Farmers Union of Malawi (Fum), an umbrella body of all farmers in the country, has launched a communication platform for ensuring that farmers are receiving the right information for increased yields and linkages to the markets.
The short message service (SMS) platform, launched in Lilongwe, will allow all players in the agriculture value chains to provide farmers with farm management updates faster and at a low cost through SMS and mobile survey, according to FUM chief executive officer Price Kapondamgaga.
Some of the targeted actors in the agriculture value chain include individual farmers, farmer organisations, farm input suppliers, commercial traders, commercial banks, extension service providers and chain consumer stores.
According to Kapondamgaga, the platform has contacts of all leaders of farmer organisations or district farmer union leaders in Malawi from all extension planning areas (EPAs).
“By utilising mobile phones, the SMS platform provides a valuable link for farmers and all commodity value chain actors to benefit,” he said.
With this innovation in place, the SMS platform will act as a game-changer in the agriculture sector value chains.
On potential benefits of the newly-launched initiative, Kapondamgaga said FUM foresees an increase in productivity and incomes for farmers.
He said the platform will also ensure access to agriculture financing from financial lending institutions and other players.
“It will also ensure access to market information, which includes indicative prices of particular crops, access to modern agriculture techniques and access to information regarding post-harvest management such as storage systems.”
Chairperson for Agriculture Committee of Parliament Felix Jumbe, in an interview, said the innovation will bridge information gaps, which he said limits the adoption of modern technologies and has over the years led to low agriculture productivity per unit of land.
