SMS Improving Farmers’ Lot in Emerging Markets

Mobile technology is making a major positive impact on the lives of rural workers and farmers in some of the most remote, deprived parts of the world. Since 2007, It’s estimated that individual farmers have made up to $4000 in additional profits, and saved up to twice that amount, figures that represent a significant ROI for struggling businesses in developing markets.

It’s all thanks to the pioneering work of mobile-based agri information hub Reuters Market Light (RML), a service specifically designed to help farmers by forwarding timely alerts regarding relevant agricultural information. It works like a watchdog, issuing vital information at every stage of the agricultural season, from pre-sowing to post-harvest. So far, millions of farmers across the globe have used RML, which tailors information to each farmers’ personal profile so they only receive relevant text messages. The service includes the following features:

  • Local market crop prices
  • Local weather forecasts
  • Advisory information to improve productivity
  • Advisory information to reduce risk
  • Latest agri information that could impact prices or costs

As a safeguard against unscrupulous middlemen and a globalized food chain dominated by multinational corporations, RML is unimpeachable. The impact has been felt especially strongly in India, a country whose rapid economic growth in recent years has barely raised the living standards of many rural communities.

Examples of the real-world impact of the program are legion. One maize farmer learned of the spread of bird flu in time to store his produce and wait the crises out. Forbes recently ran the story of a grape grower who began exporting produce to Russia after RML informed him that prices were higher there. Another 1.2 million farmers in India use the system to optimize their chances of survival.

It’s not just India. As China’s telecommunications industry grows at an astonishing rate, their contribution to the world of mobile becomes increasingly significant. In Kenya, mobile phone payments are helping reduce crime stats in a country plagued by literal daylight robbery; one quarter of Kenyan GDP now flows through the M-Pesa mobile payment system.

Studies have shown that introducing ten mobile phones per one hundred people in the developing world can add up to one percent to a country’s economic growth. We’ve seen compelling evidence of developing countries getting a leg up from SMS. Between making services cheaper, creating higher expectations among the citizenship, and offering greater choice, the future just looks brighter with mobile.

 

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