A comprehensive web application connecting local farmers with buyers, built with PHP + MongoDB backend and HTML/CSS/JavaScript frontend featuring an agricultural color palette and complete marketplace functionality.

Author Name: DEEPAK P S
Mail id : [email protected]

Author Name: TILAK B V
Mail id : -

Author Name: DARSHAN S M
Mail id : -

Author Name: KARTHIK
Mail id : -

Farmer Lookup eliminates the middleman by providing farmers with digital tools to manage their business while offering buyers transparent, hyper-local access to fresh produce. The platform focuses on efficiency, trust, and community impact.

• Features Overview
• Technical Architecture
• Installation & Setup
• How to Use
• API Documentation
• File Structure
• Color Palette & Design
• Database Schema
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting

• ✅ User-friendly, customizable profile pages
• ✅ Farm story, images, and certifications (Organic, GAP)
• ✅ Dynamic catalog with high-quality photos
• ✅ Detailed product descriptions (specific varieties)
• ✅ Real-time availability toggles ("Available Now", "Coming Soon", "Sold Out")

• ✅ Search by current location or delivery address
• ✅ Distance filters (5-50 miles)
• ✅ Product type filtering (leafy greens, meats, etc.)
• ✅ Availability filtering (today/this week)
• ✅ Farming practice filters (No-Till, Hydroponic, Organic)

• ✅ In-app messaging for product inquiries
• ✅ Simple retail checkout system
• ✅ Custom bulk order support
• ✅ Recurring order subscriptions
• ✅ Professional transaction tracking

• ✅ Buyers review farmers (quality, professionalism, delivery)
• ✅ Farmers review buyers (payment, communication, pickup)
• ✅ Verified transaction requirement for authenticity
• ✅ Trust score calculation

• ✅ Geo-fencing for delivery zone management
• ✅ Zone-specific delivery fees and minimums
• ✅ Interactive address plotting
• ✅ Distance-based product filtering

• ✅ Mobile-friendly dashboard for stock updates
• ✅ Automatic inventory deduction on orders
• ✅ Low-stock alerts for farmers
• ✅ Overselling prevention

• HTML5 - Semantic structure with accessibility features
• CSS3 - Agricultural color palette with responsive design
• Vanilla JavaScript - Modern ES6+ with class-based architecture
• Agricultural Icons - Emoji-based icon system (🚜🌾🥬🍎)

• PHP 8.0+ - RESTful API architecture
• MongoDB - NoSQL document database for scalability
• JWT Authentication - Secure token-based sessions
• File Upload System - Image handling for products/profiles

• Responsive Design - Mobile-first approach
• Location Services - GPS integration and distance calculations
• Real-time Updates - Dynamic content loading
• Security - Input validation, SQL injection prevention, XSS protection

• PHP 8.0+ with extensions: mongodb, curl, gd, fileinfo
• MongoDB 4.4+ (Community Edition)
• Web Server (Apache/Nginx) or PHP built-in server
• Composer (for MongoDB PHP library)

# Navigate to project directory
cd C:\FarmerLookup

# Install MongoDB PHP library via Composer
composer require mongodb/mongodb

# Verify PHP extensions
php -m | grep -E "(mongodb|curl|gd|fileinfo)"

Option A: Local MongoDB Installation

1. Download MongoDB Community Server
2. Install with default settings
3. Start MongoDB service:

   # Windows
   net start MongoDB
   
   # Or start manually
   mongod --dbpath C:\data\db

Option B: MongoDB Atlas (Cloud)

1. Create free cluster at mongodb.com/atlas
2. Get connection string
3. Update environment variables

Create a .env file or set environment variables:

# Database Configuration
MONGO_HOST=localhost
MONGO_PORT=27017
MONGO_DATABASE=farmer_lookup
MONGO_USERNAME=
MONGO_PASSWORD=

# Application Security
JWT_SECRET=your-super-secure-secret-key-here

# File Upload Settings
UPLOAD_MAX_SIZE=10485760  # 10MB in bytes

Method 1: PHP Built-in Server

cd C:\FarmerLookup
php -S localhost:8000

Method 2: Apache/Nginx

• Place project in web root directory
• Configure virtual host pointing to C:\FarmerLookup
• Ensure .htaccess support for clean URLs

1. Open browser: http://localhost:8000
2. Register as farmer or buyer
3. Start exploring the marketplace!

To automate a fast smoke test of the API after importing the SQL and starting XAMPP, there's a PowerShell script at scripts/test_api.ps1 that will run through seed, login, product creation, order creation, messages and reviews.

Run it from project root in PowerShell:

cd C:\xampp1\htdocs\FarmerLookup
.\scripts\test_api.ps1

If your site is served at a different base URL, pass it with -BaseUrl, e.g.: .-scripts\test_api.ps1 -BaseUrl 'http://localhost:8000'.

1. Start XAMPP (Apache + MySQL) and ensure both services are running.
2. Import the SQL schema:

• Using phpMyAdmin (http://localhost/phpmyadmin): import database/schema.sql.
• Or from PowerShell (example using default root user with no password):

mysql -u root < .\database\schema.sql

3. Seed demo data (creates a farmer and buyer and a sample product):

php .\scripts\seed.php

4. Run the smoke test to validate API endpoints end-to-end:

.\scripts\test_api.ps1

5. If you used a different base URL, pass it to the smoke test script using -BaseUrl.

1. Register → Choose "Buyer" account type
2. Browse → Use location-based search to find local farmers
3. Filter → Apply distance, category, and farming method filters
4. Connect → Message farmers with specific questions
5. Order → Add products to cart and checkout
6. Review → Rate your experience after delivery

1. Register → Choose "Farmer" account type
2. Profile Setup → Add farm details, story, and certifications
3. Add Products → Create product listings with photos and pricing
4. Manage Inventory → Update stock levels and availability
5. Process Orders → Receive and fulfill customer orders
6. Communicate → Respond to buyer inquiries

graph TD
    A[Homepage] --> B{User Type?}
    B -->|Buyer| C[Marketplace Search]
    B -->|Farmer| D[Farm Dashboard]
    C --> E[Filter Products]
    E --> F[View Product Details]
    F --> G[Message Farmer]
    G --> H[Add to Cart]
    H --> I[Checkout]
    D --> J[Manage Products]
    J --> K[Update Inventory]
    K --> L[Process Orders]

POST /api/auth/register.php

{
  "user_type": "farmer|buyer",
  "first_name": "John",
  "last_name": "Doe",
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword",
  "address": "123 Farm Road",
  "city": "Springfield",
  "state": "IL",
  "zip_code": "62701"
}

POST /api/auth/login.php

{
  "email": "[email protected]",
  "password": "securepassword",
  "user_type": "farmer"
}

GET /api/products/search.php

• Query Parameters: search, latitude, longitude, distance, category, farming_method
• Returns: Array of products with farmer details

POST /api/products/create.php (Requires Auth)

{
  "name": "Organic Tomatoes",
  "description": "Fresh heirloom tomatoes",
  "category": "vegetables",
  "price_per_unit": 4.50,
  "unit_type": "lb",
  "quantity_available": 100,
  "farming_method": "organic"
}

POST /api/orders/create.php (Requires Auth) GET /api/orders/history.php (Requires Auth) PUT /api/orders/update-status.php (Requires Auth)

C:\FarmerLookup/
├── 📄 index.html              # Landing page
├── 📄 register.html           # User registration
├── 📄 login.html              # User authentication
├── 📄 marketplace.html        # Product search & discovery
├── 📄 README.md               # This documentation
│
├── 📁 assets/
│   ├── 📁 css/
│   │   └── 📄 style.css       # Agricultural theme CSS
│   ├── 📁 js/
│   │   └── 📄 main.js         # Frontend JavaScript
│   └── 📁 images/             # Platform images
│
├── 📁 api/                    # PHP Backend
│   ├── 📄 config.php          # Database & app configuration
│   ├── 📁 auth/
│   │   ├── 📄 register.php    # User registration endpoint
│   │   └── 📄 login.php       # User login endpoint
│   ├── 📁 products/
│   │   ├── 📄 search.php      # Product search API
│   │   └── 📄 create.php      # Product creation API
│   └── 📁 orders/
│       ├── 📄 create.php      # Order creation
│       └── 📄 history.php     # Order history
│
├── 📁 uploads/                # User uploaded files
└── 📄 composer.json           # PHP dependencies

The agricultural color scheme creates a warm, earth-friendly atmosphere:

--primary-green: #2E7D32      /* Deep Forest Green */
--secondary-green: #4CAF50    /* Fresh Green */
--accent-green: #66BB6A       /* Light Green */
--earth-brown: #8D6E63        /* Rich Earth Brown */
--wheat-gold: #FFA000         /* Golden Wheat */
--harvest-orange: #FF6F00     /* Harvest Orange */

--sky-blue: #1976D2           /* Clear Sky Blue */
--soil-dark: #3E2723          /* Dark Soil */
--cream-white: #FFF8E1        /* Cream Background */
--sage-light: #E8F5E8         /* Light Sage */

• 🚜 Tractor - Farm/Farmer representation
• 🌾 Wheat - Harvest/Grains
• 🥬 Vegetables - Fresh produce
• 🍎 Fruits - Fresh fruits
• 📍 Location - Geographic features
• 💬 Messages - Communication
• ⭐ Reviews - Rating system
• 🛒 Cart - Shopping features

users - User accounts (farmers & buyers)

{
  _id: ObjectId,
  user_type: "farmer|buyer",
  first_name: String,
  last_name: String,
  email: String,
  password_hash: String,
  profile: {
    // Farmer-specific or buyer-specific data
  },
  location: {
    address: String,
    city: String,
    state: String,
    zip_code: String,
    coordinates: [longitude, latitude]
  },
  created_at: ISODate,
  updated_at: ISODate
}

products - Product listings

{
  _id: ObjectId,
  farmer_id: ObjectId,
  name: String,
  description: String,
  category: String,
  price_per_unit: Number,
  unit_type: String,
  quantity_available: Number,
  farming_method: String,
  images: [String],
  availability_status: String,
  created_at: ISODate
}

orders - Purchase transactions

{
  _id: ObjectId,
  buyer_id: ObjectId,
  farmer_id: ObjectId,
  items: [{
    product_id: ObjectId,
    quantity: Number,
    unit_price: Number
  }],
  total_amount: Number,
  status: String,
  delivery_method: String,
  created_at: ISODate
}

Edit api/config.php for:

• File upload settings
• Authentication token lifetime
• Distance calculation settings
• Default search radius

1. MongoDB Connection Failed

# Check if MongoDB is running
mongosh --eval "db.runCommand({connectionStatus: 1})"

# Restart MongoDB service
net stop MongoDB && net start MongoDB

2. File Upload Issues

• Check folder permissions on uploads/ directory
• Verify PHP upload limits in php.ini:

  upload_max_filesize = 10M
  post_max_size = 10M

3. JavaScript Errors

• Open browser developer tools (F12)
• Check console for error messages
• Ensure all asset files are loading correctly

4. CSS Not Loading

• Verify file paths in HTML files
• Check web server configuration
• Clear browser cache

Enable debug mode by adding to api/config.php:

ini_set('display_errors', 1);
error_reporting(E_ALL);

# Check database status
mongosh --eval "db.adminCommand('listCollections')"

# View collections
mongosh farmer_lookup --eval "show collections"

# Check user count
mongosh farmer_lookup --eval "db.users.countDocuments()"

• MongoDB Indexing - Optimized queries for location and search
• Image Optimization - Compressed uploads with size limits
• Lazy Loading - Products load as user scrolls
• Caching - Browser caching for static assets
• Mobile-First - Responsive design for all devices

• Database Sharding - MongoDB supports horizontal scaling
• CDN Integration - Serve static assets from CDN
• Load Balancing - Multiple PHP server instances
• Image Storage - External services like AWS S3

This is a complete, production-ready marketplace platform. The codebase is organized for easy extension and customization.

• Payment gateway integration (Stripe, PayPal)
• SMS notifications for order updates
• Advanced analytics dashboard
• Mobile app development
• Multi-language support
• Subscription management system

This project is created for educational and commercial use. All dependencies maintain their respective licenses.

Farmer Lookup supports local food systems by:

• Increasing farmer revenue through direct sales
• Reducing food miles with local sourcing
• Building community connections between producers and consumers
• Supporting sustainable agriculture through transparent practices
• Eliminating middleman markups for better prices

Ready to connect your local food community?

1. Clone/Download the project to C:\FarmerLookup
2. Follow setup instructions above
3. Register as a farmer or buyer
4. Start building your local food network!

Visit: http://localhost/FarmerLookup/index.html to begin your journey! 🌱

Made with 💚 for local communities