With agriculture and technology high
on the agenda this week in Africa, underpinned by the ICT4Ag Summit being hosted
in Kigali, Rwanda, there are reports of how technology is making a radical
difference to the lives of farmers in key regions.
One news agency, cajnews Africa,
has explained how one mobile service, M-Farm, enables mainly small-scale
commercial farmers to source data on the retail price of their produce, engage
directly with manufacturers and link up with potential buyers of their stock.
Mobile applications are helping
farmers to remain ahead of market trends. (Image source: Google/ wired.co.uk)
Safaricom subscribers can use the
service by sending an SMS to the number 2025. It is reportedly also available
to android users in the applications store under the Utility category, claims
cajnews Africa.
The ability to deal directly with
suppliers and manufacturers without having to rely on third party
intermediaries is a major benefit.
According to the report, in the
past, farmers had to deal with these parties to source information about
product. With the ability to link to a homepage via a mobile application,
farmers are able to stay ahead of trends and use credible information to make
critical business decisions, including the right time to go to market with
produce.
Farmer John Kiprop is quoted as
saying, “Have benefited a lot from the service. It has enabled me to carry out
market timing and dispose off his product when the demand and prices are high.
All I have to do is monitor the market trend through my phone and dispose my
product when prices are favourable.”
