Challenge

Smallholder farmers were not exempt from the chaos caused by the Covid-19 pandemic during the summer of 2020. These farmers have very limited access to the internet, if at all. Many farmers knew that they should avoid contact with other people wherever possible, and that cooperative representatives were no longer visiting their farms. This left farmers in a state of confusion with regards to the impact on their livelihoods. Could they still buy inputs? Could they deliver their harvest to the cooperative? How would they know the price of coffee? Would they no longer receive any agronomic support?

Kagaari North FCS knew that the pandemic could have a huge impact on the future of the cooperative and all of its members if the farmers were not provided any guidance or support through this difficult time. They also knew that if any farming practices were to continue, their farmers would require PPE in order to protect themselves and others when buying inputs, working with field labourers, or visiting the cooperative.

Solution

Kagaari North FCS adopted the Climate Edge platform, making use of our competitively priced bulk SMS feature. Through the simple user interface, and affordable pricing, Kagaari North knew that they could viably use SMS as a channel to deliver information remotely to farmers in real-time whilst field agents were not able to travel.

Kagaari North already kept a record of all of their members' details, including their phone numbers. So they were able to upload this data directly onto the platform and begin delivering messages on the same day.

The cooperative staff frequently sent bulk SMS messages to all of their farmers, informing them of key information, including agronomic support, information on coffee prices and Covid support messages.

Results

Using the Climate Edge platform, Kagaari North FCS were able to turn a logistical nightmare into a success story. One example of this was during the issuance of PPE to farmers. Even prior to covid, organising over 1,000 farmers had been a challenge. However, using the Climate Edge bulk SMS feature, the cooperative staff were able to inform farmers the days when PPE would be available for collection from their local factory.

In total, 65% of the cooperative members successfully collected PPE to help them continue their farming practices throughout the height of the pandemic. Without which the cooperative would have faced a significant financial loss.

Kagaari North have continued to utilise the bulk SMS service, having delivered over 14,000 SMS messages to their members since August 2020.