One of the defining characteristics of humanity is our ongoing ability to create and harness technologies in beneficial new ways. The same goes for our smartphones. In fact, the same technology we rely on every day to order take-out, hail a taxi or stay in touch with friends is also empower smallholder farmers around the world to have more successful harvests.
The big impact of smallholder farmers
Smallholder farmers operate an estimated 475 million farms across the globe, which comprise 12 percent of the world’s total farmland. These farmers live predominantly in developing countries where food security is not always guaranteed, and yet they provide 80 percent of the food consumed in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Based on the statistics alone, it’s safe to say that smallholder farmers carry a lot of responsibility. However, they also face many challenges that threaten their crops each season, such as evolving pests, relentless weeds, climate change, and other factors. That’s why it’s crucial that we develop new and innovative ways to help smallholders cultivate more reliable harvests—and smartphone technology is one of many approaches that’s making a difference.
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Keeping Up with Alerts It might seem obvious, but being able to check the weather forecast provides vital insight for farmers. By receiving alerts directly on their phone, they can plan for any upcoming poor weather conditions. Similarly, farmers can now be alerted by text message when there is a disease outbreak. This system has been launched in Eastern Africa, among other locations, where it’s helping farmers protect their livestock from pests. |
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Managing Money The vast majority of smallholder farmers operate without bank accounts, making them reliant on cash-in-hand payments. But that’s only part of the challenge. Without a bank account, it becomes much more complicated to put money aside into savings or to access capital through loans. There are also challenges for the minority of smallholder farmers who do have bank accounts. One study in Uganda found that farmers travel 45 km (28 miles) on average to get to the bank, which takes considerable time and attention away from their daily workload. To help all smallholder farmers access more of the opportunities that banks provide without the associated hassles of having an account, mobile platforms are now allowing farmers to receive payments, access financing, and command fair market pricing at their fingertips. |
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Accessing Markets Because many smallholder farmers lack access to the market, they are often forced to sell their produce to middlemen—a process that removes farmers from their final customers and decreases the price they can command for their produce. Because many don’t have access to current pricing information, the middleman scenario often leaves farmers in the dark about how to calculate fair prices. Smartphone technology is helping smallholders access their markets directly, albeit remotely, in order to make informed decisions for selling their produce. In some countries, SMS services are available to keep farmers up to date on the current prices for agricultural goods. Additionally, other mobile apps enable farmers to get in contact with exporters to side-step the middlemen entirely. All this helps farmers secure their livelihood. |
