Lucy, 42, from Njoro, Kenya
“One cold morning, I noticed black spots on the beans and potatoes in my shamba. The following day, I called m-Kilimo. The expert on the line explained that the condition was as a result of fungus infestation, which was being aggravated by the cold weather and frost. The expert advised on the fungicide to spray the crops with. I bought the fungicide and sprayed my beans and potatoes.
My crops were saved and now with the help of m-Kilimo, I know what to do next season and they are only a phone call away. Today, my vegetables are doing well. I plan to sell the surplus vegetables and save to buy two cows for my farm next year.”
About M-Kilimo
In 2009, the Mobile for Development’s mAgri Programme, supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, set up a farmer helpline, M-Kilimo, in Kenya. M-Kilimo had at its heart three aims:
- To set up a fully functioning helpline that provided high quality information services to smallholder farmers
- To understand the information needs of farmers
- To test the commercial viability of a sustainable Agri VAS deployment
The pilot was designed as a voice-based service where farmers spoke with helpline experts who dealt with any agricultural query raised by the user. Here, Lucy, from Njoro, explains how using the service helped her to save her crop of beans and potatoes, sell the surplus and reinvest the profits back into her farm.
0 Comments