By Dee-Dee Atta (Service Provider Marketing Manager, Cisco)
There is limited access to vital agriculture information for rural subsistence farmers to increase crop production and provide a better livelihood for their families. However, by providing the Mobile Internet platform, this can connect the rural Uganda population, bringing access to SMS text messaging and mobile communication options. Over this network Ugandans now have access to vital agriculture information. As a result, farmers have access to real-time information about methods to improve farm production. These farmers can produce higher crop yields and are in an improved position to sustain their communities from hunger.
Let’s take a deeper look at the numbers:
Source: Cisco Service Provider Slideshare
Of Uganda’s 35 million people (source: Central Intelligence Agency), 86 percent or 30 million live in rural areas (source: Trading Economics). For this large rural population, it’s very difficult to gain access to important agriculture information to improve crop yields to better feed communities. Limited access to this vital agriculture information is a problem for these rural subsistence farmers as 82 percent (source: Farm Africa) of the population depends on agriculture as their main source of income.
Service Providers play a key role in connecting people in previously unconnected areas. Mobile phones are now in use by 60% of people across Uganda. By enabling the Mobile Internet, Service Providers provide the platform to connect the unconnected rural Uganda population, bringing access to SMS text messaging and mobile communication options. By bringing this mobile experience to remote areas, Service Providers increase the livelihood for families in developing countries.
To stimulate these rural area economies, businesses like Nakaseke Telecentre are able to use an SMS based platform that operates via the Mobile Internet to send timely updates on weather changes, average produce prices, available markets, new technologies and new agriculture methods. Through these connections, rural Uganda farmers can educate themselves and increase their crop productions to provide better livelihood for their families.
For Uganda, Service Providers are providing access to the Internet of Everything (IoE) – to better connect people, processes, data and things. As more Uganda farmers connect via mobile technology to access vital agriculture information and fuel crop production, the Internet of Everything is increasing productivity and improving quality of life.
Read Nakaseke Telecentre’s full story submission here
This case study is part 4 of a 5 part series titled IoE Mobility Case Studies. Read the fifth case study of this series on how Service Providers Enable Rural Farming Communities in Africa.
More Resources
IoE Mobility Case Study #1: Service Providers Facilitate New Economies in Developing Countries
IoE Mobility Case Study #2: Service Providers Deliver Mobile Healthcare Information across Africa
IoE Mobility Case Study #3: Service Providers Bridge Communication for the Hearing Impaired
Slidecast: Service Providers Making Amazing Things Happen: Use Cases for the Internet of Everything
Visual Networking Index: VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2012-2017
