.

Project Scope

Creating high-level wireframes, user workflows, and interaction processes to define the app's functionality and user experience.

Tools

Adobe XD, Adobe Illustrator, Visual Studio, GitHub, Bootstrap, Fa-Awesome

Role

Leading UI/UX design, collaborating with developers, and managing project execution for client satisfaction — responsible for conceptualizing the app's structure, engagement flow, and user experience.

Team

Self directed, with feedback from the devs and clients.

Duration

3 Weeks (120 Hours)

The Product

Inside the App

Nine screens from the real flow — signing in, browsing and registering farms, picking a crop, and reaching an agent.

Agricol login screen with sunflower field background

01 — Sign In

Bilingual EN/AF login over real farm imagery.

02 — Your Farms

Quick access to every registered farm and its agent.

Agricol crop selection screen with circular crop icons

03 — Pick a Crop

Icon-driven navigation across a farm's planted crops.

Agricol crop detail screen with stewardship and economics options

04 — Crop Detail

Stewardship, economics, and product guidance per crop.

Agricol crop recommendation screen with trial options

05 — Recommendations

Trial-based guidance: manager, strip, and national cultivar trials.

Agricol events screen with upcoming and past events

06 — Events

Upcoming and past Agricol events at a glance.

Agricol register farm form with photo upload

07 — Register Farm

Upload a farm photo and capture region, town, and agent.

Agricol farm registration confirmation with add farm option

08 — Farm Added

Confirm details, then add another farm in the same flow.

Agricol agent contact screen with WhatsApp options

09 — Agent Contact

Reach your region agent, sales manager, or crop manager.

The Research

Research Synthesis

To synthesize the qualitative data gathered from user interviews, I created an empathy map to identify patterns among farmers using the Agricol app. This helped uncover key insights and generate actionable needs, ensuring the app aligns with real-world agricultural challenges.

Insights

Farmers need a more intuitive way to receive crop recommendations without unnecessary complexity.
Users prefer a streamlined interface that quickly delivers actionable insights without overwhelming them with data.
Farmers struggle with navigating multiple settings and customization options for farm-specific recommendations.
Users find it difficult to track crop performance, application schedules, and overall field progress.

Needs

Farmers need a simplified and efficient way to access tailored agronomic recommendations.
Users need a more flexible and intuitive interface that allows for easy customization based on farm size, region, and crop type.
Farmers need a better way to monitor their crop progress, input efficiency, and yield predictions in real time.
Users require an easier method to manage complex agricultural workflows involving multiple farm activities and seasonal planning.

Going Deeper

Research & Strategy

Plan & Goals

Identify key pain points and inefficiencies in current crop management practices.

Validate design decisions with real farmers before moving to high-fidelity screens.

Understand how connectivity constraints shape feature expectations in rural contexts.

Assumptions → Findings

Tap a row to see what the research found.

0 / 3 revealed

✓ Confirmed

User interviews confirmed that most farmers still relied on paper logbooks or basic spreadsheets. Errors in transcription were common and data was rarely revisited once recorded.

✓ Confirmed

Every participant noted intermittent or absent mobile data coverage during field operations. This made offline-first design a non-negotiable requirement rather than a nice-to-have.

~ Refined

While simplicity was essential, farmers were open to deeper features if clearly contextual and not buried. The key was progressive disclosure — show what's needed now, surface the rest on demand.

Methodologies

Competitive Audit — Reviewed AgriSA tools, FarmHack, and international agri-apps to identify gaps and benchmark interaction patterns for the South African context.

User Interviews — Conducted structured sessions with 6 commercial and smallholder farmers to understand daily routines, decision triggers, and tool preferences.
Prototype Testing — Tested paper and mid-fidelity prototypes with 4 participants in field conditions to validate navigation flow and icon comprehension.

Design Principle

"The farm is the interface."

Every decision was grounded in real field conditions — offline resilience, one-handed use, and legibility in direct sunlight. The app adapts to the farmer's world, not the other way around.

The Product

Final Designs

From the landing page and farm registration to crop info and past events — Agricol in production.

Landing Page

Register Farm

Farm Information

Crop Details

Event Log

Agent Contact

Agricol