TechnoServe and FrontlineSMS Use Mobile Technology to Help Train Farmers

In Tanzania, TechnoServe is partnering with FrontlineSMS, an organization that uses mobile messaging technology to help non-governmental organizations communicate with groups of people in developing countries. FrontlineSMS is helping to facilitate farmer training for TechnoServe’s Coffee Initiative in Tanzania. Below, FrontlineSMS Community Support Coordinator Florence Scialom speaks with James Hangaya, Monitoring and Evaluation Analyst at Technoserve, about how he is using FrontlineSMS to help collect the data he needs. This post originally appeared on the FrontlineSMS blog and is reposted with permission.

Training for farmers is a key to TechnoServe’s strategy in Tanzania, and forms a large part of their Coffee Initiative project. Training sessions help small-scale coffee farmers produce better quality coffee, thus helping them to secure higher prices in the international marketplace. “Sessions are based on different topics, and include practical lessons on, for example, how much fertilizer should be used to produce the best yield,” explains James. The farmer trainers hold multiple sessions on agricultural best practices, helping farmers to use their equipment and run their farming practice more efficiently...