As published in mobileactive.org By Esther Nasikye - 24 August 2008 Agriculture is what keeps economies in most developing countries alive. However, farmers in many countries face major challenges. In an age of global markets, they are forced to enhance production, improve the quality of their yield, and access markets within short timeframes. Small-scale farmers especially have traditionally been deprived of weather and crop information, have been at the mercy of middlemen, and have lacked timely market price information to negotiate the best deal. This has changed with the advent of widespread telephony that connects farmers with markets, weather, and other data. Governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international donors are taking advantage of this technology revolution to help farmers access market information. They are convinced that low-cost access to agricultural prices could yield enormous payoffs. In Uganda, the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), a local NGO, is helping over 400 rural farmers in the Apac District in Northern Uganda, access information on market prices through text messages (SMS). “The use of SMS has attracted a lot of interest from farmers because information can easily be accessed. Mobile phones are affordable to many people even in rural areas,” explains WOUGNET executive director, Dorothy Okello. Information Officers collect market price information through physical visits to markets. More information is obtained from the Busoga Rural Open Source Development Initiative (BROSDI) website. Information officers translate the information to Luo, the local language, before sending it to the farmers through bulk SMS. For more information, farmers can send SMS directly to the Information Officers. Farmers don’t have to pay user fees and the organisation gives them free cell phones. While this has increased usage, it also makes longer-term sustainability of the project questionable after the initial phase which is funded by donors. The project was initiated in 2005 with financial support from the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA). According to WOUGNET, the project has improved the farmers’ access to markets which has, in turn, increased sales and income. Two other organisations, FoodNet and BROSDI are running similar projects in different regions in Uganda. Kenya’s SMS Sokoni project provides agricultural information through SMS for a fee. The project is run by the Kenya Agricultural Commodities Exchange(KACE), a private firm, in partnership with African mobile service provider Safaricom Limited. Information kiosks are located near where agricultural commodity buyers and sellers meet to provide low-cost access to farmers. KACE workers collect information on prices from these kiosks and then send it to the farmers, buyers and exporters through SMS. Although the entry costs and per-unit costs for a KACE user are low, farmers need to feel that they get value for their fees to sign up and for the service to be sustainable in the longer term. According to the KACE website, farmers have quadrupled their earnings because they have access to information about potential buyers and prices. See full story at: mobileactive.org/Mobile+Telephony+Makes+a+Difference+in+Livelihoods |
|
