Sourced from: http://www.intomobile.com/2011/06/10/bill-and-melinda-gates-foundation-fund-mobile-services-aid-farmers-developing-countries/
Mobile phones can mean different things to different people. For some they are the tool for communication, for others mobiles are like portable computers and cameras and many use them as complete entertainment solution. The usage of mobiles by the poorest communities to alleviate them above hunger and poverty can be the best thing the technology can do to make the world a better place to live for all.
In its recent initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with the purpose of helping farmers in developing countries in cooperation with the GSM Association has launched the “mFarmer Initiative Fund” that will give farmers in places like Rwanda the tools they need to get a better price on their crops and even improve their crop growing techniques with information like how to best handle pests and when to plan what seeds.
The fund will encourage mobile communications service providers, in partnership with public and private sector agriculture organizations, to use mobile devices to provide information and services to small farmers in developing countries. The program targets farmers living on under $2 a day.
Chris Locke, Executive Director of the GSMA Development Fund, said, ““There are over 2.3 billion people living on less than $2 day, a large number of whom are rural smallholder farmers in developing countries and who face many issues which inhibit their agricultural productivity and limit their incomes. Through the mFarmer Initiative Fund, the GSMA Development Fund’s mAgri Programme will accelerate the provision of high-quality agricultural information services through mobile and by 2013 we aim to provide two million farmers in developing countries [India, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia] with an invaluable and transformative business resource.”
Mobile technology has the potential to keep the small groups of farmers updated about the information that is beyond their rural communities. This information can be used by small farmers not only to get better prices for their produce, but also make them aware about modern agricultural techniques to improve the productivity that can result in improved incomes and productivity. They can also become a part of a larger agricultural network.
All these initiatives have the potential to ensure population’s food security and improved income levels, and providing mobile communication at rates affordable to such poor communities can lead to a better life for them.
