Is ICT's helping farmers make most of produce?
Fiji farmers are on the loosing end when it comes to pricing and search of markets for their produce. They are enticed by briefcase businessman, middlemen and opportunists at markets looking to make easy money from Farmers laborious produce. To date middlemen turn up at farm gates with heaps of cash coming ready to buy produce even before harvesting. This is how desperate these money minded are fetching for produce to service their customers.
In fact the cost of these intermediaries are sure to occur , consumers and farmers are victims of such practices. On the other hand we can argue that intermediaries make the connections from the farm gate to the consumer, well I see this as a consequence of an outdated and dysfunctional communication service.
ICT development and its focus to address agricultural issues which farmers face is neglected while promotions in the media are more of making money rather than develop the people for economical advancement.
Particularly in Fiji, mobile technology is one which is cheap, affordable and widely used in Fiji and highlighted by the Bainimarama Government having a penetration of over 110 percent. This is a result of the public using two or more mobile networks. This is amazing and demonstrates a population that are swelled in curiosity of mobile use but this statement can be challenged with aggressive competition and marketing by service providers. In Fiji you can even witness people having more than one mobile phone all connected with some changing SIM cards frequently and others having dual or triple SIM phones.
In fact information and communication technologies (ICTs) present opportunities to small scale farmers to extend their agri-businesses into viable and sustainable ones. Fiji's traditional farmers have great potential to secure a future in this promising industry, but bad experiences have dampen their spirits due to lack of observance from relevant stakeholders to fulfill their dreams and passions. Mobile providers have a role to play in our society by working out a way to connect farmer's to their markets at the best reasonable (fair) price with a produce of caliber.
Take for illustration produce bought by a middlemen at a farm gate. The produce will be or maybe harvested the day before so it will reach the market ready for resale the next day (one day gone) then other middlemen will buy for retailing in their markets (thus 2 days gone) how fresh will the produce be, this is my point. Hapless Consumers are the end users who purchase and consume these produce, quality is no longer there, in fact freshness eventually drops, oh no, someone needs to change this.
The ICTs are not addressing the need to better the way small-scale farmers access the market. Even-though their has been efforts but no commitment is evident from them. On the other side, the Bainimarama government has been promoting consumption of vegetables and fruits to fight NCD's (Non-Comunicalble Diseases). Let alone the use of chemicals on agricultural produce, the freshness is another issue which we farmers need our concerns to be voiced and heard. This blog is a whistle blower for small holder farmers, a minority group in the eyes of stakeholders and we are deliberately ignored .
If ICTs are addressing the need to better the way small-scale farmers access their market's, more youths in Fiji would have created an interest in farming rather than wasting valuable time on social media networks available and promoted by mobile companies, like Facebook. Failure to access market has been one of the greatest challenges that Fiji's small scale farmers have been facing. But if with the use of ICTs in accessing market places and prices, the plight of these farmers could soon be history. Farmers are selling produce well below market rates because their is lack of knowledge about market prices. This limitation leaves farmers to be exploited by businessmen.
There are models in this issues discussed above being successfully implemented in the world and we need to learn from them in order to put in place a system using the SMS to help farmers sell their crop at attractive prices.
Our group is committed to introduce such system with any mobile providers in order to give small holder farmers commercial power and make best decision where to sell their produce. Its a simple short code for wet push, that's the language of mobile tech.
We are ready to collaborate with interested service providers to kick start what is going to become the virtual market of Fiji in the years to ahead.
 |
| Ben in their bongo chilly farm in Tailevu |
ICT development and its focus to address agricultural issues which farmers face is neglected while promotions in the media are more of making money rather than develop the people for economical advancement.
Particularly in Fiji, mobile technology is one which is cheap, affordable and widely used in Fiji and highlighted by the Bainimarama Government having a penetration of over 110 percent. This is a result of the public using two or more mobile networks. This is amazing and demonstrates a population that are swelled in curiosity of mobile use but this statement can be challenged with aggressive competition and marketing by service providers. In Fiji you can even witness people having more than one mobile phone all connected with some changing SIM cards frequently and others having dual or triple SIM phones.
 |
| see our youths attending to their mobile while working on our ginger |
In fact information and communication technologies (ICTs) present opportunities to small scale farmers to extend their agri-businesses into viable and sustainable ones. Fiji's traditional farmers have great potential to secure a future in this promising industry, but bad experiences have dampen their spirits due to lack of observance from relevant stakeholders to fulfill their dreams and passions. Mobile providers have a role to play in our society by working out a way to connect farmer's to their markets at the best reasonable (fair) price with a produce of caliber.
Take for illustration produce bought by a middlemen at a farm gate. The produce will be or maybe harvested the day before so it will reach the market ready for resale the next day (one day gone) then other middlemen will buy for retailing in their markets (thus 2 days gone) how fresh will the produce be, this is my point. Hapless Consumers are the end users who purchase and consume these produce, quality is no longer there, in fact freshness eventually drops, oh no, someone needs to change this.
The ICTs are not addressing the need to better the way small-scale farmers access the market. Even-though their has been efforts but no commitment is evident from them. On the other side, the Bainimarama government has been promoting consumption of vegetables and fruits to fight NCD's (Non-Comunicalble Diseases). Let alone the use of chemicals on agricultural produce, the freshness is another issue which we farmers need our concerns to be voiced and heard. This blog is a whistle blower for small holder farmers, a minority group in the eyes of stakeholders and we are deliberately ignored .
If ICTs are addressing the need to better the way small-scale farmers access their market's, more youths in Fiji would have created an interest in farming rather than wasting valuable time on social media networks available and promoted by mobile companies, like Facebook. Failure to access market has been one of the greatest challenges that Fiji's small scale farmers have been facing. But if with the use of ICTs in accessing market places and prices, the plight of these farmers could soon be history. Farmers are selling produce well below market rates because their is lack of knowledge about market prices. This limitation leaves farmers to be exploited by businessmen.
 |
| working on my nursery |
There are models in this issues discussed above being successfully implemented in the world and we need to learn from them in order to put in place a system using the SMS to help farmers sell their crop at attractive prices.
Our group is committed to introduce such system with any mobile providers in order to give small holder farmers commercial power and make best decision where to sell their produce. Its a simple short code for wet push, that's the language of mobile tech.
We are ready to collaborate with interested service providers to kick start what is going to become the virtual market of Fiji in the years to ahead.
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