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Farmers need more market information Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State 6 May 2011 at FAO, Rome. Bridget Okumu IFDC. Improving access to market and technical information on agricultural inputs in Eastern and Southern Africa. The AMITSA objectives.
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Farmers need more market informationHillary Clinton, US Secretary of State6 May 2011 at FAO, Rome Bridget Okumu IFDC
Improving access to market and technical information on agricultural inputs in Eastern and Southern Africa
The AMITSA objectives • Linking agro-dealers to agro input suppliers • Linking agro-dealers to farmers • Reducing transaction costs and time • Improving agro-input availability and use
The AMITSA approach • Building networks and partnerships at regional and local levels • Engaging agro-dealers as primary providers and users of MIS • Ensuring free access and sharing of market information using web and mobiles
AMITSA partners From international to regional and local partners • Agro input industry • Trade associations • Farmers groups • Public sector • Research • Projects • Donors
The AMITSA network • 8 countries • 230 agro-dealers • 120 towns • 50 agro-inputs • Fertilizers • Seeds • Pesticides • Retail prices • Sales trends BURUNDI KENYA MALAWI MOZAMBIQUE RWANDA TANZANIA UGANDA ZAMBIA 2011 _________ ZIMBABWE SWAZILAND ETHIOPIA
Building and promoting the network • Capacity building • TOT for AMITSA champions (24 in Dec 2010) • Agro dealers trainings (230 in 8 countries) • AMITSA partners training (22 in May 2011) • Promotion • AMITSA launch in Nairobi (FCI summit, May 2011) • Participation in 10 workshops, conferences • AMITSA in COMRAP trainings • Brochures, videos, interviews, pictures
www.amitsa.org • Website (2010) • Mobile apps (2011) • Social media (Sept) Prices | Online statistics | Directories | Market news | Publications | Events
Monthly price reports • Local, national and international • Retail prices • Sales trends ______________ Free • Online reports • On line statistics • Newsletter: new !
Going mobile with esoko • Posting and getting prices • Sharing market information with 10,000+ agro-dealers and more than 100,000 farmers • NEXT: Technical, market and extension messages _______________ • 2-way • Customized • Any phone
Delivering information to agro dealers on their mobile phones • 7,000 SMS pm reaching 370 AMITSA agro dealers since June 2011 • Up to 100,000 SMS pm reaching up to 15,000 agro dealers in 8 ESA countries by end of 2011
Achievements • IT development • Mobile tools (data collection & sharing) and • Website, Facebook and Twitter in Sept 2011, Media gallery, input catalogue • Technical trainings: Agro dealers and partners • Data processing & sharing • price database, mobile alerts, SMS push, emails, websites, E-newsletters • Agro input data mining (non-price data) in ESA (KE,UG,TZ) • AMITSA promotion and partnership • AMITSA expansion • Staff development
Challenges • Sustaining agro dealers • Keeping agro dealers motivated to continue to voluntarily send monthly input prices • Technology • New mobile tools introduced in 2011 need continuous fixing (MOBI,SMS push, network compatibility). • Complexity of input MIS • Measuring impacts
www.amitsa.org info@amitsa.org www.facebook.com/amitsa.org Twitter: @AMITSAnews www.esoko.com/amitsa www.africafertilizer.org info@africafertilizer.org www.facebook.com/africafertilizer.org Twitter: @AfricFertilizer Follow us ! Thank you !