Emerging Voices in ICT and agriculture - CTA Publishing

mation, compounded by inefficient markets,
continue to make it difficult for producers to
place their products to the best effect.
Progress, but not for all
Some recent initiatives have had positive
impacts on the ability of farmers to access markets,
though these results have been poorly
documented. Institutions have been set up to
link smallholder farmers to markets through ICT
interventions using FM radio, mobile phones, the
Internet and emails. One such system is the
Initiative for Development and Equity in African
Agriculture (IDEAA), which is part of the Malawi
Agriculture Commodity Exchange (MACE) project
and disseminates prices for a range of products
on a weekly basis. The Agriculture Commodity
Exchange (ACE) programme, introduced recently
by the National Association of Smallholder
Farmers in Malawi (NASFAM) publishes updated
farm prices on the Internet.
But large numbers of farmers in Malawi remain
cut off from such innovations, especially in
remote areas such as Chitipa and Karonga.
Small-scale farmers in Malawi are already facing
massive challenges, grappling with under-sized
plots and low-yielding varieties among other difficulties.
Although smallholder farmers account
for 25% of the country’s total GDP, an estimated
one-third of the country’s population is perpetually
unable to produce enough food to feed the
family. Many farmers rely on sales of other agricultural
products to buy the food they need.
Efficient commodity markets are critical to all
smallholder households in Malawi. And the use
of modern ICTs to connect farmers to market
information has now become an imperative.
Based on the original essay:
“When the use of modern ICT becomes a requisite:
The case of Malawi.” by Sangwani Rebeccah
Gondwe.
Key References
Babu, S. & Sanyal P. (2007) “Persistent Food
Insecurity from Policy Failures in Malawi (Case
Study #7-2)”, in: Pinstrup-Andersen, P. & Cheng,
F. (eds.), Food Policy for Developing Countries:
Case Studies.
Online, accessed December 16, 2011:
http://cip.cornell.edu/dns.gfs/1200428182
Barrett, C. (2008) “Smallholder market participation:
Concepts and evidence from Eastern and
Southern Africa”, Food Policy Vol. 34, pp.
299–317.
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