Mobile Reporting Solution

Often there are hiccups with reports being clear,brief, accurate, concise, timely and reliable for decision makers. In the Pacific most remote areas lack electricity, computer and the internet which makes reporting even harder.  

A software developer recently developed an application which can be installed on a mobile phone and used to report on the targeted activity. The app works well even if the network coverage has only one signal bar on reception. But interestingly which mobile provider in Fiji will offer their service cheaply to implement this type of application.

Practically his reporters used to give excuses that electricity is out, no paper to photocopy report sheets, fax fault, etc, the list goes on but with this app it has fitted in well in the reporting process and the reporters are able to report like never before.

In Fiji we will deploy this app once we will secure a donor to fund the implementation with farmers who are members of our syndicate. The app installation will be free but only to members. The farmers desperately need this information bank on the palm of their hand. Mobile revolution in Fiji has penetrated well with levels well and above 100 percent. Some users even are using more than 1 network to communicate.

This app will attend to some basic issues which farmers face daily. For instance consider farmers in the highlands where roads are ill-maintained and transport is even harder to get to extension centers for advice. With a mobile installed with this app, costs are minimized, travelling time are waived, information is readily available when the need arise. 

This digital empowerment  bridge's the digital divide which is by far the widest in the rural communities. Smallholder farmers not only are accessible to information on farming but also on markets and current prices. In this way farmers are able to establish the costs which are involved from production to harvesting and marketing, wittingly the fruit of their labor.

In Fiji when comparing Digicel and Vodafone with their coverage Digicel is better and 3G is consistent while vodafone it drops to GSM in the outskirts of the islands.