Using Google Sheets to build an interactive crop management program for farmers in the Dominican Republic

The Story:

Identifying a Problem:

Prior to August 2016, the aquaponics system at Finca Taino was not running on a plant / harvest schedule. This made it difficult for the farmers to estimate when and how much of a crop would be ready to sell at market.

Creating a Solution:

The farmers were interested in a more systematic approach. They only had a Samsung tablet and a google account at their disposal. I decided to build them a crop management system from scratch using Google Sheets.

Dashboard Sheet

The "dashboard" displays summary info about the plants growing in the system. It indicates the next planting and harvesting dates as well as the estimated crop yields in pounds.

Crop Sheet

There are many "batches" of the same crop that are planned to mature at regular intervals. The program highlights a harvest-ready batch in red and alerts the farmers when to plant a new group.

Systemized Production

Now the farmers can better estimate their crop yields and have automated to-do lists to keep their production running smoothly.

What were the key Excel skills involved?

Formulas
Linking cells across multiple sheets
Data validations
Conditional formatting
IF functions
INDEX / MATCH functions
QUERY functions (SQL statements)

What is aquaponics?

It is a unique way to grow plants and raise fish together without any soil. Learn more here.

Wouldn’t this software work for traditional farming methods too?

Sure! I chose to design this for the aquaponics system at Finca Taino due to the popularity of the crops being grown as well as the shorter growth cycles that result from this special farming method - the quicker the growth the greater the potential volume of output.

See it in action!

Dashboard:

Planting:

Harvesting &

Transferring:

What are the calculations based on?

It is important to note that this is by no means a perfect system. The program is meant to be a rough guide and the base numbers should be tweaked with trial and error.

The program requires the following inputs for each crop:

Average length of growth cycle (in days)
Desired harvest frequency (in days)
Desired grow-space allocation (percentage)
An example harvest plant count
Total weight of example harvest

These inputs are the basis for calculating:
The next plant / harvest dates
The size and # of groups that can fit in the system without exceeding the crop’s alloted space
Estimated yield in pounds per harvest

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