Embracing ICTs to manoeuvre information asymmetries in agriculture
Information asymmetries have relentlessly haunted Zimbabwean agriculture and are associated with high transaction costs in doing business, hence reduced profit margins, use of obsolete technology and archaic methods of production, thus marginalised yields. The lack of information also results in the juxtaposition of scarcity and plenty within the same country. The farmers are not well-informed about the markets where they can sell their produce at optimum prices and even end up losing business to the middlemen who short-change them. If the farmers know when, where and what time to acquire inputs or sell their produce that would significantly reduce transaction costs. Moreover, the right kind of information allows farmers to adopt the best technologies and agricultural practices which increase yields and returns simultaneously. In a situation such as the current period whereby movements are restricted due to the coronavirus effects, the information communication technologies (ICTs) such as the phone and email become very important in supporting farmers with agricultural information and messages of awareness so as to take precautionary measures as farmers and the workers go about their business on the farms.
Technology accentuates the flow of information which in turn enhances productivity, exempli gratia, the invention of the printing press in the 15th Century (medieval period) in Europe led to the availability of information across the continent, which brought about technological innovations and increased levels of productivity. The increase in knowledge and education sparked off the industrial revolution in the 19th Century. We cannot have an industrial revolution in Zimbabwe if we do not improve the way we transmit information, especially in key sectors such as agriculture and mining. The industrial revolution came as a result of increases in information, not the other way round. Knowledge and inventiveness must be combined for Zimbabwean agriculture to turn around and become productive. The availability of ICTs, in particular, the mobile telephone serves as an expeditious vehicle towards reaching this end.
The mobile phone is a powerful tool for agricultural production. It is an effective instrument for solving the information asymmetries we are currently experiencing in agriculture. The periurban farmers have realized the importance of the mobile phone in boosting agricultural productivity and are exerting efforts to make the most out of it. Farmers are setting up several farming-related groups on the social media platforms where they exchange valuable agricultural information and share experiences. The strong sense of community that characterizes the smallholder farmers increases the effectiveness of this method. This is reminiscent of the radio listening groups approach applied in African agriculture in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) during the 1970s, which brought high agricultural productivity. This method increased farmers’ productivity as the farmers would come together and listen to agricultural information which was dispensed through the radio, then discuss and explain to each other. This enabled them to learn of new methods that were applied in other regions and districts. In the modern-day, the model is being replicated through virtual means. The meetings are no longer limited to localised communities but transcend geographical boundaries. However, the rural-based farmers who are the bulk of smallholders, still have not optimally applied the use of ICTs in agriculture. They are at the peripheries of the developments that are taking place.
The rural-based Zimbabwean smallholder farmers are reluctant to adopt modern technologies and agricultural practices largely due to the lack of information and have no proper understanding of the little knowledge that reaches them. For instance, the nation has been riddled by drought for the past few years, yet the smallholder farmers are not embracing the use of drought-resistant crop varieties. Conservation agriculture can do a lot of good for the smallholder farmers and it can be easily implemented at their scale of production. This can revolutionise Zimbabwean smallholder agriculture but there is not enough awareness amongst the farmers, especially the rural-based folks.
Information service providers such as Agrimobi, Ecofarmer, eHurudza, eMkambo, Esoko, ZIMACE, etc. have realised the dire need for information in agriculture and are doing a commendable job to solve this problem. Nevertheless, very few smallholder farmers in the rural areas know and understand the services being offered by these entities. Whilst most of the service providers use SMS technology, the effectiveness of the method is limited since an SMS can only contain 160 characters, this means that sometimes the information is not fully expressed. Moreover, in some cases, the use of the English language to convey the message further boggles the farmer and they fail to fully understand. Therefore, they naturally do not heed the advice from the service provider. To solve this problem, there is need to do client profiling, whereby the service providers gather relevant information about the farmers and then utilise it to send targeted messages which are in tandem with the farmers’ activities. A participatory approach needs to be taken, involving the farmers and agricultural extension officers in the development of the agricultural ICT products and services. This will further dispel the distrust that generally harbours in most smallholder farmers. The farmers are afraid of losing their traditional ways of farming and are therefore sceptical to adopt new technologies. Therefore, the approach for farmers by farmers (FFBF) can be instrumental in manoeuvring this hurdle. Generally, service providers complain of the farmers’ unwillingness to pay for the services and this can be remedied when the farmers feel engaged as part of the development process and also perceive value by receiving information that is tailor-made to their needs. Furthermore, social investors can chip in and subsidize the subscription fees for the peasant farmers.
The agricultural extension personnel have an important role to play in promoting use of the mobile phone as an effective tool for agricultural production in the rural districts across the country. They are tasked with training farmers on how to use various information services at their disposal. Most of the rural-based farmers are technologically challenged and have technophobia, thus slowing the rate of development and taking up of modern methods applied in agricultural production. The training by extension officers will lead to the embracement of the ICTs in the agricultural sector. This exercise will also help in countering the problem of mobile phone theft rampant in the nation by empowering the farmers with knowledge and skills to use the security features on their devices for quick and efficient recovery. Agriculture oriented insurance schemes such as EcoSure may also include mobile telephone theft insurance as part of the services they offer to farmers.
Our research organisations are churning out a lot of valuable information for the consumption of the farmers, but the question is: Does that information eventually reach the intended user? The information is of no use if it cannot be communicated to the intended consumers and this is perhaps reflected in our level of productivity. The research institutes and district extension offices should be fully equipped with state-of-theart ICTs or else the research findings we generate as a nation will amount to nought. There have been reports about the extension workers and researchers using their finances to foot the communication costs in transmitting information to the farmers. It would be a prudent decision to come with reimbursement initiatives and incentives so as to maintain healthy information flows. The duty-free policy for ICT equipment by the government is a good initiative for technological development in agriculture. Nonetheless, the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology ought to provide measures to curb the high data costs. This has been a huge challenge for farmers and further worsens the information asymmetries. A significant reduction in the data tariffs will provide an enabling environment for development.
Increased use of ICTs has great potential in addressing the challenges posed by the lack of information. This information which is the lifeblood of modern economies is essential in revolutionizing our agricultural sector. The land that saw Zimbabwe being the breadbasket of Africa in the past is still the same, what needs to change is the way we do things as African farmers. Efficient and constant information flows through ICTs such as the mobile phone, application packages, email services, podcasts, etc. will keep the farmers abreast of new technologies that are being churned out and implement them at an early stage. This will boost productivity and ensure food security in the nation.