April 19, 2009
Treating crop diseases via mobile phone
Mobile phones are being used to diagnose and treat crop diseases that cause massive losses to farmers. The East African reports.
An initiative in two districts of Uganda, has community knowledge workers sending text messages to farmers in a given locality.
The information may include how to arrest the diseases, and where to buy uncontaminated seeds, as well tips on how to improve soil quality to increase yields.
“We have trained the workers on how to use mobile phones to get information to the farmers. They offer agricultural tips and advise through the phones on what to do and not to do to control the diseases,” said Whitney Gantt of Grameen Foundation, a global anti-poverty organisation.
Many small scale farmers in Africa still rely on little more than their instincts and past experience to decide which crops to plant.
They lack access to information specific to their farm areas including type of soil, fertilisers, best seeds, climatic conditions as well as market prices.
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