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BoonaNET SMS & IM Mediated Price Information for Crops in Ethiopia Samuel Kinde Kassegne + , Ashenafi Assefa ++ an

BoonaNET SMS & IM Mediated Price Information for Crops in Ethiopia Samuel Kinde Kassegne + , Ashenafi Assefa ++ and Mieso Denko +++ + Professor of Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA ++ Project Coordinator, FeedeliX Wireless, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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BoonaNET SMS & IM Mediated Price Information for Crops in Ethiopia Samuel Kinde Kassegne + , Ashenafi Assefa ++ an

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  1. BoonaNET SMS & IM Mediated Price Information for Crops in Ethiopia Samuel Kinde Kassegne+, Ashenafi Assefa++ and Mieso Denko+++ + Professor of Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA ++ Project Coordinator, FeedeliX Wireless, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia +++ Professor of Computer Science, University of Guelph, Canada. August 22, 2007, WITFOR 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  2. What the project is all about …………. BoonaNet – the use of SMS (text messaging) and IM (instant messaging) technologies in LOCAL SCRIPT (Ethiopic) for commodity market information collection and retrieval. Commodities considered: Coffee, Teff, and Berbere – Red Pepper/Paprika. Boona - Coffee Ethiopic SMS Ethiopic IM Images courtesy: Feedelix,WFP, LYIP, Savory,Oxfam BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  3. What we will cover in this talk …………. • Project Objectives • Enabling Technology • Unique Application – Localized SMS/IM for pricing info. • What We Propose • What We Have Done • Commoditization Models for COFFEE, TEFF, and BERBERE • Deployment of Technology – BoonaNET and Extended BoonaNET • Analysis of Data (Coffee, Teff, and Berbere) • Pilot Project Evaluation • Future Plans • Acknowledgments Images courtesy: Feedelix,WFP, AFOZ BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  4. Project Objectives The Ras Dashen Model [Highest point in Ethiopia] Ras Dashen – 4620 m 5 Goal 4 - Build database of commodity price information – mobile Goal 5-Demonstrate Impact on Commodities Market. Towards Ambiqo- 4000 m is (this == ‘Model’ || this == ‘Metaphor’) Cheneq - 3600 m Goal 3-Recruit, train and deploy team in coffee/teff/berbere regions. Goal 1 - Introduction of SMS & IM in local script (Ethiopic) Sanka-Ber - 3240 m Goal 2-Build infrastructure for commodity price system (hardware – servers; software – client). 1 Gondar – 2200 m Images courtesy: WFP, LYIP, Savory. WWGT BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  5. Indic Scripts (Hindi, Marathi, Gujaratti, etc) Technical Basis – Enabling Technology Mapping & Rendering Technology for Non-Latin Scripts – Mobile Phones Feedelix Core Technology: BREAK the SCRIPT BARRIER - Make Mobile Content Available on Any Device – Any Platform – Anytime. Existing Solution: Hindi, Ethiopic, Chinese (Q4-07), Arabic (Q1-08), More Indic (08). Mapped to 12 keys 345 char 1- Any device Chinese Script (Pin-Yin) Arabic Script + variants (Persian, Urdu, etc) New SMS traffic trans. protocol Ethiopic Script Feedelix Server 2 - Anytime BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  6. Unique Application – Commodity Prices BROAD QUESTION: Can our technology be used to impact ordinary lives in developing countries now that mobile devices are ubiquitous? FACTS ON THE GROUND • Farmers are getting paid a fraction of the value of their crops and continue to live in perpetual poverty [85% of Ethiopia] • Current commodity price information is based on radio and print media (Once in 2 weeks for coffee). No technology for real-time information is available. Need technology with Local Script (writing systems) support. • Successful model in the use of SMS (Roman/Latin script) for market information demonstrated in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, etc. [Kace Kenya] Images courtesy: Feedelix, WHO BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  7. What We Propose……….. Provide market and price content using technology: Mobile as well as desktop. Languages/Script: Amharic, Tigrigna, and Afaan Oromo. Commodities considered: teff (Gojam, Bishoftu, etc), berbere, coffee (Jimma/Kaffa and Sidamo) SPECIFIC QUESTION: What are the technology and infrastructure conditions unique to Ethiopia and other dev. countries such as India? • Merits: • Higher/Competitive prices for goods • Bargaining power for farmers • Broader Impact: • Empower networking effect • Make the Ethiopian farmer compete at previously out-of-reach levels – say regional & global markets. • Poverty Alleviation BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  8. What We Have Done……….. Infrastructure Work • Logistics: • Fine-tune SMS/IM technology to Ethiopian conditions. • Selection of Commodity/Locations • Team Selection – Early technology adopters • Training and Deployment Dejen Jimma/Kaffa Mareqo Alaba Dilla US Team ET Team 5 locations Coffee – Jimma, Dilla, AA. Teff – Dejen, Berbere – Mareqo, Alaba. Images courtesy: FeedeliX. BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  9. Workflow of Coffee Commoditization – Model 1 – Free Trade Wholesaler Value Added: Coffee sorting & washing Collectors Farmer Sent to Addis Export Premium quality Auction Ranking of coffee. Grade 1, 2, 3, etc. Supermarket in local market. Sold in local market. Failed quality Images courtesy: WFP, Oxfam. BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  10. Workflow of Coffee Commoditization – Model 2 – Cooperatives Cooperatives Value Added: Coffee processing & transport to Addis Farmer Sold to Fair - Trade Unions Sold in local market. Images courtesy: WFP, LYIP, Savory. BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  11. Workflow of Teff Commoditization Farmer Traders - (Aggregators) – Buy grain from small farmers at local markets. Twice/week. Stored till shipping to Addis. Small-scale Farmers Sent to Addis Ranking of Teff Grades: 1st - Magna, 2nd – Sergegna 3rd – Abolle 4th – Qey/Tiqur Sell Points – Ihil Berenda/Mesalemiya - Merkato Area Images courtesy: Projects Abroad, MediaETHIOPIA BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  12. Workflow of Berbere Commoditization Traders - Buy grain from small farmers at local markets. Thrice/week. Small-scale Farmers Sold by Feresula = 17 Kg (Addis, Mareqo) = 20 Kg (Alaba) Sent to Addis Ranking of Berbere Grades: 1st -Zala, 2nd – Foshe 3rd – Tala Sell Points –Berbere Tera- Merkato Area Images courtesy: Projects Abroad, MediaETHIOPIA BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  13. Technology Deployment – How Does BoonaNet Work? Daily price manifesto posted to farmers/traders Coffee Farmer Feedelix data collectors in Addis Jimma SMS/IM price in Addis to Farmer in Jimma – Real Time FeedelSMS Feedelix Server (virtual Addis Ababa) FeedelMessenger Dilla Amharic SMS/IM from desktop SMS/IM price in Addis to Farmer in Dilla – Real time Coffee Farmer Images courtesy: IAS BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  14. Technology Deployment – How Does ExtendedBoonaNet Work? Daily price manifesto posted to farmers/traders SMS/IM price in US/Europe to Farmer in Jimma – Real Time Feedelix data collectors in Addis Coffee Farmer J1 Jimma SMS/IM price in Addis to Farmer in Jimma – Real Time J2 Ad1 US1 J3 Ad2 FeedelSMS Feedelix Server (virtual Addis Ababa) FeedelMessenger Feedelix Server (US) Team in US Ad3 Amharic SMS/IM from desktop Dilla D1 US2 Ad4 SMS/IM price in Addis to Farmer in Dilla – Real time D2 SMS/IM price in US/Europe to Farmer in Dilla – Real Time D3 BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  15. Analysis of Data – Coffee Price – Birr/Kg Days Price/Kilogram in Birr August 6-20, 07 6-10% diff. Between AA & Jimma. Days Images courtesy: Feedelix BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  16. Analysis of Data – Teff < 5% price diff bet AA & Dejen 20% price diff bet AA & Dejen Price/Quintal in Birr (100Kg) August 6-20, 07 Does the onset of the Orthodox Christian Fasting season (16 days) on August 7/8 affect Teff prices? 15-33% price diff bet AA & Dejen Images courtesy: Feedelix BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  17. Analysis of Data – Berbere Price/Kilogram in Birr. August 6-20, 07 BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  18. Pilot Project Assessment / Evaluation • Technical Challenges • Internet Connectivity/Reliability • Lost productivity time. App (FeedelMessenger) too big for bandwidth to install through web download. Thumb-drives and Hawala! • Data interruption on 20% of time. Worst last week. • Cost over-run for idle personnel during downtime. No bandwidth for debugging software problems. • Debugging of web-application easier (& perhaps cheaper?) in US. • National competitiveness in attracting business opportunities seriously affected. Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana benefiting. Why not Ethiopia? • Opportunities for our bright young men and women to be integrated to the global knowledge force seriously hampered. • New Millennium - new thinking – Allow competition in ISP. • Nation-wide SMS Gateway Availability • Work-arounds are possible; but affects scalability. • Will perhaps change in due time BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  19. Pilot Project Assessment / Evaluation • Data Validity • Duration of data collection – 2 weeks. • Classification of commodity not uniform. Dejen’s Magna teff can be sold as Sergegna in Addis, etc. • Collection/Harvest time for crops (October for coffee, December-January for Teff). • Commodity-Specific Issues • Coffee has a unique commoditization model. BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  20. Project Assessment Ras Dashen – 4620 m 5 Goal 4 - Build database of commodity price information – mobile Goal 5-Demonstrate Impact on Commodities Market. Towards Ambiqo- 4000 m Cheneq - 3600 m Goal 3-Recruit, train and deploy team in coffee/teff/berbere regions. Goal 1 - Introduction of SMS & IM in local script (Ethiopic) Sanka-Ber - 3240 m Goal 2-Build infrastructure for commodity price system (hardware – servers; software – client). 1 Gondar – 2200 m Images courtesy: WFP, LYIP, Savory. WWGT BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  21. Future Plans Our Immediate Plan Calls for: • Completion and automation for repeat at coffee harvest time. Extended infrastructure needed. • ETCropNet – From Pilot project to brick-and-mortar presence in Ethiopia. • BharatCropNet – New Markets (such as India) – Pilot project – Q4 08. Actively pursuing external fund to finance these projects. BhahratiFasalNet Deliverable: Pilot Project that launches a network effect to empower Ethiopian peasants Images courtesy:Feedelix BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

  22. Thanks…………. • Shiferaw Abebe – Addis Ababa (Former Graduate student) • Ted Kidane (Feedelix Wireless - USA) • Feedelix Team Members: • Ashenafi Assefa – Addis Ababa • Selamu Assefa – Addis Ababa • Hayat Regassa – Alaba • Jilalu – Butajira – Mareqo • Achenf Tamagn – Dejen, Gojam • Dereje Tafesse – Jimma/Kaffa • Shemsedin Nur – Dilla, Sidamo • Shantanu Chawla – San Diego, CA, USA • Samuel Kinde Kassegne – San Diego, CA, USA Questions ?? BoonaNetby Feedelix Wireless

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