Browse resources by topic (where applicable), region or type, such as case studies, presentations, research and white papers
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mAgri Webinar: Exploring the Nokia Life Agriculture Service
These slides were presented by Nokia Life representatives during a joint webinar with the GSMA mAgri team on 15th January 2013. The webinar covered key facts about Nokia Life and specifically, the Nokia Life Agriculture Service. Other topics covered in the webinar included the market need, the user journey, the depth and spread of the service, the content process, the ecosystem of partners and the Nokia Life users. Download here...
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Feature your mAgri Product & Service on Mobile and Development Intelligence
To have your mAgri organisation and product/service correctly featured on the GSMA Mobile and Development Intelligence portal, please download and complete this form and return to vclause@gsm.org. Download here...
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mAgri Webinar: Mobile market information systems for farmers: requirements for success
These are the slides that accompany the mAgri Webinar on “Mobile market information systems for farmers: requirements for success” that took place on 9th October 2012. Download here... - mAgri
Focus Note: Designing & Marketing Mobile Information & Advisory Services for Women Smallholders
The purpose of this focus note is to introduce the gender theme to the Agri VAS community and share practical, actionable lessons on reaching women (with a focus on service design and marketing). The focus note summarizes insight and best practice provided by subject matter experts during a webinar “Designing & Marketing Mobile Information & Advisory Services for Women Smallholders”. Download here... - mAgri
GSMA mAgri Infographic: Agricultural Productivity Gap & The Opportunity for Mobile
The purpose of this infographic is to highlight 3 main messages: A vast number of people in developing countries work in agriculture, far more than in the developed world. In fact 99% of all people working in agriculture live in developing countries Despite this huge proportion of labour force engaged in agriculture in the developing world, there is a productivity gap: in the developing world yields are 60% of those in the developed world Meanwhile, the growth of mobile phones in emergin... - mAgri
mAgri Webinar: Designing & Marketing Mobile Information & Advisory Services for Women Smallholders
These are the slides that accompany the mAgri Webinar on 'Designing & Marketing Mobile Information & Advisory Services for Women Smallholders' that occurred on June 27, 2012. Download Here ... - mAgri
Facilitating agricultural technology adoption among the poor: The role of service delivery through mobile phones
By Heike Baumüller. The use of mobile phones in poverty reduction and development has ignited much interest over the past decade. To take advantage of the rapid expansion of mobile phones in developing countries, businesses, government agencies and non-governmental organisations are increasingly turning their attention to the delivery of services through mobile phones in areas such as health, education and agriculture. This paper examines how such m-services could be and are already being used ... - mAgri
Creating Gender-Responsive Agricultural Development Programs
An orientation document around creating gender-responsive agricultural development programs. Download here... - mAgri
Power to the Peers: Authority of Source Effects for a Voice-based Agricultural Information Service in Rural India
Online communities enable people to easily connect and share knowledge across geographies. Mobile phones can enable billions of new users in emerging countries to participate in these online communities. In India, where social hierarchy is important, users may over-value institutionally-recognized authorities relative to peer-sourced content. We tested this hypothesis through a controlled experiment of source authority effects on a voice-based agricultural information service for farmers in Guja... - mAgri
Kenyan Farmers’ Use of Cell Phones: Calling preferred over SMS
By Angela Crandall. The increasing penetration of mobile phones in Kenya has led to a rise in SMS-based information dissemination services. Such services have potential to reduce information asymmetry and empower farmers with weather, market, and other relevant information. However, a number of factors other than the sheer existence of the phone need to be in place for such potential to be realized. Data was gathered using 117 questionnaires administered in 6 Kenyan provinces, as well as 12 focu... - mAgri
Connected Agriculture: The role of mobile in driving efficiency and sustainability in the food and agriculture value chain
From Accenture, Vodafone, and Oxfam. Mobile communications can help to meet the challenge of feeding an estimated 9.2 billion people by 2050. The 12 specific opportunities explored in this study could increase agricultural income by around US$138 billion across 26 of Vodafone’s markets in 2020. Download here... - mAgri
Mobile Applications in Agriculture
By Fritz Brugger. Understanding agriculture as a business, this report puts the farming cycle – and the use of mobile applications in agriculture – into a broader perspective and adopts a view of agricultural activities within their entire economic, social and institutional environment. It tries to understand existing initiatives and experiences as well as the potential of mobile technologies to foster the productivity and performance of individual farmers, of the agrifood value chain includ... - mAgri
The State of Food and Agriculture 2010-11 Women in Agriculture: Closing the gender gap for development
The State of Food and Agriculture, FAO’s major annual flagship publication, aims at bringing to a wider audience balanced science-based assessments of important issues in the field of food and agriculture. Each edition of the report contains a comprehensive, yet easily accessible, overview of a selected topic of major relevance for rural and agricultural development and for global food security. This is supplemented by a synthetic overview of the current global agricultural situation. Downl... - mAgri
Strengthening Rural Livelihoods The impact of information and communication technologies in Asia
Edited by David J. Grimshaw and Shalini Kala. Through its collaboration with the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) in the Programme for Knowledge Networking in Rural Asia and the Pacific (ENRAP), IFAD took the opportunity to examine how information related constraints in poor rural areas are being overcome and how information technology is being employed to the benefit of men and women, young and old who live there. It supported studies in China, India, the Philippines and Sri Lan... - mAgri
Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook
By World Bank, FAO & IFAD. Agriculture for Development, the 2008 World Development Report, showed that agriculture is a critical source of livelihoods for women in many developing countries, and a key pathway out of poverty. It also portrayed women in many rural societies as especially constrained by a lack of access to inputs, productive resources, and services. They also often lack incentives to invest given the greater vulnerability and proportionately greater exposure to risk that res... - mAgri
World Development Report 2012: Gender Equality and Development
The lives of girls and women have changed dramatically over the past quarter century. Today, more girls and women are literate than ever before, and in a third of developing countries, there are more girls in school than boys. Women now make up over 40 percent of the global labor force. Moreover, women live longer than men in all regions of the world. Download here... - mAgri
Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Market Entry Toolkit
This document explores the opportunities for Agricultural VAS* and covers emerging best practice on marketing, service design and business modelling. It is primarily addressed to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), other service providers, and agricultural organisations who are looking to partner and launch Agri VAS. Download here... - mAgri
Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Market Assessment & User Needs
At the design stage of any new product or service, it is critical to understand the user’s needs and to identify the unique demographics that exist within the target market. This is especially crucial for Agri VAS as base of pyramid users tend not to be surveyed extensively. Download here... - mAgri
Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Service Design
Irrespective of the nature of the target market, a successful Agri VAS design will always endeavour to provide information that is timely, actionable and relevant. Download here... - mAgri
Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Marketing
When introducing new products and services, the role of marketing is twofold and serves to: 1. Understand the consumer and their changing information needs (continuously incorporating new insight into the marketing strategy and service design). 2. Drive consumer demand through advertising, sales and optimised distribution. Download here... - mAgri
Agricultural Value Added Services (Agri VAS): Commercial Model & Business Case
Agri VAS should be set up with a long-term commercial and financial model in mind. Although many Agri VAS will leverage ‘seed’ funding for their initial piloting and start-up phases, it is important to avoid the ensuing strictures of donor dependence by adhering to a viable, sustainable business case. Download here... - mAgri
Leveraging Information and Communication Technology for the Base Of the Pyramid
Over the past twenty years, the number of mobile phone subscriptions has risen from 12.4 million to more than 5 billion. The majority of them, equaling 3.8 billion, are in developing countries, where the mobile telecommunications industry has expanded most quickly. Download here ... - mAgri
mAgri Programme Case Study - IKSL, India
IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Limited (IKSL) is a tri-lateral joint venture between the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Ltd (IFFCO), the largest farmers’ cooperative in India and airtel, the largest mobile network operator, along with Star Global Resources Limited, rural telephony experts who acquired 25% shares. IKSL provides voice-based agricultural information to empower rural farmers and reinforce the cooperative through the mobile network. After a successful pilot, the service launched in 200... - mAgri
mAgri Programme Case Study - M-Kilimo
In 2009 the GSMA Mobile for Development set up a farmer helpline, M-Kilimo, in Kenya with support from the Rockefeller Foundation. M-Kilimo (‘M-Agriculture’ in Swahili) is a farmer helpline where farmers can call agricultural experts to deal with their queries. The aim of the project was to test and prove the viability of agricultural value added services (Agri VAS). KenCall, the largest business process outsourcing (BPO) company in East Africa with significant experience of providing inform... - mAgri
Phase 1 Report: Devices for Agriculture Extension: A Comparative Landscape Study
From D-Rev and UC Berkeley. Written by Kentaro Toyama. The commoditization of consumer audio-video electronics offers a tantalizingly low-cost channel for disseminating information to under-educated, possibly illiterate, populations such as those living in remote rural areas in developing countries. Examples include devices such as Dictaphones, mid-tier mobile phones, and low-cost video camcorders. Agriculture extension is the focus of this study, but analogous applications are seen for instruct... - mAgri
A model for ICT based services for agriculture extension in Pakistan
By Mahrukh Siraj. Informed by a research study in Punjab, a model for the use of ICTs in agricultural extension services in Pakistan is proposed which is compatible with the current telecom infrastructure within Pakistan. It uses mobile phones as the user interface for field use by farmers and extension workers. A web-based interface is proposed for institutional users. The model focuses on providing customized information to the users, and is intended to be self-sustaining in about three years.... - mAgri
ICTs and Empowerment of Indian Rural Women: What can we learn from ongoing initiatives?
Written by Rasheed Sulaiman, N.J Kalaivani, Nimisha Mittal & P. Ramasundaram.There has been a lot of interest during the last two decades in employing Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for achieving development. While many of these initiatives have benefited rural women by way of access to new information and new employment opportunities, women still face a number of constraints in accessing ICTs. This paper explores the role of ICTs in empowering Indian rural women, through ... - mAgri
Dial A for Agriculture: A review of information and communication technologies for agricultural extension in developing countries
Written by Jenny Aker. Agriculture can serve as an important engine for economic growth in developing countries, yet yields in these countries have lagged far behind those in developed countries for decades. One potential mechanism for increasing yields is the use of improved agricultural technologies, such as fertilizers, seeds, and cropping techniques. Public sector programs have attempted to overcome information-related barriers to technological adoption by providing agricultural extension se... - mAgri
Impact of SMS-Based Agricultural Information on Indian Farmers
By Marcel Fafchamps & Bart Minten from the International Food Policy Research Institute and Oxford University. The purpose of this study is to estimate the bene.ts that Indian farmers derive from market and weather information delivered by their mobile phone.We conduct a controlled randomized experiment in 100 villages of Maharashtra. We find no statistically significant average effect of treatment on the price received by farmers, on crop losses resulting from rainstorms, or on the likeli... - mAgri
Using ICT to Provide Agriculture Market Price Information in Africa
Written by Action for Enterprise and Judy Payne of USAID. Download here... - mAgri
Using Mobile Money, Mobile Banking to Enhance Agriculture in Africa
By Judy Payne of USAID and Krish Kumar of ACDI/VOCA. Download here... - mAgri
ICT Applications for Distribution and Supply Chain Management in Sub-Saharan African Agriculture
Written by Action for Enterprise and Judy Payne, USAID. Download here... - mAgri
African Agriculture and ICT: An Overview
Witten by Judy Payne of USAID, Josh Woodard of AED, and the IRIS Center at the University of Maryland. Download here... - mAgri
ICT to Enhance Warehouse Receipt Systems and Commodity Exchanges in Africa
Written by Sophie Walker of ACDI/VOCA. Download here... - mAgri
ICT to Enhance Farm Extension Services in Africa
Written by Judy Payne of USAID, Josh Woodard of AED, and the IRIS Center at the University of Maryland. Download here... - mAgri
Community Knowledge Worker Pilot Report
Grameen Foundation’s Community Knowledge Worker Initiative is based on the belief that a distributed network of intermediaries, or Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs), can use mobile devices to collect and disseminate information to improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers. Download here... - mAgri
Socio-Economic Impact of Mobile Phones on Indian Agriculture
By Surabhi Mittal, Sanjay Gandhi, and Gaurav Tripathi. This paper investigates a series of questions that explore this topic: What kind of information do farmers value the most to improve agricultural productivity? Do mobile phones and mobile-enabled agricultural services have an impact on agriculture? What are the factors that impede the realisation of the full productivity enhancing potential of mobile phones? The answers to these questions have important implications for mobile operators, ... - mAgri
The Impact of Mobile Phones on the Status of Women in India
Written by Dayoung Lee. Mobile phones have grown at an extraordinary rate throughout the developing world in recent years. They are potentially an invaluable economic asset to the poor and an important tool for strengthening social ties. Mobile phones may also help women overcome physical boundaries, especially in places where they are separated from their support networks and bound within their husband’s social sphere. This paper examines the impact of mobile phones on the status of women i... - mAgri
Inventory of Innovative Farmer Advisory Services using ICTs
Prepared by: Mucemi Gakuru, Kristen Winters & Francois Stepman. This Inventory of Innovative Farmer Advisory Services (66 pages) is the result of an online consultation with the FARA Regional Agricultural Information & Learning System (RAILS) held during the month of October 2008 + desk study. It is an attempt to document all known innovative farmer advisory services or systems, currently in design, in existence or recently completed in Africa. Download here... - mAgri
"Can You Hear Me Now?" How Cell Phones are Transforming Markets in Sub-Saharan Africa
In this CGD Note, post-doctoral fellow Jenny Aker assesses the impact of mobile phones on grain market performance in one of the world’s poorest countries. She finds that the introduction of mobile phones is associated with a 20 percent reduction in grain price differences across markets, with a larger impact for markets that are farther apart and those that are linked by poor-quality roads. Cell phones also have a larger impact over time: as more markets have cell phone coverage, the greater ... - mAgri
Innovations in Rural Extension: Case Studies from Bangladesh
Edited by P Van Mele, Agro-Insight, Belgium; A Salahuddin, International Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh; and N P Magor, International Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh. During the past five years, the PETRRA (Poverty Elimination Through Rice Research Assistance) project has explored the development of innovative extension mechanisms through a learning-by-doing process with multiple service providers. Partnerships linked government, non-government and private sectors as appropriate. Top...
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