We would be missing the full significance of ICTs if we do not see them as an integral part in the efforts to improve the everyday life of rural folk in Kenya. Mobile technology being the key mode of communication in the country has contributed greatly to local youth livelihoods. Using mobile phones, the youth have able to access knowledge and information which are vital aspects for improving agricultural development by increasing agricultural yields and marketing.

With accessibility of mobile phone networks throughout the country, services such as Safaricom’s mobile money transfer (M-Pesa), mobile money banking (M Kesho) and information on agricultural produce markets have created job opportunities for the youth as the number of agents increase.

Kamau a young Kenyan in his late twenties from a farming community in Nakuru who approached Equity Bank in 2007 for a loan to set up an M-Pesa shop is an example. As well as farmers and traders were enabled to deposit or withdraw money using their mobile phones, Kamau was able to pay back his start-up loan in just six instalments. “This is to bring financial services to a place where people lack them” he explains.

By simplifying money access, members of the community have more money at their disposal and therefore are more likely to spend it locally. The service has also enabled farmers and traders to purchase inputs and make orders with their suppliers without having to travel into town. The savings made on transport costs enable them to acquire more stock, which means that the entire community benefits from more goods being available locally.

Kamau’s business has also benefitted from transactions made by the farm owners residing in a nearby Nakuru town, who do not have to commute to the village to pay their casual labourers. These farm owners are also able to pay their faming supervisors for land preparation and purchase of fertilisers and seeds.

In 2008, the entire region of Nakuru experienced a severe drought, which led to widespread crop failure, and Kamau noticed an increased flow of money through his business due to remittances from relatives in urban areas. “This service has strengthened friendships and social interactions in the community,” Kamau says. “Moreover, this has greatly contributed to the success of my business. This means that the entire community benefits from the goods available.”

With the revenue generated by his M-Pesa business, Kamau has diversified into farming, now leasing 20 acres of land. He also receives information about husbandry practices from the Organic Farmer e-bulletin, published by the International Centre for Insects, Pests and Ecology (ICIPE), through his data-enabled mobile phone, helping him to grow maize, beans and potatoes.

The subscribed SMS-based ‘411 Get It’ alerts service, a joint venture between Safaricom and the Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE), also provides Kamau with information on agricultural produce and market prices, enabling him to identify favourable markets and cut out middle men. With the profits from his farm, Kamau opened an M-Kesho business, allowing community members to make deposits from their M-Pesa accounts into an Equity Bank account where they earn interest. “This is an incentive for rural youths to engage in farming,” Kamau adds.

During the planting and weeding season, Kamau’s operating capital is reduced as his customers increase their M-Pesa withdrawals. To counter this problem, Kamau took out another loan from Equity Bank to purchase a motorcycle so that he could travel to Nakuru town quickly to top up his M-Pesa account. As a result, he has a steady flow of cash in order to facilitate local business transactions.

Regardless of an increasing range of information services available through the internet, literacy remains a stumbling block for many people because these services are only supplied in official languages. The technologies therefore need to be adapted in such a way as to be accessible in a variety of local dialects to help farmers have easy access to modern farming information and technologies, especially to battle hunger despite dry spells. Access to ICT services would also help to foster local skill building and knowledge sharing between rural communities.

Kamau’s experiences and business understanding clearly show the important linkages and synergies that exist between the development of ICTs and information sharing that can support the livelihoods of a large cross-section of youth and other members of communities for agricultural and rural development.

By Chris Mwangi – I am affiliated to Agriculture, Rural and Youth in the Information society (CTA-ARDYIS Project). Its function is to raise youth awareness and capacity on agricultural and rural development issues in ACP countries through ICTs