…

Market-led, User-owned ICT4Ag-Enabled Information Service (MUIIS)

ICT4Ag

MUIIS is an innovative project that harnesses the power of ICTs to support agricultural productivity in Uganda.

It aims to establish a demand-driven, market-led, and user-owned approach to the provision of extension and advisory services
using satellite based information services related to:

  • Weather forecasting and alerts.
  • Crop management and agronomic tips.
  • Financial services including index-based insurance to crop farmers in Uganda.

While the private sector drives the project from the start, users (farmers’ organisations) are expected to own the project and provide services to their members with agreed upon revenue sharing models with other consortium partners.

muiis2
Target
user group
Information service products are expected to reach over 350,000 maize, soy bean and sesame farmers in central, eastern, northern, and western Uganda. This will be distributed to:

  • About 150,000 farmers out of 3 million members of Uganda National Farmers Federation (UNFFE)1 with 55,000 in western, 52,000 in central and 43,000 in northern regions.
  • About 114,000 farmers out of 1 million members of Uganda Cooperative Alliance (UCA)2 with 28,900 in northern, 42,300 in central and 41,700 in western regions.
  • More farmers will be mobilised through AGRA’s Farmer Organisations Support Centre in Africa (FOSCA) programme.

Business proposition
The main distribution channel for the 3 information products is Ensibuuko’s Mobile Banking and Information Software (MOBIS)3, in collaboration with Mercy Corps. This will eventually be complemented with the e-Granary platform being developed and managed by EAFF in Kenya.

mobis
The platforms will be supported by about 200 ground agents (farmer leaders) equipped with smartphones loaded with content. By the end of the first year, 50,000 farmers will be reached with the ‘bundled information service’. This will increase to 150,000 in the second year and reaching over 350,000 farmers by the end of the third year. Revenue streams will include subscriptions by groups (via farmer organisations), third party international development partners, and individual farmers; farmer profiling; sale of data products; surveys and data collection; advertisement; quantity discount; premium finance; and index-based insurance.

Expected results
Based on

  • the need for timely, accurate and actionable information regarding crop management and climate risks;
  • production and post-harvest demands of the selected value chains;
  • proof of concept that satellite data-enabled extension and advisory services can lead to 40% increases in farmers productivity (CTA and eLEAF);
  • globally-acclaimed success story of ICT4Ag service provided by farmer cooperative in India (EAFF and IKSL4); and
  • FARMIS platform, through Agri-Fin Mobile5 programme, taken to market and to date 20,000 smallholder farmers are paying $8 (€7.25) per year for the agriculture and financial information services in Uganda (Mercy Corps), the project is expected to lead to the following outcomes:
    • Over 25% increase in crop yield.
    • Over 10% increase in effective use of agri-inputs and water.
    • Over 10% decrease in risk of using agri-inputs
    • Over 20% increase in farmers’ income.
    • Increased trade and/or investment activities by agri-input dealers and service providers.
    • Socio-economic conditions, literacy, and gender equity improved among disadvantaged advocacy groups in target regions.

The Partnership
The project is being implemented by CTA together with 6 other consortium partners:

  • the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), based in Nairobi Kenya;
  • aWhere Inc., based in USA;
  • the Eastern Africa Farmers’ Federation (EAFF), based in Kenya;
  • EARS Earth Environment Monitoring (EARS-E2M), based in the Netherlands;
  • the eLEAF Competence Center (eLEAF), based in the Netherlands; and
  • Mercy Corps, based in Uganda.

Outputs and outcomes

ICT4Ag’s community of practice is a bilingual DGroup platform for ICT innovators and entrepreneurs; individuals and institutions interested in investing in ICT4Ag initiatives; international development organisations looking for ways to integrate ICTs into their activities; and research, policy and decision-making bodies who need to understand and keep pace with the development of the sector.

7 Principles of MUIIS Uganda: An e-Extension Project (Benjamin K Addom, PhD) from Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)

© 2016, CTA. Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation

CTA is a joint international institution of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the European Union (EU). CTA operates under the framework of the Cotonou Agreement and is funded by the EU.