Mobile phone penetration in the Kenyan rural villages has grown tremendously in the last few years due to its affordability and applicability. The phone in Kenyan villages is more known for online banking, popularly referred to as M-pesa, beside its core use for voice, text and data communication.
Jielimishe GEC project through its partner – Ojay Green is revolutionizing horticulture farming through mobile communication. All the target farmers are registered on online platform using the mobile phone. You do not need phone credit to register; the registration is free. Once the farmer is registered using their phone lines, information is centrally managed from land preparation, planting, setting field visit dates, distribution of farm inputs, extension services, harvesting and collection of produce as well as payments.
The SMS-based mobile phone application gives small-scale farmers instant agronomy best practices, sets group meeting dates, extension calendars, it is also interactive such that farmers can post various questions to agronomists and project staff and have their questions answered.
Through M-pesa, farmers can now access their produce payments at the comfort of their homes without spending extra cash to access payment. The farmers are also able to borrow from each other and even from banks using M-shwari online lending, the farmers can also save money in the bank or withdraw from their bank accounts using M-pesa mobile platform.
Mobile phone innovation in laikipia County is faced by challenges like inaccessibility of the electricity grid. In order to improve the uptake of the innovations by smallholder farmers, Jielimishe GEC project through partnership with Hi-Nation, a Swedish renewable energy technology company, has introduced solar energy products for lighting and phone charging in the rural areas. This has not only guaranteed improved communication among farmers, but also with extension officers, the contracted buyers, credit financiers, transporters and even contributed to improved security in Laikipia County, where cattle raids are common during periods of poor communication as farmers charge phones only during market days once in a week..
