Question 1 for discussion Monday 17 Nov.

Based on my observation here in Benguet (Philippines), the use of mobile telephony in farm areas is very useful interms of communicating market price of various crops being sold in the trading post. It helps the farmers in naming a very competitive price for their crops. Another advantage of mobile telephony between the [url=http://www.bsu.edu.ph]Benguet State University[/url] radio program, BSU on-the-air and the farmers is the exchange of Q & A about farming techniques.

Mobile Telephony is also used here in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines for various agri-based applications: 1. Monitoring of agri products (volume, price, producers/channels/buyers, location, schedule) 2. Info gathering on agri inputs (seedlings, etc), supplies, machinery, etc. 3. Consultations with domain experts (about rice, corn, vegetables, fruit trees, pests and diseases, etc.) 4. 3G, video calling, and speaker phone features, built-in cameras are used to capture real situations(pests and diseases) and sent top experts for appropriate action and advice

In my opinion, what can really facilitate rural farmers in e-Agriculture is voice SMS in local language, giving them daily updates of local weather, crop information, DOs and DON'Ts in various farming methods and techniques, aggregation of buying and selling, market trends and prices, local success and failure stories told in first person by the person concerned, etc.

Mobile Telephony is also used here in Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines for various agri-based applications: 1. Monitoring of agri products (volume, price, producers/channels/buyers, location, schedule) 2. Info gathering on agri inputs (seedlings, etc), supplies, machinery, etc. 3. Consultations with domain experts (about rice, corn, vegetables, fruit trees, pests and diseases, etc.) 4. 3G, video calling, and speaker phone features, built-in cameras are used to capture real situations (pests and diseases) and sent to experts for appropriate action and advice

Mobile Telephony is currently the preferred mode of communication of our clients to get quick information particularly on our elearning courses as part of our eExtension Program for Agriculture and Fisheries. They also know that they can easily get technical assistance directly from our experts especially when they are in field work wherever they may be, and have no internet access at that time.

Could someone please tell us about the monetary aspects and implementation methodology of their existing programs i.e. - who implemented the program? - do farmers purchase the equipment from their own resources and is this done individually or as a group? - is there any subsidy? - is there an initial training program and is this conducted by the private or public sector? - is the program commercially oriented and sustainable? - has any impact assessment been carried out from a development point of view?

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (SAMETI) is in collaboration with C-DAC (Govt. of India) and providing Daily Dynamic Market Information on major vegetables, flowers, fruits from seven major markets in South India (www.tnau.ac.in). We are exploring to add text based SMS in local languages on commodity and prices details and also VOICE based SMS to help the illiterates. Further, as I believe mobile phone farm technology delivery has immense scope on Weather based information and farm advises Sharing farmers needs to the scientist for technology development Availability of inputs and its cost / unit Mobile FAQ and clarification Toll free mobile services for farm subsidies and schemes with kind regards anandaraja e-Extension centre TNAU, Coimbatore, India

Hello, The [url=http://www.grameenfoundation.org/what_we_do/technology_programs/applica… Technology Center[/url]'s [url=www.applab.org]AppLab[/url] has facilitated the creation of a weather application and an agricultural tips application for use by rural Ugandans. Both are SMS-based. Some of the principles we believe will lead to success: * Learning specific users' needs: before building applications, we conducted [url=http://www.grameenfoundation.applab.org/section/needs-assessment]needs assessment[/url] (thanks in part to one of our moderators, Nigel Scott from Gamos) and [url=http://www.grameenfoundation.applab.org/section/ethnographic-research]e…] research as well as a [url=http://www.grameenfoundation.applab.org/section/high-end-device-trial-w… device trial[/url]. We hope others can learn from our findings. * Creating strong partnerships: partnering with telecommunications companies, government entities, engineering firms and local NGOs increases buy-in and sustainability. Our applications have been built in partnership with MTN, [url=http://www.brosdi.or.ug/]BROSDI[/url] and the Ugandan Department of Meteorology, among others. * Building off existing technology: our applications are designed primarily to add value to the services provided by [url=http://www.grameenfoundation.org/what_we_do/technology_programs/village… Phone Operators[/url]. By leveraging existing human networks and cellphones already in people's hands, impact can quickly be reached. * Providing local content in local languages: local partners are critical for this piece. * Providing ample training and marketing: we create color comics in local languages to describe the use of our applications. People won't use services they are unaware of or uncomfortable with. Khalid Khan raised a number of excellent questions which I hope have been somewhat answered for our project. We rely on existing Village Phone infrastructure, so the operators already have their phones. They charge users for accessing the services, making them sustainable. We are currently in a mature pilot stage and have so far provided direct training for all operators actively using the services. That being said, we will eventually publicize the shortcodes for general access. Please let me know if I can answer any questions about these specific projects. You can try a demo on [url=www.applab.org]our website[/url]. Héléne Martin [email protected]

In Uganda the Agric sector is comprised of illiterate, semi illiterate and literate people. Mobile technology is widely used by everybody that can afford a handset. Product Prices: Due to price fluctuations in agricultural products,mobile telephone service have been so useful to farmers, they can easily find out the current prices on the market which has reduced exploitation of farmers by business people. Exposure: Mobile technology has made it easy for farmers to get in touch with the market and the business world and viseversa. However, there is less mechanisation in Agriculture in Uganda besides being the leading revenue earner for the country.

Sheryl, thanks for starting off this discussion. You bring up 2 interesting examples, one of market price information and another on extension type services via mobile phone. Can you tell us a bit more about who's involved in initiating and sustaining these activities?

Hi Kris. These would indeed seem to be very useful types of information. Can you tell us more about who might be responsible for providing this information from existing examples? Who would farmers trust as information sources? Who drives the specific information demand?

In Uganda the Agric sector is comprised of illiterate, semi illiterate and literate people. Mobile technology is widely used by everybody that can afford a handset. Product Prices: Due to price fluctuations in agricultural products,mobile telephone service have been so useful to farmers, they can easily find out the current prices on the market which has reduced exploitation of farmers by business people. Exposure: Mobile technology has made it easy for farmers to get in touch with the market and the business world and viseversa. However, there is less mechanisation in Agriculture in Uganda besides being the leading revenue earner for the country.[/quote]

Hi Pam, Extension and technical advice are important factors in rural livelihoods. Can you tell us more about your services? Your organization and the people who are receiving the information? How actually are they using mobile telephones, what format of information is exchanged? Thanks for sharing! Michael (FAO)

Is literacy a prerequisite for mobile telephony utilization?

Most usage of mobile telephony in rural area in Israel is the same as for all other sectors, i.e. for verbal communication. Because internet connections are available and commonly used by the agricultural sector, then very little, if at all, is for data transfer. As I described in my introductory remark, we have tried to take the cellular system a bit further and to use the devise as a data-logger with optional two-way communication. We have implemented cellular data collection for pest scouts, and counting dates fruit (which is part of the growing protocol). The recognition of the farmers on the need to maintain information was part of the shift in global marketing towards maintaining traceability. Nowadays, when discussing the issues with farmers, they understand and even raise the need for data collection and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) in situ. For example, when visiting a green house, the farmer needs to write notes, schedule activities, such as spraying, while being able to see previous activities in that plot, what chemicals could he spray etc. Our model to implement cellular data collection and dissemination include the clients that are: farmers, organizations, and contract workers; data maintenance services; and support. The user will buy his/her own cellular units and will pay for the data services. We need to remember that because cellular phones are so common, we actually not paying for the unit because we already have it, and if necessary all we have to do is replace the unit we are using with a different one. The quality of service for mobiles is such that we practically using a unit that will not fail. Amots Hetzroni <[email protected]>

Dear Michael It is really great to find you at this virtual platform with a new agenda. With reference to your very relevant question, I submit herewith a few examples, tata chemical ltd, a leading corporate house in India has started smart krishi initiative where throgh mobile SMS thay will be delivering the following information to farmers: Commdity arrivals at mandis Commodity prices at mandis weather information Another new initiative called Dr. SMS has been set up in ditrict khozikode of Kerala state, where through mobile SMS, the people living in rural areas are delivered services related to health such names of doctors. hospitals, facilities such as emergency vans/ventilators etc. by calling a special no. and by return SMS , they will get to know the information on health services in their vicinity. This is an example of very specific and custyomised type of service in this field But in my view, these services should not be limited to only agriculture related information rather than be extended to medical and education services, as in one of my study, it has been found that rural people are devoid of the information on these two aspects regards

Hi Jimmy, This sounds fascinating. I am really interested to learn more about use of mobile telephony for services related to agricultural production. Most of the experiences I am aware of focus on market information so I would be really interested to know more about your experiences. One of the key challenges that we face in the research into use programme is identifying mechanisms to capture demand for services and your applications interest me as they address various stages in the agricultural supply chain. I look forward to hearing back from you Louise

Dear all I think there are some critical success factors for the success of mobile telephony projects in rural areas. cost effctive technologies and solutions Networking among all stakeholders as well as govt. institutions providing timely and relevant information training and capacity building of all involved Building telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas

I would be very interested to hear any accounts of mobile phone applications that are successful in rural Kenya. We hear much about how mobile services are very developed in Kenya but that did not necessarily tie with what we have found in 2 rural communities. We are working with 2 communities in different rural areas in Kenya and we found that nearly all use of phone was for calls (virtually no SMS). In the farming communities we met phones did not seem to be being used very much to find out about market prices though certainly the middle men were using phones. Phones were being used sometimes to arrange pick up points and time for transportation. The safaricom "SMS Sokoni" service, which provides daily agricultural commodity prices by text did not appear to be in use by these farmers. Obviously, these are rather subjective impressions and quite probably not generally true. Does anyone have good information about who in rural areas is using SMS services in Kenya, where and what for?

Dear All, Like Brenda refer in Africa. One of the main issues are related with network coverage. Most of the rural areas are not with the disarable network connection. Even in a smal country like Portugal, some parts of the rural areas have lack of network connection Jorge Maia

My observation here in Ghana is that people in the rural areas use mobile phones to access and/or disseminate agricultural information. The TradeNet platform for instance (developed by busylab) has helped farmers to display prices of their agric products online and can be accessed using the mobile phone, so that you a text message away from finding competitive prices for farm products you may want to buy. Generally, the mobile phone has improved communication for farmers and other professionals in the rural areas and means increased business activity.

:) [color]I feel mobile phone alone may not be an effective tool for achieving success in the transfer of agricultural technologies.Other conventional and novel tools must be integrated for a holistic development.Before assessing the success factors,we should have identified the parameters or aspects of development of rural areas or agricultural domains. In this context,I think that the use of mobile phones help the of agriculture in the urban areas too.So,exclusion of urban area from the conference agenda may be a partial exercise.I propse the organizers to consider my point sympathetically. Best Regards, Zainul[/color]

Charles, can you tell us more about the [url=http://www.tradenet.biz]TradeNet[/url] service? Do you have a direct experience using it? How does it work? Is the dissemination of data so useful for people to decide where to go to sell their products?

Helene, I really think that Labs are fundamental to sustain the future development of mobile telephony. Are you thinking about distributing your applications using commercial platforms like the [url=http://www.apple.com/iphone/appstore/]Apple store[/url] on iTunes, the [url=http://www.android.com/market/]android market[/url] or the future symbian store?

Jimmy, You mentioned the use of 3G phones for getting expert advice. Are the users and experts limited by the amount of text related data that can be effectively transmitted over a phone? By that I mean, you can take a picture of a pest and get it identified easily by phone. The recommendations for control measures may be a several page publication, however. Any experience with that? Mark

Jimmy, You mention use of 3G data speed to send information to experts for diagnosis and advice. That seems to be a good approach for diagnosis of a pest, for example, but then the follow-up on recommendations for pest control may be several pages long. Any experience with that and how the follow-up goes when longer textual information is required? Thanks Mark

This is a question for Mr. Jawahar Kanjilal of Nokia. Thank you for participating in this forum. I am a student in international business and economic development at The Fletcher School, Tufts University. I am very curious about the Nokia Life Tools applications that you are piloting in India. I believe this is the first attempt by a hardware manufacturer to package applications targeted to low-income rural users and the potential is extremely exciting. I would love to hear more specifically about how the services are accessed (SIM toolkit, Java app requiring data connection?) and what the cost are to the end user besides the initial hardware purchase. Also, how do you see this service expanding? It seems like many exciting content partnerships could be integrated, both for market pricing and for education.

Hello, I teach at one of our public universities in Uganda, but I am also an active livestock farmer and a vet. In my home village and environs, the subsistence farmers have used the mobile telephone mainly to call in the vet in case of an emergency, including requests for Artificial Breeding (AI) services if available, and for routine veterinary visits. This has made provision of veterinary services much more efficient than before the mobile phone came on stage (before the mobile phone era, the farmer would have to physically reach the vet's office/home to report a case, or request for any other service, a process resulting in delay of getting the necessary services!!). By calling the vet while he is in the field, for example, allows the vet to make immediate changes in his previous programme, by attending to a new case in the same village as the one he had planned to visit before the call, thus preventing the vet from making a trip to the same area two times (or more), thus saving resources (in terms of fuel, for example), and the sick animal getting quick attention, among other advantages. In addition, some times it possible to provide professional advice to the farmer via the mobile phone, hence saving a lot of time and probably resources.

Contrary to what we theorize the evidence of farmers actually using mobile phone based applications in agriculture is still not there in any significant way. Yes, there are many good projects [lots of pilots] but there aren't so many large sustainable programs. I grant that with increasing levels of affordable access it will change and become possible to walk the talk. We, at LIRNEasia recently looked at the information search [transaction] costs of a selected group of small holder vegetable farmers in Sri Lanka from the point of deciding to grow to selling at the wholesale market and found it was as high as 11% of the total production cost. Some of these findings are at http://lirneasia.net/projects/2006-07/icts-transaction-costs-traceabili… We also found that the use of mobile phones for obtaining necessary agriculture related information among this group was very low, thus creating a significant opportunity to create mobile-phone based e-agriculture applications. If we are to succeed, we must not try to replicate the e-agriculture services we attempted to provide over the kiosks and telecentres [unsuccessful for the most part] over mobile phones. Farmers do need information, and that information is usually available, but if the manner in which it is disseminated is complicated, the farmers won't bother to obtain that information and continue to make decisions without that information or obtain that information the traditional way at a significant cost. So we have to understand what specific information they need, when they need it, how much they are willing to pay for it and so on. Request-driven models, in my view, might better reflect the incentive-cost structure than the case where information gets pushed to the farmer periodically. But then again, the Jensen case does not have any mobile-based application. All that happened was that the fishermen were able to communicate with the traders on shore to determine prices. There were no applications; there were no fancy model, only the opportunity to communicate between the boat and the shore. PS. mike glad you liked the scoping study :wink:

We have been looking at use of mobile telephones in conjunction with rural and community radio for a while now and keeping a log with some ideas and examples at [url]http://comunica.org/radio2.0/[/url] One of the more interesting posts is about the use of SMS by rural and community radio stations. At first glance SMS text messages would seem like a natural for inclusion in a community radio station's essential toolkit. SMS messages are inexpensive and easy-to-use and in recent years the mobile phones that are needed for sending and receiving them have become ubiquitous. However, a survey of recent projects indicates that use of SMS messages among community media in the developing world is still at an early stage. In most stations SMS use is informal. The few cases identified of community stations making more complex use of SMS messages have accompanied political crises or natural disasters and have inevitably been donor financed. There are few, if any, experiences of complex uses of SMS by community media without external funding and technical support, even though the financial and technical resources required are minimal. More at [url]http://comunica.org/radio2.0/archives/87[/url] In the next few weeks a research project that AMARC and ALER are cooperating on will be starting two "laboratories" at rural stations in Venezuela and Argentina. In Venezuela the emphasis will be on use of the internet, but the Argentinian project will focus on innovative mobile telephone use by the rural radio station and the community to encourage community participation, experiment with new ways of information dissemination and to improve internal organisation of the station itself.

Hi everyone, I may be a bit biased, considering I am working at Farm Radio International, but my experience shows that mobile phones may be a perfect way to tie into already viable and solidified forms of technology. People often see ICT's as being new cutting edge devices such as using 3G networks and Telecentres. However, the reality is that in many rural areas living on the edge of subsistence, mobile phones may have poor or non-existent signals (although this is changing rapidly) and perhaps even more likely, the cost to operate a phone in this context is simply too expensive. Farmers value communication but often see voice calls (using valuable minutes) as too cost prohibitive. SMS is clearly a great alternative but even that has drawbacks given its text-based format (targeting only those that are literate. We have been exploring ways that radio (a form of ICT that is by far the most wide-spread at least in Sub-Saharan Africa) can link with mobile phones. Imagine a farmer listening to a rural radio program then sending questions and input through their mobile phone. This could be done through a "call back" number where the farmer calls a number, hangs up, then the number calls them back (therefore zero cost to the farmer) It could be from the radio station offering farming information through an automated system. I could go on and on.... Anyway, what I see mobile phones as right now is a bridging technology between existing and time-proven technologies such as radio. What does everyone else think? Mark Leclair (Farm Radio International, Ottawa Canada)

Dear Dr Abedin, I would agree that there is no one tool that is sufficient in isolation for successful transfer of all the types of information needed in rural areas. Further your point that the benefits and challenges of any tool, including mobile phones, may be different in rural vs. urban areas is understood. The e-Agriculture community does focus on issues around the use of ICT in rural livelihoods, and the we intend the discussions of this forum to focus on rural areas as the title "Mobile Telephony in Rural Areas" implies. That said I think we cannot eliminate reference to urban areas 100% in the discussion - if for no other reason than much of the agricultural produce of rural areas is bound for retail markets/consumption in urban areas. Wouldn't you agree? Michael (FAO)

[quote=Khalid Khan]Could someone please tell us about the monetary aspects and implementation methodology of their existing programs i.e. - who implemented the program? - do farmers purchase the equipment from their own resources and is this done individually or as a group? - is there any subsidy? - is there an initial training program and is this conducted by the private or public sector? - is the program commercially oriented and sustainable? - has any impact assessment been carried out from a development point of view?[/quote] Khalid, when we run the [url=http://www.syngentafoundation.org/projects_programs_ficom.htm]FICOM project[/url] in Uganda, we tackled the equipment ownership by introducing them as a business opportunity. The MTN Village Phones that were essential for facilitating farmer access to information and the markets were preceded by basic business training to enable them survive as viable businesses. This led to more phone ownership by local farmer groups and individuals who saw pockets of opportunity for spreading the technology locally.

Hello all, Harsha, great points about using existing technology and not over-complicating the process. This is why [url=www.applab.org]AppLab[/url] has chosen to distribute information over pure SMS (no fancy frontend or anything at all). The magic is on the backend which has both relevant content (as determined by the local communities) and highly effective search abilities. Systems like [url=http://www.lifelines-india.net/]LifeLines[/url], [url=http://aaqua.persistent.co.in/aaqua/forum/index]aAquaa[/url] or [url=http://www.digitalgreen.org/]DigitalGreen[/url] all demonstrate that fairly simple, readily available technology is sufficient if the right content is being provided. So to answer your question, Luca, our applications don't need distribution since they really amount to sending appropriate queries to specific shortcodes. Héléne Martin [email protected]

I think this project by Farm Africa is a well thought out example of how mobile phones can support rural livelihoods. In this case they describe[url=http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/documents/212.PDF] the role of telephony in delivering community-based decentralised animal health services in Mwingi and Kitui Districts, Kenya[/url]. Mobile phones are used to link key participants in a community based decentralized animal health system. I know of this from a very convincing presentation. I do not know about how this activity is actually working now in practice now but would be very interested to hear more if anyone else does know.

Pam Is it possible for you to provide more details about the eExtension programme. How is it orgainsed eg via private or government. Who determines content, Do farmers sign up to exchange information, Is there a central processing point etc. In Trinidad and Tobago we are interested in establishing a similar programme. Can you provide a link to more information Pauline

The mobile phone has indeed evolved dramatically, and is expected to continue morphing into "a device that has it all". We see technological improvements in mobile phones happen at a very fast pace, finding their way in many new models that surface in the market for the buyers' delight. Of course, the manufacturers and sellers are delighted too :-). The sad part is :-(, the potential socio-economic impact that the technology can bring to the communities (especially those in the underdeveloped and developing countries) is not tapped to the fullest, or maybe just 50% of it. Users are more pre-occupied with the gadgets and technological enhancements, and not so much with the productive uses of those enhancements for poor communities. The companies that profit most from these products should be encouraged to invest more of their money to community centers, like telecentres, that make use of ICT and collaborate with ICT users as well for community development. With that, we might be able to see an increase in the annual economic growth rate in underdeveloped and developing countries that is much more dramatic than the 1.2 percentage points mentioned in the study of the Deloitte Consulting Firm.

[u]Bridging the Digital Divide[/u] http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/09/robert.conway/

Hello All, I work at the NAtional Agricultural Research Organisation - NARO in the Directorate of Quality Assurance in charge of MIS. I also teach at Nkumba University in the department of Computing and Information Technology. In addition to what Grace said, farmers in Uganda - that that are literate, use mobile phones to find out market prices of agricultural produce so that they can decide where to sell. Those who do not know how to read and write at least have been taught what to do to make a call (cram work). They can call for veterinary services. Those who are very literate and posses Internet-ready mobile phones, access Internet for various agricultural related information. But certainly a lot is desired. For the rural people to use the technology well, it is recommended that better applications are developed for example video and audio.

Helene, you and I are on the same page. I am not attempting to underestimate the intellectual capabilities of rural farmers, but the fact is to make a farmer start using e-enabled information services, we must ensure that the process is gradual. We may not be able to reduce his transaction costs by a significant amount at the start with only sms, but that would be the start.

[u][color][color]Attention: My views are specific to Northeast India only[/color][/color][/u] I am not aware of any systemic research to asess characteristics and success factors in use of mobile telephony in rural areas, particularly in Northeast India. However, some visible impact can be observed in other developed agriculture belts within India where systemic exchange of information in regards of agriulture commudities are done to the benefit of rural agricultural farmers. I am also not aware of any specific process of use of mobile telephony in exchange of information related rural agriculture apart from the process that is used by the conventional mobile telephone service providers. People usually do exchange informations conventionally which includes information related to agriculture marketing, queries related to management problems etc which is not of much general impact specific to rural agriculural communities. Community Information Centres in most part of the region could not make much impact to the benefit of the rural farmers. This is largely attributed to lack awareness amongst the rural farmers, effective management of data / information source, information management at the centres, systemic dissemination of the information etc. Factors that would have been much of benefit to the rural farming communties includes general awareness on the information that the rural farmers can access through mobile telephony and benefit thereof, educating on the use and access of information, development of need based systems in different places, data / information back up system etc which requires active participation of the state as well as other stakeholder also. Factors that needs to be avoid is information overloading, passing off of mis-information and prevent the vulnerable rural communities from exploitation from service providers. In my opinion, mobile telephony is the best tool to bridge the rural digital divide in this part of the world which will help in globalization process too.

There are three important factors which need to be taken in to consideration for defining an appropriate strategy for m-agriextension in rural areas.The factors are the project should address to the small and marginal farmers,it should be demand driven not supply driven and it should respect the soverignty of agri knowledge of the local region.A farmer will use this services provided it has the ability to mitigate the risk which they are facing in agriculture.Just information will not help and escorting the farmer to use that information to their advantage is the critical factor for the success.We are piloting some innovative sustainable model under eKutir banner in India using the ICT platform which is bringing some success .

Hello! Everybody! I am Dr P S Janaki Krishna, working as an Associate Professor (Biotechnology) in Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad, India. With regard to 'Mobile Telephony in Rural Areas', in India, it's slowly picking up. When the mobile was introduced in India in the beginning it was considered as a gadget for elite. However, that was proved wrong as it offers advantages even to a common man. As the common man is the real judge it has revolutionized the entire communication sector. With telecom operators strengthening rural focus, low cost handsets will play a major role. "Emerging Rural Mobile Market in India" shows that mobile industry players are eyeing rural India as their new area of opportunity. The companies are encouraged by the fact that mobile users are expected to cross 230 million by 2007 end and 500 million by 2010. Rural areas are expected to drive the next wave of telecom growth in the country, and they have a potential of adding at least 150 million new subscribers, says the report (PR Log). In India, there have been efforts by institutions such as Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, the World Bank, private organizations and individuals, to start up IT networks, which can help buyers and sellers (in retail businesses and elsewhere) to trade online, agri-goods and commodities. Such efforts also help in accessing information related to product quality, the place where it is grown and other useful information. While introducing mobile network in rural areas we should address the issues of accessibility, affordability, connectivity, feasibility, security and relaibility. The multipurpose mobile, locally made in local languages that are cost effective with preloaded agriinformation in local languages with day to day market information updation will improve agriculture in rural areas. Regards, janaki

We are a seed company in India, we are using for monitoring the crop performance and for suggesting/ delivering instant solutions to the farmer through Mobile telephony. Thanks Jayaveer rao sankinani

Hi Jimmy, you are using mobile telephony in highly productive manner. Mobile Telephony application in capturing a real time situation and delivering to the expert for advise is great. Keep it up. Regards, Jayaveer Rao Sankinani

There could be four main areas of focus for mobile telaphony like mobile entertainment, mobile commerce, wireless business solutions and rural applications. The first set of rural applications may include mobile pay phones, mobile reporter for data collection, wholesale rate updates to obviate the role of middlemen in rural commerce, SMS printers as an alternative to telegrams and public information display boards. The other potential areas include real time weather information, agriconsulting, and real time crop prices.

Dear all, I am very curious about figures, metrics, numbers, parameters otherwise the discussion appears to be very generic. When we speak of village what do we intend? How many inhabitants? 20, 100, 1000, 10.000? I also suggest to avoid moralistic considerations like "business people exploit farmers" we all know that economic mechanism are cruel. If we go moral, then everybody who sells anything is in the loop and is culpable. If all the farmers were able to skip intermediaries, the latter should find another job. Also farmers are concurrent between each other.... one remark, I buy hay from my neighbourgh, to find out the market price (to charge) he goes to the closest village and talks to other peasant that hang around the bar in the main square of the village making htere their business. I am located 25 km from Torino (the hometown of Fiat cars, a high tech pole in northern Italy).

Regarding risks, I have some local experience here in Italy, Here farmers have insurances so if the season is not good they do not deploy much efforts to save crops and prefer to cash in insurance money. They are not very much concerned about weather forecasts because of this. So the concept of what is a risk should be evaluated in the wider frame.

hi Charles Do you have any metrics about tradenet: number of users statistic of use (number of call sms a day) etc? which kind of rural area covers? is it exploited also for personal non trade related communication??

trading online looks appealing to sell products but it could be not sustainable in rural areas unless they have cheap regular mail service. OCCAM explored the possibilities of helping local rural population to sell online their artisanal products in an ict VILLAGE in Madagascar (with sateliite wideband connection and community telcentre) but it was not sustainable as a business model because of lack of shipping service and because of costs (inlcuding reaching the nearest post office