Understanding Crowdsourcing of Agricultural Market Information in a Pilot Study

Access to agricultural markets and marketing information are essential factors in promoting competitive markets and improving agricultural sector development. The agricultural sector employs majorities in developing countries and contributes greatly to its development. Unluckily, majorities of the farmers are smallholders living in rural areas and thus, lack appropriate access to markets for their products and also, they are deprived of agricultural market information. As results, farmers are exploited by middlemen who offer low prices for their agricultural produce. This study presents the best way for the agricultural stakeholders to obtain easily agricultural market information service. This study presents a novel agricultural market information system which was implemented using some concepts of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing allows sellers to broadcast whatever produce they want to sell and customers are allowed to submit their requests using either SMS or web.

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Understanding Crowdsourcing of Agricultural Market Information in a Pilot Study

International Journal of Technology Diffusion ◽

10.4018/ijtd.2017100101 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 1-16 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Musa Fadhili Juma ◽

Kadeghe Goodluck Fue ◽

Alcardo Alex Barakabitze ◽

Neema Nicodemus ◽

Mawazo Mwita Magesa ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Information System ◽

Developing Countries ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Information Service ◽

Market Information ◽

Agricultural Market ◽

Agricultural Produce ◽

Marketing Information

Access to agricultural markets and marketing information are essential factors in promoting competitive markets and improving agricultural sector development. The agricultural sector employs majorities in developing countries and contributes greatly to its development. Unluckily, majorities of the farmers are smallholders living in rural areas and thus, lack appropriate access to markets for their products and also, they are deprived of agricultural market information. As results, farmers are exploited by middlemen who offer low prices for their agricultural produce. This study presents the best way for the agricultural stakeholders to obtain easily agricultural market information service. This study presents a novel agricultural market information system which was implemented using some concepts of crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing allows sellers to broadcast whatever produce they want to sell and customers are allowed to submit their requests using either SMS or web.

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Use of Information and Communication Tools and Services by Rural Grain Traders

Technology, Sustainability, and Rural Development in Africa ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-3607-1.ch011 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 152-167

Author(s):

Julius Juma Okello

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Information Service ◽

Agricultural Markets ◽

Market Information ◽

Poor Access ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Ict Tools ◽

Development Agents ◽

New Generation

Poor access to agricultural market information is a major factor constraining the performance of agricultural markets in developing countries. The search for new strategies for resolving this constraint has led to several ICT-based market information service (MIS) projects in developing countries. At the same time, the rapid penetration of new generation ICT tools (especially mobile phones) has resulted in wider application of these tools in agriculture. This paper examines the use of ICT tools and ICT-based services by rural grain traders in Kenya. It is based on data collected from 204 traders in Western and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. The study finds widespread use of ICT tools by grain traders. It also finds that the tools are used by grain traders to obtain market information, including information on price, volume, and where to source and sell grains, among others. The implications of these findings are that market development agents must focus on removing constraints limiting the use of ICT tools in rural areas. Spurring greater use of ICT tools has the potential to reduce transaction costs and improve the performance of rural agricultural markets.

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Use of Information and Communication Tools and Services by Rural Grain Traders

International Journal of ICT Research and Development in Africa ◽

10.4018/jictrda.2011070104 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 39-53 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Julius Juma Okello

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Information Service ◽

Agricultural Markets ◽

Market Information ◽

Poor Access ◽

Information And Communication ◽

Ict Tools ◽

Development Agents ◽

New Generation

Poor access to agricultural market information is a major factor constraining the performance of agricultural markets in developing countries. The search for new strategies for resolving this constraint has led to several ICT-based market information service (MIS) projects in developing countries. At the same time, the rapid penetration of new generation ICT tools (especially mobile phones) has resulted in wider application of these tools in agriculture. This paper examines the use of ICT tools and ICT-based services by rural grain traders in Kenya. It is based on data collected from 204 traders in Western and Rift Valley regions of Kenya. The study finds widespread use of ICT tools by grain traders. It also finds that the tools are used by grain traders to obtain market information, including information on price, volume, and where to source and sell grains, among others. The implications of these findings are that market development agents must focus on removing constraints limiting the use of ICT tools in rural areas. Spurring greater use of ICT tools has the potential to reduce transaction costs and improve the performance of rural agricultural markets.

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ICT-Based Market Information Services (MIS) Projects, Deployment Environment, and Performance

E-Agriculture and Rural Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-2655-3.ch002 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 17-30

Author(s):

Julius Juma Okello

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Information Service ◽

Information Services ◽

Policy Implications ◽

Transactions Costs ◽

Market Information ◽

Agricultural Commodity ◽

Service Projects ◽

And Performance

The need to provide agricultural information to farmers has led to emergence of numerous electronic-based MIS projects in developing countries. These projects aim at promoting farmer linkage to better markets. However, experiences from past and present projects show mix cases of success and failure, despite some projects meeting their goals. This study examines how the environments in which such ICT-based MIS are deployed affect their performance. It specifically uses two ICT-based market information service projects, the DrumNet and Kenya Agricultural Commodity Exchange (KACE) projects, to assess how the socio-economic, physical, and institutional environments in such projects are deployed affect the performance of such projects. The study finds that a number of environmental factors related to socio-economic, physical, market, and legal environment affect the performance of ICT-based projects. Some of these factors exacerbate transactions costs thus undermining the performance and even sustainability of ICT-based MIS projects. It discusses policy implications of these findings.

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Prospects of Multifunctionality in Nepalese Agriculture: The Agritourism Perspectives

Journal of Tourism & Adventure ◽

10.3126/jota.v2i1.25935 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 108-118

Author(s):

Kumar Bhatta

Keyword(s):

Developing Countries ◽

Rural Development ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Agricultural Sector ◽

Central Government ◽

Developed Countries ◽

Educational Background ◽

Capital City ◽

Sustainable Rural Development ◽

Household Heads

Multi functionality of agriculture in the developed countries is employed as a means of rural revitalization and economic circulation. Although farm diversification in the developing countries is much more crucial, in most of the rural areas of the developing countries, it is not performed, and it is delayed. In this regard, the main objective of this study is to explore the possibilities of the multi functionality of agriculture for the sustainable rural development for the implementation of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the developing countries. The empirical study was conducted in two of the rural districts of Nepal called Nuwakot and Rasuwa. The author intentionally chose these districts because it is one separate area north of the capital city Kathmandu and bordering to China. Further, even though the location is nearby the capital city, and the rural villages have excessive potentials for tourism activities, the farmers are still focusing on subsistence farming without getting benefits from tourism. Based on the macro data of Nepal government and field visit, the author conducted a case study. This study explored that most of the household heads are working in the agricultural sector, which can be one of the opportunities to launch multi functionality of agriculture. However, due to their weak educational background, they are expecting external supports in terms of knowledge, technology, and more importantly, supportive policy. The federal and central government should give subsidy to the farmers so that they canstart multi functionality in their farms, which lead to sustainable rural development.

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