Limpopo farmers sell fresh produce by cellphone

Farmers in the rural community have become the first in South Africa to test a project giving them instant access to produce prices over their cellphones. Mobile Africa reports.

"The farmers on the edge of the Kruger National Park have struggled to make decent money from their crops, not realising the tomatoes and onions they resell for a few cents at the local market were fetching multiples of those prices for middlemen who resold them at the produce markets of Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Now the villagers can check the going rate by accessing a farming website over their handsets. They can invite buyers to strike a deal for their crops via SMS, and see which fresh produce the tourist game lodges are looking for that morning."

Related articles:

-- UK. Livestock prices by SMS

-- Hi-tech cell phones help Africans trade crops

-- USA. Cell phones changing the way farmers do business

-- USA. Farmers turn to cell phones

-- Holland. Current selling price of pigs by SMS

-- France. Order from the farmers' market by SMS

-- Texting feed help for Ulster farmers

-- Kenyan farmers inquire about commodity prices by SMS

emily | 9:29 AM | Mobile phone projects - Third World |
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2005/07/009077.htm