Technology in agriculture doesn’t need to rescue the countryside, it needs to connect it. Discover the story of Isaac Pachón, a 22-year-old Colombian systems engineer who created 1 revolutionary offline agricultural traceability application. His mission: to demonstrate that youth is the technological bridge that family farming needs to conquer the world.
“The countryside doesn’t need that they rescue it, the countryside needs that they connect it. And the best ones to do all this process are us, the young people who know technology very well and who have lived in this rural environment and of the field.” — Isaac Pachón.
The origin: Understanding the invisible value of the countryside
Born and raised in Belén de Umbría, Risaralda, in the heart of the Colombian coffee axis, Isaac Pachón grew up surrounded by coffee, plantain, lulo, and blackberry crops. From a very young age, he learned that behind every harvest there is a monumental effort that often remains invisible.
Upon graduating as a systems engineer at 22, Isaac decided to use his profession to solve one of the biggest headaches for small and medium producers: the bureaucracy of agricultural certifications, proving the real impact of technology in agriculture.
The problem: Imposed technology that no one uses
For a farmer to access international markets or certify the quality of their products, they must maintain exhaustive records of inventories, applications, and timelines.
Isaac noticed a frustrating pattern when accompanying these processes: digital solutions reached the countryside imposed from the outside. Producers were taught a complex system, and two weeks later, overwhelmed by the amount of data, they went back to their traditional notebook and pencil. The problem wasn’t a lack of willingness to learn, but the fact that no one built tools specifically with them in mind.
The solution: An app tailored for the farmer
Along with his partner Daniel Villada, Isaac developed a mobile agricultural traceability app to close this immense gap and take technology in agriculture to the next level.
- Works without internet: Aware of connectivity issues, they designed the app to work offline. The producer enters data on their crops, and the system synchronizes automatically when it finds a network.
- Accessible design: They adapted the font size and created a user-friendly interface so that older farmers, or those with low-to-mid-range smartphones, could use it without frustration.
- Intelligence and efficiency: The platform offers real-time information, reduces unnecessary tasks, updates records for quality seals, and provides guidance through artificial intelligence.
A successful generational handover
Currently, the application is in a pilot phase with the Asociación de Aguacates de la Villa, in the municipality of Guática, Risaralda. The results are inspiring: a 60-year-old producer, who initially viewed technology in agriculture as something unattainable or “for computer people,” now keeps all his crop records using the app.
By having control over their production costs, farmers not only become more sustainable, but they also ensure that this effort translates into extra income.
The bridge to the future
Isaac’s story, who recently shared his inspiring experience during the Launch of the Nexus Rural 2026 Award, demonstrates that intergenerational dialogue works when the youth do not arrive to impose knowledge.
Adults already possess ancestral experience; the true role of youth is to capture that information, enhance it, and facilitate their work. Isaac understood this perfectly: to transform family farming, you don’t need to be a savior, you just need to be the technological bridge that makes that connection possible.
About the Nexus Rural 2026 Award
Do you have a digital solution for the countryside like Isaac’s? The Nexus Rural Award is an initiative driven by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and PROCASUR
This contest seeks to recognize, grant seed capital, and offer mentoring to young people aged 18 to 35 in Latin America and the Caribbean who lead the adoption of technology in agriculture and rural businesses. Learn more about this community and submit your project at nexusrural.org
