For more discussions and topics around SP Mobility, please visit our Mobility Community: http://cisco.com/go/mobilitycommunity Read the blog post (with hyperlinks) here: https://communities.cisco.com/community/solutions/sp/mobility/blog/2013/11/11/ioe-mobility-case-study-4-service-providers-connect-information-to-boost-farm-production-in-rural-areas

1. IoE Mobility Case Study #4: Service Providers Connect Information to Boost Farm
Production in Rural Areas
By Dee-Dee Atta (Service Provider Marketing Manager, Cisco)
There is limited access to vital agriculture information for rural subsistence farmers to increase crop
production and provide a better livelihood for their families. However, by providing the Mobile Internet
platform, this can connect the rural Uganda population, bringing access to SMS text messaging and
mobile communication options. Over this network Ugandans now have access to vital agriculture
information. As a result, farmers have access to real-time information about methods to improve farm
production. These farmers can produce higher crop yields and are in an improved position to sustain
their communities from hunger.
Let’s take a deeper look at the numbers:
Source: Cisco Service Provider Slideshare

2. Of Uganda’s 35 million people (source: Central Intelligence Agency), 86 percent or 30 million live in
rural areas (source: Trading Economics). For this large rural population, it’s very difficult to gain
access to important agriculture information to improve crop yields to better feed communities. Limited
access to this vital agriculture information is a problem for these rural subsistence farmers as 82
percent (source: Farm Africa) of the population depends on agriculture as their main source of
income.
Service Providers play a key role in connecting people in previously unconnected areas. Mobile
phones are now in use by 60% of people across Uganda. By enabling the Mobile Internet, Service
Providers provide the platform to connect the unconnected rural Uganda population, bringing access
to SMS text messaging and mobile communication options. By bringing this mobile experience to
remote areas, Service Providers increase the livelihood for families in developing countries.
To stimulate these rural area economies, businesses like Nakaseke Telecentre are able to use an
SMS based platform that operates via the Mobile Internet to send timely updates on weather
changes, average produce prices, available markets, new technologies and new agriculture methods.
Through these connections, rural Uganda farmers can educate themselves and increase their crop
productions to provide better livelihood for their families.
For Uganda, Service Providers are providing access to the Internet of Everything (IoE) – to better
connect people, processes, data and things. As more Uganda farmers connect via mobile technology
to access vital agriculture information and fuel crop production, the Internet of Everything is
increasing productivity and improving quality of life.
Read Nakaseke Telecentre’s full story submission here
This case study is part 4 of a 5 part series titled IoE Mobility Case Studies. Read the fifth case study
of this series on how Service Providers Enable Rural Farming Communities in Africa.
More Resources
IoE Mobility Case Study #1: Service Providers Facilitate New Economies in Developing Countries
IoE Mobility Case Study #2: Service Providers Deliver Mobile Healthcare Information across Africa
IoE Mobility Case Study #3: Service Providers Bridge Communication for the Hearing Impaired
Slidecast: Service Providers Making Amazing Things Happen: Use Cases for the Internet of
Everything
Visual Networking Index: VNI Mobile Forecast Highlights, 2012-2017
For more discussions and topics around SP Mobility, please visit our Mobility Community:
http://cisco.com/go/mobilitycommunity