Convergence Letter 22: Agribusiness and Information Technologies in developing countries

Our Convergence Letters are published every two months. They mainly focus on issues about Telecoms, Media and Utilities, and they address topics as diverse as sustainable development or distribution.

With more than 4.5 billion users worldwide, the mobile phone provides a great opportunity to spread ICTs to improve the efficiency of agriculture in developing countries. The whole value chain can gain high performance innovations.

For instance in India, the Raita Mitra module solves two major problems for famers in developing countries: availability of water and electricity. When there is enough electricity to operate the pump, it sends an SMS to the farmer. He then sends an SMS containing a basic code (e.g. ON) to start the pump and irrigate the field.

Another innovation made possible by mobile phone technology is remote micro-insurance.

This is an analysis of ICTs concrete applications on the whole agriculture value chain, from installation to disposal of products, including supply and use.