We’ve learned a lot while working with farmers to implement the MoBiashara service on behalf of, and in conjunction with, our partner and client Notore in Northern Nigeria. As we suspected, the supply chain connecting farmers, merchants, and agro-dealers needs to be strengthened, for the benefit of all.
Which means our pilot program in the region has delivered yet more proof of the efficacy and universal application of our concept. By providing farmers with a mobile platform that allows them to query the inventory of, and then make purchases from, suppliers via text-messages not only works; it’s also necessary.
In short: MoBiashara provides the missing link in the supply chain. But in order to understand the benefits our service offers the agriculture sector in the area, first, we needed to understand how it functioned. To that end, SlimTrader’s CMO Betty Radier, who’s leading the demonstration and implementation of our mobile service there, made the following observations during her trip to the city of Yola:
- Farmers use irrigation techniques, laying pipes from the river and using pumps to ensure water flows to their crops. Because of these methods, farming isn’t seasonal; it’s year-round.
- Farm inputs are subsidized by the government
- Farming is used for both subsistence and trade.
- A large majority of the people at the “base of the pyramid” engage in farming activities.
- The area’s staples include rice, yams, and cassava.
Below, you’ll find two photos illustrating farming techniques and the potential to enhance yields in Yola. Tomorrow, we’ll take an in-depth look at the official launch of the MoBiashara service in the region.
The mouth of a pipeline used to irrigate rice fields in Yola.
