Hi there! I'm Thomas Norrby, based in Uppsala, Sweden, currently working on a SPIDER-project on ICT in agricultural extension in Rwanda. Following this on-line forum with keen interest!

Hi there! From a swedish perspective thre have been many different trials of applications through the years, but a (from a user perspective) functional e-market acceccible for supply and demand requires a combination of mobile and web technology, thus often requiring top end infrastructure. Other options are including possible voice requests and getting voice responses (trial used for registration of new born calfes, a requisit for every european farmer) which may turn out cheaper adn more functional than sms. Voice recognition as an interface to the database seems to me a very important tool to reach end user "appropriate technology" regardless of geography! Today the Swedish e-marketplaces on the web are often accessible from a mobile phone. Different applications for local weather reports (for instance to get important info on winds when planning a pesticide application) are also available, but end users seem reluctant to use the services, possibly because they simply do not know how to configure the settings in their own cell phone to allow them to access the web. Nota bene - they are not to blame! Anyone introducing such a service must ensure easy access, otherwise investments should not be done at all!

Hi everyone, I'm Thomas, specialist in rural development working partly at the Swedish agricultural university, partly as a consultant. I have been part of the Swedish part of the EFITA network for some time. I am currently involved in an e-agriculture support project with the Rwandan IT Agency sponsored by SPIDER, teh Swedish Program for ICT in Developing Regions. I look forward to know more about yoru experiences!