This is the reason why the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) is working on an innovative programme with Mercy Corps in leveraging the power, convenience and prevalence of mobile phones in the food security domain. Through the Agri-Fin Mobile (agriculture plus financial services) programme, smallholder farmers are boosting their harvests and incomes.
Launched in 2012, Agri-Fin Mobile brings ‘bundled’ support for smallholder by working closely with local mobile companies, financial institutions, research organizations and the private sector. Over the years the programme has managed to reach more than 300,000 smallholder farmers with integrated local financial services, market information and agricultural tips packaged into a single, comprehensive mobile phone-based platform.
The impact of bundling technology has been enormous, given that even in remote areas most farmers have access to mobile phone technology and service. By providing up-to-date market pricing information through a partnership with mobile provider Econet Zimbabwe, weather forecasts provided by the Meteorological Department, mobile banking through EcoCash, and direct links to market activity, such as daily market prices and fertilizer information, the Agri-Fin Mobile programme has been keeping farmers connected even if they are far away from the cities and towns.
Likewise, connecting various services under the Agri-Fin Mobile umbrella has provided unique incentives for business partners in the private sector such as insurance companies to get involved — which is key to sustainability. Business partners on the other hand have benefitted from an expanded customer base, enhanced customer loyalty and improved data related to credit risk, new and increased revenue streams, and more stabilized supply chains. This means that SDC can be confident knowing these services will continue to be provided for farmers long into the future.
Before implementation, the Agri-Fin Mobile programme conducted extensive baseline surveys across Zimbabwe to determine the needs of the farmers. It was revealed that farmers’ livelihoods were most affected by poor market infrastructure, lack of access to financial systems, unpredictable pest and disease management issues and unfair trading systems mostly due to a lack of information. But there are, of course, unique factors in each province of the country.
Consequently the programme designed was informed by the farmer’s needs and appropriate partnerships with Econet Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Farmers Union and Steward Bank.
SDC and Mercy Corps continue to collect and analyze data alongside its network of partners to drive strategies that will sustainably lift farmers out of poverty. Agri-Fin Mobile’s “bundled” services are paving the way for new forms of business partnerships and models to help rural farmers embrace the mobile age. If current Agri-Fin Mobile successes are any indicator of future performance, several years from now many more rural farmers will be plugged in to the “bundled” mobile world.
