1. Republic of Zambia
Reaching Out and Listening to Farmers
The Case of NAIS Internet Based SMS Platform
Presentation made at the 3rd IAALD Africa Chapter
Conference ,Johannesburg, South Africa,
21st - 23rd May 2012.
By Darlington Kahilu
National Agricultural Information Services
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Zambia.
Email: dakahilu@yahoo.co.uk
Keeping the Nation abreast with Agricultural Information and technologies

2. Introduction
 Farmers in Zambia, like elsewhere in Africa, are faced with
problems of how to access timely and up-to-date technical
agricultural information.
 This is mainly due to lack of adequate frontline agricultural
extension officers, poor flow of information to and from
farmers, and inadequate communication between research
institutions and extension services.
 With the increased use of ICTs such as mobile phones, it is now
possible for farmers in rural and remote areas to have access to
up-to-date information at any given time.

3. Introduction cont…
 NAIS, as part of agricultural extension service in Zambia,
forms a link between the researchers and the farmers.
 In 2007, NAIS opted for information and technology-based
solutions to improve feedback to and from farmers in
Zambia.
 This led to the development of an Internet-based platform,
that allows farmers to ask questions using Short Message
Service (SMS) available on mobile telephones and receive
answers within the shortest time possible.

4. Introduction cont….
 Farmers’ concerns and the manner in which they adopt
the technologies are also relayed to the researchers.
 The project was introduced to NAIS in order to improve
the internal and external flow of agricultural information
between sources and the end-users.
 The approach to increase the use of modern information
and communication tools to gather, process, store,
package and disseminate information in order to increase
farmers’ productivity.

5. Background
 The agricultural sector generates an average of 18% to 20%
of GDP and is a major source of livelihood for over 50% of
the population.
 Fifty percent of the population depend on agricultural-
related activities for income and food for their livelihood.
 The sector absorbs about 67% of the labour force and
remains the main source of income and employment.
 Despite its potential, the agricultural sector in Zambia has
performed below expectations.

6. Background cont…
 Extension and information service provision plays an
important role in agricultural development in any country.
 Zambian has established an effective extension and
information system in the country.
 The extension-information provision has been done
through farmer-extension contact and mass media.
 It is currently estimated that there is an average of one
officer to 1,000 farmers.

7. Radio & broadcasting services for farmers in Zambia
 Zambia provides agricultural information services through
the use of mass media - in parallel with the mainstream
extension services it offers.
 Broadcasting services of agricultural radio programs which
target local small-scale farmers were initiated as early as the
mid-1960s with financial and technical assistance from
UNESCO.
 Radio listening groups called ‘Radio Farm Forum Groups”
were set up - with the motto of ‘Listen, Discuss and Act”.

8. Figure 1: Basic Element/Components in an Agricultural Extension System
Rural Community
-Research Stations
Information - Gov/NGOs
Sources -Agribusiness/Private
companies Extension agents
- Other farmers, ect. Clientele
(Farmers)
Extension Mass Media
Information &
Knowledge Organizations Other Farmers
(Technology) -National/Local
Government
- University
- Cooperatives
- Private

9. Organization of Radio Farm Forums
 To come-up with farmer listening groups, NAIS used group
dynamics - common interest group (radio listening).
 These groups were allowed to have a membership of
between 10 and 25 of men, women and youths - to enhance
good radio listening.
 The groups were given a radio set and batteries by the
government, to enable them listen to agricultural
programmes and other developmental programmes.

10. How do Radio Farm Forums work?
The standard process works as follows:
 At Radio Farm Forum (RFF) level, farmers gather, once a
week, to listen to agricultural technical information
broadcasted via the radio.
 After the broadcast, the RFF members discuss the topic
which they have listened to and relate it to their local
situation.
 As a group, they ask each member how well he or she has
understood the broadcast.
 After the discussions, farmers fill in a feedback report form,
commonly referred to as a Proceedings and Discussion
Report.

11. Drawbacks with the ‘old’ system
 NAIS encountered many difficulties in its efforts to
efficiently collect and deliver agricultural information
from original sources to the end users.
 Information packages are passed on via third party in
hard copy.
 This system of communication proved to be time-consuming
and costly on the part of the farmers as in most cases it took
more than two months for farmers to give feedback.

12. Drawbacks with the ‘old’ system cont...
 Information products such as audio cassettes, feedback
forms, publications etc, have been delivered through
ordinary postal services and members - costly and longer
delivery periods.
 There has been no systemic storage and retrieval system set
up for the information NAIS has gathered over these years.
 No centralised information access point for farmers and
other stakeholders such as extension offices in form of
information resource centres.

13. Establishment of the ICTs project in NAIS
Following the Siavonga Roundtable discussions in October
2002 in Zambia, NAIS came up with the idea of
strengthening NAIS HQ and district level offices and
staff, and building on the existing agricultural structures to
ensure improved collection and dissemination of required
information to and from farmers and extension staff.
This entailed;
I. Streamlining the information flow among NAIS sections
and other MAL departments;
II. Improving the coordination of information activities
and;
III. Enhancing the ability of NAIS to collect, process, and
disseminate information to and from farmers and other
sector stakeholders;

14. Overall objectives
The project objective is to improve information flow within
NAIS and the flow of agricultural information between sources
and end users by increasing the efficiency of NAIS to gather,
process, store, package and disseminate information in order
to increase farmers’ productivity.
Specific objectives are:
• Improve information flow within the NAIS
Strengthen linkages between agricultural researchers,
extension officers, farmers and other stakeholders;
• Increase the capacity of the NAIS to collect, process,
package, store and disseminate agricultural information;
• Increase capacity of the NAIS to publish in more accurate
and appropriate formats.

15. Proposed activities after M&E
 Identify stakeholders in Kasama and other towns where
community radio stations exist who can support the
production and broadcasting of agricultural programmes on
community radio stations.
 Explore the possibility of using mobile phones in the create
feedback mechanism that would shorten the flow of
information between farmers, extension workers and
researchers.
 Improve the rural information centres in the four pilot areas
of Kasama.
 Increase on the number partners in the project.

16. Phase II of project – SMS Internet Based Platform
In today’s world, information and communication technology
(ICT) contributes to many innovations.
This challenges us to think out of the box in order to come up
with new, fast and effective ways to get hold of the
information we need to stabilize, and even enhance, farmers’
livelihoods.
The SMS system deployed by NAIS and developed by SMSize,
with support from IICD, is an eloquent solution to an age-old
problem: namely, getting timely and accurate information and
advice to farmers and extension workers in the rural areas in
their own local languages.

17. Figure 2: Screen shot of the SMS Platform

18. Figure 3: Screen shot of the inbox of the platform

19. Piloting the SMS messaging platform
The platform has been tried out with farmers’ groups in
Kasama district of Northern Province of Zambia (pilot area)
located about 900 Km from Lusaka.
Farmers were happy with the new platform and they see it as
a tool that will help them bridge the existing disconnect
between them and agricultural experts.
The SMsize platform was in October 2011, introduced and
demonstrated to the Permanent Secretary and all the
Directors in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.
The idea behind this demonstration was to create awareness
and allow policy makers in the ministry see how it works and
so as to have management buy-in.

20. Figure 4: Farmers testing the SMS platform in Kasama

21. SMS Platform upscaling
Based on the experiences in the piloted district, NAIS will now
upgrade the platform and upscale the system to cover all the
ten (10) provinces and allow all smallholder farmers access
the platform.
The platform was on 30th November, 2011 launched by the
Minister of Agriculture and Livestock.
Now farmers country wide are able to access the platform
and they are currently sending questions using their mobile
phones and receive answers – as stated earlier, the system is
currently only available to Airtel subscribers.

22. Figure 5: Minister of Agriculture & Livestock launching the
platform in Lusaka.

23. The growth of Zambia’s mobile phone service
One sub sector that has grown by leaps and bounds is the
mobile phone service. In the late 1990s when the cell phone
‘craze’ invaded Zambia, having a mobile phone was a sign of
affluence and sophistication.
Today, things have changed with almost every third person
you meet on the street ‘brandishing’ a phone.
Mobile phone subscribers currently number around 5 million
(with Airtel Zambia, the country’s leading mobile provider
accounting for 3 million.
The company operates in all the 72 districts of the country, a
feat yet to be matched.

24. Figure 6: Mobile phone usage by farmers is increasing

25. How the platform works
Using their mobile phones, farmers need to do the following:
Go into the message pad and type NAIS, language code,
leave space, ask your question and send to 3009.
Apart from English, farmers will be able to use the service in
all the seven major local languages namely Bemba, Kaonde,
Lunda, Luvale, Lozi, Nyanja and Tonga.
The language codes are EN for English, BE for Bemba, KA for
Kaonde, LU for Lunda, LV for Luvale, NY for Nyanja, LO for Lozi
and TO for Tonga. Codes can be sent either in capital letters or
small letters.
Each SMS on the system costs 900 Zambian Kwacha (US$
0.18) and this will reduce the current expenses farmers are
incurring to post or send their discussion report forms for
possible solutions to their farming problems.

26. How the platform works cont...
 However, this SMS cost of K900 is on the higher side
and initiatives by the department have been made to
request the Zambia Information and
Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) help
waiver this rate so as to enable more farmers have
easy and cheaper access to the platform.
 The system is currently only available to Airtel
subscribers; however, the system will be available to
all networks in due course.

27. Government support is key.
For systems like these to succeed and be sustained they need
the support of government.
The Zambian government is therefore in the best position to
take the lead in this initiative and drive it forward.
We therefore urge the government to exploring ways in
which ICT can further accelerate development in the
agriculture sector.
It is our hope that decision-makers and policy-makers will
come to realize the lasting benefits that ICT-enabled
development can bring.

28. Conclusion
Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a
key input for economic development.
In the agricultural sector, ICTs are beginning to increase the
economic and social well-being of some smallholder
farmers, individuals and communities.
With the introduction and better use of ICTs in the
agricultural sectors, will enhance the effectiveness,
efficiency and transparency of the public sector service
delivery.

29. Conclusion cont…
As a sector, we call for enhanced public private partnership
initiatives in promotion of ICTs in all agricultural sub-sector.
This will increase the economic viability of farm enterprises
by increasing profitable market access and production
efficiency.
Finally, I wish to reiterate that Zambia cannot afford to lag
behind in the use of ICTs in agriculture.
It is my sincere belief that the Ministry of Agriculture and
Livestock in Zambia will continue to support ICT initiatives
aimed at facilitating growth in the agricultural sector.

30. Conclusion cont…
Let us all work together to explore ITC uses in
agriculture further and use it to bring us closer to
achieving food security, a greener economy, and
economic success.
“Investment in agricultural ICTs, is
investment in the country’s economy”.

31. Thank You