Agriculture – Page 11

The World Bank Launches e-Sourcebook on Ag.

Photo Credit: The World Bank

The official launch of the World Bank’s e-Sourcebook, “ICT in Agriculture: Connecting Smallholders to Knowledge, Networks and Institutions” took place at the premises of the Bank on Wednesday January 18 2012, with a number of activities.

Among these activities was a panel discussion on the key modules in the book moderated by Mark E. Cackler, the Manger of the Agriculture and Rural Development Department of the World Bank. Members of the panel included Willem Janssen, the Lead Agriculture Specialist in the Latin America and Caribbean Region; Laurent Besancon, Senior Regulatory Specialist in charge of ICT portfolio for the Sub-Saharan Africa region; Tuukka Castren, Senior Forest Specialist at the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) department of the Bank; Aparajita Goyal, an Economist at the Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD); and Shaun Ferris, Senior Technical Advisor for Agriculture and Environment at Catholic Relief Services (CRS).

Introducing the book, Tim Kelly, the Lead ICT Policy Specialist in the ICT unit of the Bank stated clearly that the e-Sourcebook is neither academic paper, a report nor cookbook for use. However, it provides development practitioners and governments with examples of where ICT in agriculture has been used, challenges and lessons learned using ICT, and guidelines on project development. It also attempts to address how ICT can be mainstreamed into agricultural interventions, research and entrepreneurship.

A Science Advisor at the Agriculture and Rural Development Department at the Bank, Eija Pehu shared some of the key findings and themes from the book. This includes the need to focus on the demand for services but not on the technology, understanding the users and their demands, providing the enabling environment, exploring sustainable business models, being aware of differential impacts of ICT projects such as gender, age and socio-economic status of the users, and recognizing that smart and higher capacity tools are becoming more affordable.

The highlight of the panel presentation featured an interesting mobile application demonstrated by Shaun Ferris from CRS that is being used for data collection, monitoring and assessment by agricultural field workers to share information and report to the main office. iFormBuilder is currently being used by Catholic Relief Services in a number of remote communities to facilitate data sharing and reporting.

Questions and Answer Session

Two main themes that emerged during the Q&A session were the need to i) identify and show evidence for the impacts of these ICT applications in agriculture on the socio-economic status and livelihood conditions of the farmers; and ii) look more into innovative ways of using ICTs to increase productivity of farmers in addition to the current emphasis on market information systems. It was pointed out that while the e-Sourcebook has good examples of each of the two above areas, more need to be done.

Also a number of academic and research institutes are currently working with some of the ICT projects to understand the relationship between ICTs use by local farmers and improvement in their socio-economic conditions. The conclusion, however, was that it is going to be a difficult task identifying this relationship looking at the number of ways by which the farmers use a given ICT. For example a mobile phone may be used to check weather updates, as an alarm clock, a clock to inform farmers about when to leave for home, make phone calls, check emails, etc.

The Structure of the Book

Organized into 4 main themes and 15 modules:

Section One (Introduction) covers topics like ICT in Agricultural Development (Module 1); Making ICT Infrastructure, Appliances and Services More Accessible and Affordable in Rural Areas (Module 2); Anywhere, Anytime – Mobile Devices and Their Impact on Agriculture and Rural Development (Module 3); and Extending the Benefits: Gender Equitable-ICT Enabled Agricultural Development (Module 4).

Section Two (Enhancing Productivity on the Farm) includes Increasing Crop, Livestock and Fishery Productivity Through ICT (Module 5); ICTs As Enablers of Agricultural Innovation Systems (Module 6); Broadening Smallholders’ Access to Financial Services Through ICTs (Module 7); and Farmer Organizations Work Better with ICT (Module 8).

The Third Section (Assessing Markets and Value Chains) addresses issues of Strengthening Agricultural Marketing with ICT (Module 9); ICT Applications for Smallholder Inclusion in Agribusiness Supply Chains (Module 10); ICT Applications for Agricultural Risk Management (Module 11); and Global Markets, Global Challenges: Improving Food Safety and Traceability While Empowering Smallholders Through ICT (Module 12).

The Fourth and Final Section (Improving Public Service Provision) covers Strengthening Rural Governance, Institutions, and Citizen Participation Through ICT (Module 13); ICT for Land Administration and Management (Module 14) and Using ICT to Improve Forest Governance (Module 15).

What Next at the Bank?

The Bank will be looking into the operational challenges of some of these ICTs applications identified in the book, develop regional task force to follow-up with the progress, and also continue to organize online fora on selected topics in the book, the first of which took place in December 2011 on “Strengthening Agricultural Marketing with ICT.“

The e-Sourcebook is freely available here.

January 20, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Environment, Environment, Natural Resources Management, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Lionfish, Tiger Shrimp, Grizzlar Bears! Oh, my!

Photo Credit: Factoidz

Last summer an article caught my eye about the spread of Lionfish in Antigua’s waters, an invasive and predatory creature. The news made me curious if there were other invasive species worthy of catchphrases and surely enough I wasn’t disappointed to find a diverse selection of tigers and bears.

Invasive species, as the name suggests, originate outside of the ecosystem in which they are found. Thousands of years of climate shifts and our urge to conquer new lands have led to major disruptions that threaten native environments, making them susceptible to damaged local biodiversity, food production, and even human health.

In 2005, ICT Update published an issue on invasive species, marking GIS and other tech responses to the monitoring and elimination of threatening pests. Since this publication there have been successful ICT approaches and projects for invasive alien prevention. What’s my favorite one, you may ask? Well, it’s actually a free, simple to use mobile application called What’s Invasive! With this downloadable application one can geo-tag invasive plants and animals that are specific to the desired geographic location. With this information concerned citizens and other groups can monitor growth patterns and participate in eradication campaigns. Currently, the application is vigorously used in American, Canadian, and European parks. With its easily accessible databases, nature education and other public outreach programs in coordination with this mobile app can greatly empower local communities to address issues of environmental protection and climate change.

January 18, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Environment, Environment, Originally posted on the GBI Portal, Water

5 ICT 4 Watershed Management Projects

There’s been considerable debate lately about possible uses of information and communications technology for watershed management. Access to monitoring programs assists governments adequately manage and distribute water. Watershed management is critical for regional ecological health, clean water ability, disaster relief, and agriculture.

5 Noteworthy ICT Watershed Management Projects

eGov features India’s Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) that uses GIS mapping and GPS enabled mobile applications for planning and monitoring rainwater harvested agricultural land. The watershed is analyzed through interactive online mapping available in local languages, engaging parties at the village, regional, and state levels. Through this process scarce water is conserved by a supervised drainage line, promoting the cultivation of arable land and responsible seasonal planning. An overview of this project is available HERE.

A similar project, MeKongInfo, is available to citizens along the Mekong River Basin in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam. The site houses a database and online discussion that is sponsored by the Mekong River Commission (MRC). It contains many aspects including flood mitigation, fishery management and other issues of overall planning.

AgWater Solutions is collaborating with the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) and others in Ethiopia through workshops to address small reservoirs and groundwater systems investment.

African Water Facility’s Community Water Management Project in Zambia works with farmers to increase productivity by reducing their reliance on rain-fed farming.

Rio+20’s ICT as an Enabler for Smart Water Management report includes case-studies on ICTs for smart water initiatives. Also worthy of noting as a resource is the United Nations’ Virtual Learning Centre distance-learning course on Integrated Water and Environmental Management for creating regional resource databanks to enhance sustainable water management practices. The course is available through Regional Centres of Excellence in Africa, Asia, and the South Pacific.

January 18, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Health, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Building While Operating: Lessons in linking mHealth and mobile money in Haiti

Last week marked two years since the devastating earthquake in Haiti that, according to the Haitian government, took the lives of 316,000 people[1], injured 300,000[2]and displaced at least one million people[3]– more than 10% of its population[4]. Any country’s infrastructure would struggle with this, but in Haiti even some of the smallest problems were exacerbated by the fact that Haiti was (and still is) the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere[5]. Many Haitians do have access to mobile phones, though, so mHealth and mobile money services have enormous potential to fill the gaps and improve their lives.

The earthquake left Haiti’s already weak health and financial systems in tatters. It destroyed 30 hospitals, 21 clinics, 11 Ministry of Health facilities, and 22 health training centers, and it damaged 30-40% of all bank branches and ATMs in the zone of impact. From the very beginning of the recovery, mobile services showed what they could do.

A great deal of mHealth activity took place to bolster the relief effort and safeguard reconstruction, including the Fletcher School /Ushahidi’s crisis mapping and proactive messages delivered via SMS to warn about cholera outbreaks through a partnership between Voila and the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and more. In 2009, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID launched a prize fund to accelerate the launch of mobile money services in Haiti, enabling the population to send, receive, and store money via mobile phones. In the time that has followed, NGOs eagerly adopted mobile money as a safe, speedy way to distribute aid and pay people in cash-for-work programs. In fact, of the 14 mobile money use programs in the world, eight are in Haiti. These programs are realizing a range of benefits – including improved speed, efficiency, and security.[6]

This early flurry of activity is now giving way to longer-term questions. With the prize mechanism nearing completion, providers of mobile money services are looking for ways to expand them in a profitable, self-sustaining way. Haiti’s health system is rebuilding, and administrators are deciding how much to bring stopgap mHealth applications into the mainstream. And the opportunity to combine mHealth and mobile money through insurance plans, voucher programs, and other innovative services is just starting to open up.

Making these processes easier and realizing the long-term benefits of mobile services will require addressing a series of barriers in the public and private sectors:

Strategy to move from prize-led launch to sustainable scale. Mobile operators and banks must now determine their strategies to reach the mass market and move beyond the prize-led launch to sustainable scale, avoiding the sub-scale trap which many deployments face globally. This will require the consortia to prioritize, penetrate, and capture profitable segments of the Haitian economy.
Interoperability and integration. The central bank in Haiti did mandate interoperability between mobile money services, but there is a continued need to integrate services, bridges, and open APIs – especially if mHealth and mobile money are to work together.
The policy environment. At present, the lack of a national ID scheme and policies for data security and privacy are holding back the development of mobile services, particularly combinations of mHealth and mobile money. E-wallets have been used to register people in Haiti in place of national IDs, but the e-wallets are currently capped at US$250 by the central bank, limiting the usefulness of mobile services.
The evidence base. Greater distillation and dissemination of the experiences of providers, users, and regulators would help the sector to develop in a more directed and way, avoiding repeated mistakes and redundancies.

Both the mHealth and mobile money ecosystems are at an inflection point in Haiti, and there is reason to be optimistic. Favorable regulatory approaches have led to the emergence of a spectrum of products, including payroll and merchant payments. For the sector to preserve its momentum, providers will have to find new ways to attract consumers, and policymakers will have to keep up with providers’ and consumers’ needs.

[1]One Year After Haiti’s Quake: Cholera Babies School Without Walls, ABC News, 12 January 2011. Retrieved 7 January 2012.

[2]“Haiti raises earthquake toll to 230,000”. AP. The Washington Post. 10 February 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2012.

[3]“Haiti will not die, President Rene Preval insists”. BBC News. 12 February 2010. Retrieved 7 February 2012.

[4]“Earthquake Magnifies Haiti’s Economic and Health Challenges”. Population Reference Bureau. October 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2012.

[5] “UNICEF urgently appeals for aid for Haiti following devastating earthquake”, UNICEF, 12 January 2010. Retrieved 7 January 2012.

[6]Dalberg Global Development Advisors is currently conducting analysis for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on the business case for, and operational learnings from, NGOs plugging into mobile money, forthcoming later this month.

January 18, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Credit Agricole Egypt moves closer to mobile banking

Egyptian bank Credit Agricole Egypt launched has announced on Tuesday it had launched new banking that would allow both customers and non-customers to pay bills without a CAE debit or credit card. Analysts believe this is one step closer to full-on mobile banking in the country.

Analysts believe this is one step closer to full-on mobile banking in the country (image: stock.xchng)

The move is seen as a step toward making banking easier for customers in Egypt, long fraught with difficulties and red tape.

“It’s a wonderful endeavour that will hopefully push the country into the realm of great possibilities and personally, I am getting to use it already because I want to try it out and see if it will be successful,” securities and trade expert for CI Capital Mohamed Naguib said.

The move is in cooperation with Fawry and makes CAE the first such bank in the country to off the service to both customers and non-customers, which allows people to pay bills using cash or other bank cards.

“I see it as a move toward better technology within the banking sector and could be a jumping point for other IT related banking initiatives in the country,” added Naguib.

Customers can now pay at their leisure and has launched a new website to enable customers to do so online.

“Bill payment represents a more efficient, fast and reliable method of payment by allowing consumers to instantly pay their bills anytime at their convenience through Crédit Agricole Egypt’s nationwide network of ATMs,” the company said in a statement.

Currently, the new bill payment service is offered to all mobile subscribers, as well as Egypt Telecom, TE Data, Linkdotnet, Air Arabia, the Food Bank and CIL insurance payments, the statement said.

“Crédit Agricole Egypt is the first bank to offer the cardless ATM bill payment option. This new service does not require the possession of a CAE debit card. Thus, with our bill payment service, no one will have to worry about unpaid bills no matter where they are,” said Jean-Francois Drion, managing director, Crédit Agricole Egypt, in the same statement.

Desmond Shephard

January 18, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Health, Mobile, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

‘Smart’ Use of Smartphones for Health Services: A Case of TB in Nigeria

Photo Credit: Leah Ekbladh

Using smartphones to collect tuberculosis (TB) data within the health sector of Nigeria has eliminated the use of printed forms; minimized human error in data entry; reduced the lag time of availability of data for policymakers and managers; and helped pinpoint ways to improve delivery of TB care, reported Leah Ekbladh.

Ekbladh, who is a Senior Associate at Abt Associates was giving a talk hosted by the Global Health Council on the topic “Quality TB Care: Using Smartphone Technology for Data-driven Improvements in Nigeria” as part of the Health Systems 20/20 presentation series on Tuesday January 10. Her talk focused on TB quality improvement activity in Nigeria, the Abt Associates’ approach to quality improvement (QI), the before and after picture of supportive supervision (SS) system, next steps, and lessons learned.

TB Situation in Nigeria and the Health System

According to Leah, with Nigeria ranking 10^th among the 22 high TB burden countries in the world, the country’s TB situation could be improved. Before the HS2020 and the National TB Program’s joint intervention, the TB supervision system was largely paper-based. Results of data collected from health facilities were not available immediately for feedback and quality improvement; each state had its own paper-based system with different design of the forms and different items; data were compiled quarterly at State levels; and data entry and analysis was time consuming and prone to a lot of human error.

With support through Health Systems 20/20, the USAID flagship project for strengthening health systems worldwide, the need to strengthen the Supportive Supervision (SS) system to improve performance and treatment outcomes with Nigeria’s health sector was identified. The activity by Abt Associates aimed to shift away from the long paper-based checklists that do not support timely QI at the health facilities, towards supervision that concentrates on performance of clinical tasks, resolution of problems experienced by the health workers, and increased feedback from supervisors.

Photo Credit: Leah Ekbladh

The Activity: The Role of Information and Communication Tools

The project believes that when the new information and communication technologies (ICTs) are smartly and strategically integrated into existing development processes, they can help streamline, transform and improve services. And with the strong in-country leadership support from Nigeria to explore new and innovative ways of improving quality through SS system, the activity took off smoothly with a pilot in 4 local government areas (LGA) in 4 states.

Tools Used: Beginning with what was available at the time, and also based on the usability of the features, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) were used in combination with Pendragon software to help in creating forms, connecting the forms to the users, distributing the forms, and uploading the forms to a database. After a year of piloting, it was realized that the market for the PALM PDAs was declining with the increasing use of smartphones in Nigeria. Also, EpiSurveyor software from Datadyne was recommended due to its ease of use and its ability to calculate and populate the forms for data collection.

Outputs

Rapid Results Indicators (RRI): RRI form was created with the most critical items that sum up the key elements that are needed for quality data collection, analysis, use and QI for supervision. This was done through repeated iteration resulting in a consolidated checklist that streamlines and integrates the numerous checklist that exists on the paper-based system. The checklist (RRI) loaded into the smartphones, are programmed to do automatic calculations of critical indicators by reducing human error.

Training and Capacity Building: Thirty (30) out of 50 supervisors have been trained on the use of the smartphone technologies and data managers are also trained on the use and improvement of the database. (It should be noted that these people are the existing public servants of the ministry of health in Nigeria). Six rounds of data collection have been done with one using smartphones and five with PDAs.

Database: Through the system, a web-based database to house the data collected and to more easily aggregate and report information to the national level has been developed and launched. The database provides online data aggregation for analysis and dissemination, and quality control system of the data including online government approval data being published and used.

When data is uploaded, supervisors gets notified or alerted for review either on their phone through SMS or email. Updates are communicated back to the officer for review and publication.

Impact of the Activity

With the pilot activity, supervisors have reported the ease of use of the tool in data collection as well as for review and editing of submitted data. Some reported a reduction of working hours from 3 hours with paper-based system to 30-45minutes with the smartphone technology. Supervisors have indicated that the system is enabling them to monitor and assess performance of the TB health delivery system, identify problems and opportunities, and many cases take immediate action for improvement. For example, the rate of drug stock-outs has significantly decreased, and external quality control is easily obtained for quality service with far less delay.

Photo Credit: Leah Ekbadh

Lessons Learned and Steps Forward

It was discovered that careful selection of technologies (information communication technologies) for international development activities is key for success; suitable technologies in combination with human resources (socio-technical) is critical; and steps must be taken to roll-out projects incrementally and then plan for scale-up.

In terms of scaling, a total coverage of Lagos and Abia is expected soon with the training of additional 50 supervisors and full integration of the database on schedule. The project also expects to leverage other funding sources to expand further and also involve the private sector in Nigeria.

Visit Abt Associates international health programs for more information on their activities and the Health Systems 20/20 presentation series site for information on the upcoming events and also access the audio recording of the talk.

January 17, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Mobile Money: the preferred channel for Haiti 2 years after the quake!

Photo Credit: USAID Impact blog

A new finding by Dalberg Global Development Advisors reveals that mobile money (MM) channel has emerged as the preferred alternative out of four major ICT solutions used in Haiti within the past two years after the 2010 earthquake.

The report “Plugging into Mobile Money Platforms: Early Experiences of NGOs in the Field” indicates that four electronic cash distribution solutions have emerged globally as alternative channels to physical delivery of cash to humanitarian victims. These are mobile money, electronic vouchers, prepaid cards, and smart cards.

The finding attests to the fact that the success of any of these four mechanisms of money transfer will often depend on the supporting environment. For example money transfers through pre-paid and smart cards work better when there exist a strong banking infrastructure and credit card networks. In the absence of this infrastructure such as the case in Haiti after the quake, the only two remaining options are physical cash delivery and mobile-based solutions.

The report continues that in Haiti, MM has emerged as the preferred alternative to physical delivery because of the rapid development of mobile telephony and the successful launch of MM. Haiti has completed more MM cash transfer programs than any other country, and to date, just under US $6 million in transfers has been disbursed to more than 24,000 beneficiaries via the MM channels of six NGO programs, the report said.

It will be recalled that Haiti was hit by a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 M_w earthquake, with the epicenter near the town of Léogâne, approximately 25 km (16 miles) west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital on Tuesday January 12 2010. The aftermath of this earthquake led to a massive relief and recovery efforts by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with global support from individuals, governments, foundations, international organizations and the United Nations.

In June 2010, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the USAID-funded project in Haiti, Integrated Finance for Value Chains and Enterprises (HIFIVE) announced the launch of the Haiti Mobile Money Initiative (HMMI) to stimulate the development of mobile money services in Haiti.

For the detailed report, visit here.

January 13, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Esoko: Partnership with MNOs for Ag. Mobile Service is a Challenge!

Photo Credit: Esoko

A Partner Director at Esoko, Laura Drewett says one of the challenges being faced by Esoko as a technology company in developing and deploying mobile services to rural communities, is partnering with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). Drewett was speaking at the January 06 2012 GBI TechTalk this time co-hosted by the USAID’s Fostering Agriculture Competitiveness Employing Information Communication Technologies (FACET) project.

She argued that negotiations with MNOs for partnership to provide services to rural communities could take years. Laura who manages Esoko’s international operations, partner deployments, and franchises mentioned other challenges as low literacy among users, and Ghana’s “theory-based” educational system which calls for further investment in training local developers from the country’s higher education institutions.

Background of Esoko

Giving the background to the company, the partner director stated that Esoko started out as Tradenet with merely 2 staff members in a tiny room by collecting price information on mobiles and disseminating but currently occupies 4 levels in one of the expensive buildings in Accra with over 65 software developers who are mostly Ghanaian. The company is now in 16 countries (will be 20 this year), deployed under a franchise arrangement in all but Ghana.

Photo Credit: Esoko

Why Esoko?

Laura says farmers lack prices, traders need transport and new contacts, projects and governments need a better way to reach out to people, businesses lack real-time updates on their stock and the value of their harvests. Esoko is a communication platform using web and SMS that helps link all of these actors and allows them to exchange information affordably and quickly. Esoko provides a range of applications that both push updates out to the field, and, more importantly, pull data in from the field. Being better informed helps everyone along the value chain and can play a vital role to improve how markets operate. The market information system by Esoko is country driven.

Services

As a mobile service managed through the web with no required special hardware or software for the client, Esoko provides SMS messaging, SMS price alerts, SMS bids and offers, SMS polls, SME websites, Maps, Upload via SMS/web and inventory reporting. The company offers training supports for the use of technologies, and business model and franchising.

Esoko has a subscription model covering four key target groups. Bronze subscription for individual farmers, researchers and traders; silver for small businesses and exporters; gold for farmer groups, medium size businesses and small NGOs; and platinum for large businesses, NGO, governments, etc. and provides business strategy and financial models that will help you design your business and reach profitability.

These subscriptions are mostly paid for by the partners on behalf of their users (farmers) even though some individual farmers and traders are also paying for the services.

Does it Work?

Photo Credit: Esoko

Sharing some of the success stories of the users of the platform, Drewett stated that even though they don’t have “statistical” evidence based results the impact of their service on farmers, studies carried by the company and another independent study show that farmers are benefiting from the use of the service. One social impact of the service reported by a farmer in Ghana is that as a result of the Esoko service, there is peace in their marriage. This is because the husband is able to monitor the price at the market and estimate the revenue of their produce even before the wife goes to the market.

Questions and concerns from the participants included the extension of their MIS service to provision of production information for farmers; the extent to which such detailed information can be transmitted through text; issues of privacy of data for farmers; the company’s view on the role of commodity exchange platforms such Ethiopian Commodity Exchange for MIS, among others.

The next GBI TECHTalk will be Jan 25 at noon, and will focus on working with MNOs. Visit GBITechTalks.eventbrite.com to find out more and register!

January 12, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Mobile, Mobile Money, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Nigeria’s Central Bank to issue more mobile money licenses

Nigeria’s Central Bank announced it would issue more mobile money licenses in an effort to streamline the process and deliver more options to Nigerians.

Nigeria’s Central Bank announced it would issue more mobile money license (image: BBC)

The Deputy Director of Domestic Payment Division of the Central Bank of Nigeria Emmanual Obaigbona, said that the move is to assist banks in their ability to move the program forward, which officially began on 1 January.

Obaigbona added in a statement that the aim is to broaden the overall participation in mobile money system, in general, and the cash-less policy in particular.

He added that “the apex bank has already licensed 11 mobile operators who successfully passed the pilot studies conducted for them last year.

“The 11 licensed operators are not the end of the list. The CBN intends to license more operators to meet the set standards for operating mobile money services in the country,” Obaigbona said.

He continued to say that the apex bank’s decision to issue the mobile money license “was to reduce the unbanked population to the barest minimum and subsequently develop the economy.”

Still the move has many analysts worried that it could create too many restrictions in the country, especially after the central bank barred telecom operators from promoting any specific mobile money product.

“I am a bit concerned that this will open the market up too wide and destroy companies and peoples’ ability to understand what they are participating in right now,” said Asamoa Hiran, a telecom and banking specialist in Lagos.

He told IT News Africa that there is “too much confusion right now to really understand what is going on, so we are all waiting to see what the future will hold.”

The launch of mobile money banking hopes to move Nigeria, which has the largest population not using banks, into the financial system.

David Eto

January 12, 2012/by actualize

Agriculture, Agriculture Markets, Extension Service, Originally posted on the GBI Portal

Fasal: A Free SMS Service to Boost Farmers’ Income

Photo Credit: Intuit Fasal

Over 500 000 rural farmers in India can now access free daily market information and weather services on their cell phones with the help of Intuit Fasal platform, an SMS based mobile service.

Fasal begun as an experiment after it was recognized that rural farmers in Karnataka, India lack price information in relevant multiple markets; have issues with price transparency in markets; and also lack knowledge of potential buyers of their farm produce.

After a period of interaction between some company executives and the farmers in their rural setting, it was identified that the above challenges lead to information gaps that have a huge impact on the livelihood of the farmers and their families who often look at existing means of livelihood as one that does not provide sufficient returns.

The opportunity to provide a service where actionable information on price, potential buyer, weather, etc. would be invaluable to farming communities while also helping bridge the gap for large organizations to reach out with relevant offerings and advisory services in India was irresistible and therein was born Fasal.

Fasal has a single objective of helping farmers make more money or save more money! And this is being achieved through a business model that ensures that Fasal is a free for the farmer while companies providing household items to these rural communities, consumer durables, automotive equipments, agriculture implement and inputs, financial service, consumer goods, and other advertisers are rather charged for the service.

How it Works

Step One: A farmer calls toll free number in their respective local languages to register for Fasal. The farmer is then profiled by the staffs of Fasal based on information such as the commodity s/he grows, current crop season, land size under cultivation, etc. The farmer’s profile is then mapped to the markets that s/he visits to sell his or her produce.

Step Two: Based on this highly personalized information of each farmer, regular market and weather information are sent in their preferred local language at a time that it is most actionable. Additional relevant messaging is also sent on the basis of farmers’ profile such as use of irrigation facilities or ownership of farm equipments, etc.

Step Three: Using a complex and patented matching algorithms, Fasal service connects farmers to potential buyers/agents/institutions who would like to connect directly with farmers and make a purchase – creating an engaged and busy marketplace. The service using complex matching algorithms ensures that the multiple service messages reach the farmer every day, providing him/her data so that s/he can make informed decisions.

Impact

Even though the service is still at its infancy, its social and economic impact on the rural communities is being closely monitored, including the use of independent third-party research. According to Fasal, the vast majority of Fasal customers in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat found the service useful and it is helping them earn an average of 20% more with the service.

For more information, visit Fasal site and also read this interesting article about the innovation.

January 10, 2012/by actualize