As complex mobile phone applications become the order of the day, accessing information by dialing a simple short code is still making a difference to majority of mobile phone users.
Small Scale farmers in Kenya face the challenge of accessing information to help improve productivity. iCow is an Agricultural Information Service that enables farmers to get information through their mobile phones. The service was started in 2010 and won Apps4Africa award in 2011.
During a recent agricultural show, the Ministry of Agriculture created awareness about the service to interested farmers. According to Dr Kahumbu, the founder of iCow®™there are an estimated 150 000 subscribers to the service, although this number may seem small in comparison to the 1.6 million dairy farmers in Kenya, the impact is already being felt. A partnership between Safaricom and iCow launched in June 2013 has enabled the service to reach an estimated 19 million subscribers.
A variety of products are available on subscription through *285#. A subscribers is given the option of choosing Dairy or Poultry farming. They then receive 3 info sms’ a week.
The service also empowers farmers to keep records of their cows and maintain data specific to each cow. In addition farmers also get access to Vetinary doctors and AI Agents in their area.
In the last four years the service has made a difference and farmers share testimonies on the iCow blog and on the Facebook page.
More information is available on iCow website.
