ICT projects in Kenya provide farmers access to important agricultural information and services. Some key projects include: 1. NAFIS, a voice service that provides farmers agricultural extension information by phone in English or Swahili. 2. M-Farm, an app and SMS service that provides current market prices of crops to help farmers get better prices. 3. iCow, an SMS app that gives dairy farmers information on cow health, breeding, and record keeping. 4. Several other services provide soil analysis information, recommended seed varieties by SMS, livestock price data, and help farmers connect with markets.

1. ICT Projects of
Kenya
COURSE NAME: e-
Extension
Presented by:
SUDIP KUMAR GORAI
Division of Agricultural
Extension
ICAR-IARI

2. INTRODUCTION:
 ICTs are defined as a diverse set of technological
tools and resources used to communicate, and to
create, disseminate, store, and manage information
 These technologies include computers, the internet,
broad casting technologies (radio and television),
and telephony
 ICTs are providing greater access to information and
communication among hitherto un-reached
geographies and populations

3. Open data and Agriculture:
 The Kenya government initiated the Open Data Initiative in
2011 on the idea that Kenya’s information is a national
asset.
 The era of open data provided developers, researchers and
farmers, unprecedented access to information on
agriculture

4. Information
Services:

5. NAFIS:
 NAFIS (the National Farmers Information Service) is a voice
service that offers agricultural extension information
 NAFIS converts text into audio in English or Swahili.
 Farmers use landlines or mobile phones to place requests for
voice-based information.
 The system provides information on disease outbreaks,
weather reports and which crops are most suitable for a
specific area.

6. Africa Soil Information Service (AfSIS) Web Map Service
Year started: 2009
ICT used: Multivaried information collection techniques, e.g., near
infrared spectroscopy (NIR), spectral diagnostics, satellite imagery
A digital soil map is a spatial database of soil properties that is
based on a statistical sample of landscapes or regions and that
permits functional interpretation, spatial prediction and mapping
of soil properties relevant to soil management and policy
decisions.

7. Corn variety SMS service:
 Kenyan Farmers can get an SMS for the recommended corn
varieties in their division by sending a text message with the
keyword MAIZE and the name of their administrative division to
a short code.
 The response is a list with details of seed varieties.
 The SMS charge is Ksh 10.00 (twice the price of a standard
SMS).

8. iCow:
 Kenya is a huge exporter of fresh milk and milk byproducts.
 To maintain this kind of standards, the dairy farmers need to access
information on their finger tips and that’s where iCow comes in.
 This is a SMS app focused on giving the dairy farmer unbiased information
concerning the cows’ gestation period, vet info, record keeping and the
world’s first cow calendar.

9. KEPHIS SMS Service:
 KEPHIS, the Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate, has established a
simple SMS service that allows farmers to check whether the
seed seller is duly licensed.
 The farmer texts the dealer‘s license number to the KEPHIS
short code and gets an SMS from KEPHIS confirming the seed
seller‘s status.
 One example is the service offered by Sproxil, which allows
verification of genuine pharmaceutical products via mobile
phone. Syngenta has also piloted a similar system for crop
protection products.

10. M-Kulima
Year started: 2009
ICT used: Mobile phones, SMS messaging, Java ME application
Ownership: private
 Dairy farmers send their questions via SMS messages.
 The software matches key words from the questions with a
database on local markets and provides answers of no more
than 140 characters.

11. Kenya Farmers’ Helpline – m-Kilimo:
 This service was initiated by the call center operator KenCall.
 KFHL started in September 2009 and provides agricultural and
horticultural information, advice and support.
 The service primarily targets individual farmers and will also be accessible
to agriculture extension facilities.
 In-house agricultural experts answer registered farmers‘ queries in English
or Swahili. In the event that an agricultural expert is unable to respond at
once, the helpline agent contacts the second-line consultants and reverts
to the farmer within 24hours.
 The service is free. Callers only pay the standard mobile usage rates to
place the call.

12. Market
Services:

13. Livestock Information Network and Knowledge System (LINKS):
Year started: 2007
ICT used: Global Positioning System (GPS), mobile phones, SMS
messaging, pricing database, Web platform, radio receivers.
LINKS/NLMIS collates data on livestock sales and prices from a
network of district livestock marketing officers for dissemination
through SMS messages

14. M-Farm:
 It enables farmers to inquire about current market prices of
different crops (42 now) from different regions and/or specific
markets via app or SMS
 It has also developed a group buying tool, allowing farmers to
pool resources to negotiate better prices for inputs like
fertilizer
 Enabling farmers to sell collectively and connecting them with a
ready market

15. Fish price alert System
Year started: 2009
ICT used: Mobile phones and SMS messaging
Ownership: multilateral/public
 This alert system gives fishers access to information on buyers
and current selling prices on their mobile phones.
 Fishers can send texts to one another to help avoid certain
buyers or find the best prices.

16. RATIN SMS:
 To assist the stakeholders in the grain industry that cannot
access commodity prices through internet.
 RATIN SMS is a low-cost, highly implementable cell phone
based platform that seeks to redress lack of market
information.
 SMS codes for Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda were set up and
tested by CELLNET-Kenya Ltd.

17. DrumNet:
Year started: 2004
ICT used: Internet, mobile phones (SMS) and wireless devices
Ownership: NGO
 DrumNet is operated by Pride Africa, an international NGO
operating in Kenya in the French bean, passion fruit, baby
maize and sunflower markets.
 DrumNet is a hybrid model that brings together many different
stakeholders in agricultural value chains: suppliers, buyers,
input suppliers and financiers.
 Its role is to facilitate relationships among farmers, banks,
input retailers and buyers that help the parties to complete
transactions.

18. Soko Hewani:
 Offers and bids are announced on the Soko Hewani
programme.
 Listeners, mostly smallholder farmers and agro SMEs, are given
an opportunity to phone, send SMS, IVR or e-mail messages
into the radio programme and bid on the offers, or offer on the
bids.
 The radio programme staff during the Soko Hewani broadcast
then match the offers and bids, using mobile phone calls and
SMS, which submitted the offer or bid for further negotiation
and conclusion of deals.

19. Financial Inclusion: Transfer &
Payment

20. KilimoSalama:
Year started:2008
ICT used: Solar-powered weather stations, mobile phones and
SMS messaging, camera phones and barcode software
 The Syngenta Foundation piloted KilimoSalama (Swahili for
“safe agriculture”) with its insurance partner, to provide
weather insurance if certain weather conditions occur.
 The farmer has the option of being automatically enrolled in
the insurance programme when she/he purchases inputs from
Kilimo Salama partners selling seeds, fertilizer, etc., as the
stockist scans the barcodes of the product with a simple
camera phone.

21. CoopWorks:
It is a financial and member management information system
(MIS) for farmers’ associations, agriculture or Saving & Credit
cooperatives in Africa.
Coffee module: If a farmer buys inputs from the cooperative
store on credit, the system books the transactions under the
farmer’s name. At the end of the season, farmers‘ harvests
are credited to their accounts, goods bought on credit are
deducted, and the final pay calculated.
Dairy module: The milk delivery module can track daily,
weekly and monthly deliveries of milk by any farmer. The
program can also help the cooperative with disease control

22. M-Pesa:
 It is a mobile phone based money transfer, financing and
micro-financing service.
 This flow of financing makes a huge difference since the farmer
can liaise with market operators kilometers away making
business flow much faster and smoother.
 MPESA have come with an innovation, MKESHO, which is a
mobile banking /microfinancing solution that can help many
unbanked people access basic financial services like loans,
deposits, savings, all this without having a bank account.
 All these initiatives have helped in getting the much-needed
funds to the most remote but productive areas and have
improved rural livelihoods very significantly

23. Recommendations:
 Make eAgriculture technology robust and accessible
 Build human capacity in rural communities
 Create partnerships with the relevant stakeholders
 Implement legislation and regulations to govern
specific opportunities
 Implement integrated eAgriculture plans

24. References:
• International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD) (2013). Youth, ICTs
and agriculture: Exploring how digital tools and skills influence the motivation of young
farmers. IICD, The Hague, The Netherlands.
• Macharia, J. (2013). M-Farm ‘Mkulima Young Champions’. In: ICT4AG, International
Conference, 4–8 November 2013, Kigali, Rwanda.
• Muiruri, B. (2013). Digital youth making money by going back to farming. Daily Nation,
28 October 2013.
• Mutua, S.M., Guliye, A.Y., Bebe, B.O. and Kahi, A.K. (2012). Development of MoF-Dairy
Edition (2010) Program: A software that brings a new approach to dairy nutrition and
feeding. Proceedings of the Annual Scientific Symposium of the Animal Production
Society of Kenya pp 72–79.
• Njenga, P., Frida, M. and Opio, R. (2012). Youth and women empowerment through
agriculture in Kenya. Voluntary Service-Overseas (VSO-Jitolee). Nairobi, Kenya.
• Oafrica.com (2012). List of African mobile agriculture services and
applications. Oafrica.com/mobile/list of African mobile service and applications