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Poor farmers in Tanzania are using mobile phones, e-mail and the Internet to access market information in real time. Market ’spies,’ known locally as shu shu shus, investigate prices and the details of what is selling at local markets, and use their mobile phones to report back to their villages. Soon they might be able to use their phone to access more market information from the Internet. The technology is helping the farmers build better and more collaborative market chains from producer to consumer.

Stanley Mchome takes a last sip of tea before getting on with work. Outside the coffee shop, the sun is scorching. His white hat is indispensable but his most crucial accessory is the mobile phone attached to a piece of string around his neck. Today, Mchome is in Magugu, in Babati district, northern Tanzania. He roams the alleys in the market, chatting with traders, wholesalers and transporters to find out the latest market news. As a shu shu shu, or market spy, he investigates the selling prices of tomatoes, potatoes, maize, rice and other locally grown crops.  

“I make sure I go to the traders to investigate and negotiate the prices,” says Mchome. “It is important to make sure the information you are getting is really good. This work is not easy. Many traders do not want the farmers to know the actual prices they are selling at.”

Using his phone, Mchome can quickly call or send text messages to other members of his farmers’ association. He can tell them which traders to sell to, what the market demand is that day, and how much to ask for their products. His work will help his fellow farmers increase market access, minimize inefficiencies and maximize profits.

Collaborating brings success
Market investigators like Stanley play a crucial role in the First Mile Project, which is supported by the Government of Switzerland and implemented in collaboration with the Government of Tanzania’s Agricultural Marketing Systems Development Programme (AMSDP). AMSDP is a seven-year, US$42.3 million programme, funded in part by a US$16.3 million grant from IFAD. The First Mile Project was launched in 2005 and is now in its second phase.

The First Mile Project is about how small farmers, traders, processors and others from poor rural areas to build market chains linking producers to consumers. People in isolated rural communities use mobile phones, e-mail and the Internet to share their experiences and good practices.

While communication technology is important, real success depends on building trust and collaboration with many people along the market chain. Ultimately, farmers and others involved develop relevant local knowledge and experience and share it – even with people in distant communities – to come up with new ideas.

In March 2006, a little less than 10 months after the project was launched, participants met to assess the impact of their work on market chain development. After just one agricultural season, they agreed there had been considerable impact on their access to markets and on their production and incomes. For an initial investment of US$200,000, the project’s activities contributed to a gross increase in participants’ income by more than US$1.8 million.

Innovative solutions
The First Mile Project shows that poor rural people can come up with innovative solutions if they are given the support they need to try out new ideas and exchange knowledge and experience.

Experiences such as these were shared at the village level on local billboards and at meetings. They were also shared between districts, through Linking Local Learners, a way of working that combines face-to-face learning, in which local groups learn together through experience and discussion, and with peer-to-peer learning, in which groups share knowledge and experience over the Internet.

Some farmers’ groups have already benefited hugely. One contributor to the Linking Local Learners website related a story of how five farmers’ associations in the Songea and Namtumbo districts of Tanzania managed to sell 70 tonnes of maize at a price of US$143 per tonne from January to mid-February 2006. They achieved this result by using mobile phones, price updates broadcast by radio and dedicated shu shu shus. In the same period, other farmers’ groups without access to the near-real-time market intelligence made available by the project sold their maize for just
US$65 per tonne, or less than half the price.
Built-in sustainability
The First Mile Project has a built-in sustainability strategy. Phase 2 will support the emergence of commercially viable rural service providers that can use modern information and communication technologies (ICTs) to provide marketing services to small farmers. The focus will be on how to achieve sustainable and reliable services along market chains in rural areas of Tanzania.

Over two years, the project will experiment with:

• mechanisms for sustaining local connectivity that helps farmers maintain access to market opportunities through small local enterprises
• the use of SMS to connect with on-line databases of locally relevant market intelligence

In April 2008, the project started testing in rural areas an on-line platform that is accessible via mobile phone, and a low-cost laptop computer that can withstand tough rural conditions.

Building on the experience of the First Mile Project, Linking Local Learners and farmer field schools, IFAD is now working with FAO to support the development of a Rural Knowledge Network in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. The knowledge network will focus on building the capacity of the emerging rural marketing service providers. At the same time, the First Mile Project will support the emergence of local businesses that can provide sustainable ICT services along market chains. The knowledge network is organized through a learning platform that allows members to learn from each other as the new businesses evolve.

Source: IFAD