This is the fourth in a series of blog posts reflecting on the mFarmer initiative. Learn more about the individual services we worked with by reading our mFarmer case studies.

mFarmer first blog post: Who uses Agri VAS services?
mFarmer second blog post: Delivering agronomy information through mobile
mFarmer third blog post: Choosing your delivery channels

Agronomy and livestock advice, market prices, weather forecasts and relevant news/alerts e.g. weather or disease risks and notification of government agricultural schemes have all been identified as areas of information paucity. Although use cases vary across the information types, common barriers to quality delivery are similar: providing locally relevant, timely and actionable information remains a challenge.

Market prices – value and common use-cases:
• Unavailable or insufficiently provided in many rural markets
• Allows users the confidence to negotiate better deals with middlemen
• Users can assess the difference between prices at the gate and transport costs to market
• Next season’s crops can be planned on the strength of what will bring the most income

Baseline case studies in Tanzania, Kenya and Mali reveal consistently that users lack reliable sources for market price information. Airtel Kilimo and Sènèkèla baseline case studies reveal that users find existing sources of market information to be unsatisfactory in providing trustworthy, up-to-date information. Tigo Kilimo’s baseline case study reveals that limited sources of market price information require users to rely on middlemen or traders, which leaves them little room to bargain for better prices on their crops.

Agri VAS can provide value to users by offering market information that is accurate, up-to-date and reliable. Sènèkèla users said they were satisfied with the market information provided and perceived the service as the only sufficient provider of this content, with the exception of fellow farmers. Demand is high for this type of information: requests for market prices made up 66% of calls to the Sènèkèla helpline, and around a third of accesses to Tigo Kilimo. Market price information was consistently the most accessed content on mKisan’s IVR system, especially among repeat users.

Consumers of market price information have reported increased ability to negotiate fair prices as well as plan ahead to grow higher value crops:

“Now, I can check the rates and show [them] to the middlemen… So, they are not able to deceive us anymore… It has been possible only through this service. We had no other way of knowing these things, except making a visit to the market. Now, I check all the market prices before selling anything.”
– Arun, Osmanabad district, Maharashtra, India (mKisan midline)

“In the previous year, my income was low because prices were low but this year, I have received advice on what crops to grow and the market prices and hence my income has increased.”
– Wilson, Tanga region, Tanzania (Tigo Kilimo impact evaluation)

Delivering sufficiently recent price points for sufficiently local markets can be a big challenge, however. Many services rely on government data – however this data is collected for different purposes such as forecasting, and is often not published in a timely manner. Organisations like Esoko have taken this into their own hands, arranging their own networks of price point collectors around countries where they operate.

Orange also engaged INGO IICD to set up a robust data collection network for market prices in Mali. Two correspondents are appointed from local farmers’ organisations per market, usually local traders or producers, to gather market prices for 5-10 crops three times per day. Three price points are collected per crop: price on the gate (within 5km of the market), retail price and wholesale price. They are phoned in to IICD who update the USSD delivery platform each day with prices from the previous day. Data are also shared with RONGEAD who use the information to produce market forecasts.

This process represents a great mix of partners working together to bring information to rural Malians, which also benefits other players. However, this information is currently only available in 2 regions, and scaling this up will take time.

Is this your experience of delivering market prices, or do you have a different story? Please leave any comments below, or contact us by email: [email protected]. Stay tuned for more insights from the mFarmer initiative over the coming weeks.