Mobile Applications in Agriculture

1 MAgriculture page 1 of 38 Mobile Applications in Agriculture (Illustrations and graphs: GTZ 2008, The Participatory Web - New Potentials of ICT in Rural Areas) Disclaimer: Given the pace of development , information on Mobile technology can rapidly become outdated. In most cases, this publication reports on Applications status as of mid-2010. Mention of an application, or its absence, does not reflect any opinion of the Syngenta Foundation. The author is grateful for readers additions to the information provided here.

2 Copyright 2011 Syngenta Foundation, Basel, Switzerland. All rights reserved. Fritz Brugger / page 2 of 38 Content 1. Framing the issue .. 4 2. Analytical Framework .. 5 Agriculture in a business perspective .. 6 Typology of information flows along the agricultural value chain .. 7 Definitions .. 9 Levels of complexity of mAgriculture initiatives .. 10 Viability and sustainability of mAgriculture services .. 11 3. Mapping mAgriculture services & projects .. 15 Mobile -driven extension services.

3 15 Mobile -based market interaction .. 25 Embedded ICT in farm equipment and processes: Support services and systems .. 29 Data collection .. 35 mAgriculture page 3 of 38 Figures Figure 1: Productivity growth since 1960 varies widely between regions.. 4 Figure 2: Farming activities from a business perspective .. 7 Figure 3: Information requirements and business processes offering opportunities for Mobile Applications along the value chain .. 8 Figure 4: Basic mAgriculture services and agents involved.

4 10 Figure 5: Complex mAgriculture initiatives .. 11 Figure 6: Complexity versus replicability of mAgriculture initiatives .. 12 Figure 7: The role of donor funding of Mobile Applications for development (Cantor, 2009) .. 13 Figure 8: Typical work-flow for call-center service .. 17 Figure 9: mKrishi action 23 Figure 10: e-sagu action 24 Figure 11: Frogtek s Mobile shop management .. 33 Figure 12: Function diagram of Mobile Transactions system .. 34 Figure 13: Function diagram of Kilimo Salama .. 34 Abbreviations ARPU Average return per user AWS Automated Weather Station CRM Customer Relationship Management FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa ICT Information and communication technology ICT4D Information and communication technology for development IDI ICT development Index IVR Interactive Voice Response M4D Mobile for development PDA Personal digital assistant RFID Radio frequency identification tag RSS Really Simple Syndication SaaS Software as a Service WAP Wireless

5 Application Protocol mAgriculture page 4 of 38 1. Framing the issue Over the past 50 years, crop yields have grown at very different rates around the world (Fig. 1). Most smallholder farming systems are much less productive and profitable than they could be. The reasons include lack of access to inputs and credit, and the inability to bear risks.. Another major contribution is the information and skills gap that constrains the adoption of available technologies and management practices, or reduces their technical efficiency when adopted (World Bank, 2007).

6 Public extension programs are often underfunded, suffer from weak agricultural research and lack adequate contact to farmers. A further problem is the lack of coordination along the agricultural value chain from farm inputs to food processing, which increases the cost of production and lowers revenue for farmers. Figure 1: Productivity growth since 1960 varies widely between regions. Farming is becoming a more time-critical and information-intense business. A push towards higher productivity will require an information-based decision-making agricultural system.

7 Farmers must be get information at the right time and place. Research in Sri Lankai recently found that the cost of information from planting decision to selling at the wholesale market can make up to 11% of total production costs. The study also found that information asymmetry is an important contributor to overall transaction costs (De Silva and Ratnadiwakara, 2008). ICT, and in particular Mobile technologies, are often seen as a game changer in smallholder Agriculture . The list of potential benefits (McNamara, 2009) covers numerous aspects of extension and Agriculture development .

8 Increasing smallholder productivity and incomes mAgriculture page 5 of 38 Making agricultural markets more efficient and transparent Linking poor farmers to urban, regional and global markets Improving services and governance for the rural poor Promoting and including smallholders in agricultural innovation Helping farmers manage a range of risks Improving land and natural resource management and addressing environmental pressures Helping poor farmers participate in higher-value Agriculture Supporting the emergence of a more diverse rural economy.

9 And supporting rural families decisions about their mix of productive activities The discourse on Mobile technologies in Agriculture is part of a wider debate on ICT and Mobile technology in development , which has received significant attention over the last ten years. Enthusiastic studies find Mobile phones do have a multi-dimensional positive impact on sustainable poverty reduction and identify accessibility as the main challenge in harnessing the full potential (Silarszky et al., 2008). More critical political economists (Leye, 2009) contest the assumption that technologies are autonomous forces or independent variables causing change in every domain of human life.

10 Pointing to the importance of socioeconomic, cultural, political, and institutional factors, they believe rather that ICT reinforces existing dependencies, and call for the examination of crucial matters of control, cost, selection, and utilization. A third group (Fourati, 2009) takes a pragmatic approach, noting that poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon, and lack of access to information and communication can exacerbate its causes. They see ICT not as an end in itself but as an important enabler. Instead of IT-driven approaches, they call for appropriate policies and for a careful coordination and integration in other development strategies for ICT to create a positive overall impact.