price information
Posted by AnneryanHeatwole on Sep 18, 2009
Information Technology and Rural Market Performance in Central India data sheet 1755 Views
Abstract:
Can price information improve the functioning of rural markets in ways that benefit farmers? Beginning in October 2000, a private company established internet kiosks and warehouses that provide wholesale price information and an alternative marketing channel to soybean farmers in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. Using a new market-level dataset with spatial geo-coded information, the estimates suggest a significant increase in the monthly wholesale market price of soybeans after the introduction of kiosks, lending support to the predictions of the theoretical model. Moreover, there is a robust increase in area under soy cultivation. The results suggest that information can enhance the functioning of rural markets by increasing the competitiveness of local buyers.
Posted by Esther Nasikye on Aug 24, 2008
Agriculture is what keeps economies in most developing countries alive. However, farmers in many countries face major challenges. In an age of global markets, they are forced to enhance production, improve the quality of their yield, and access markets within short timeframes. Small-scale farmers especially have traditionally been deprived of weather and crop information, have been at the mercy of middlemen, and have lacked timely market price information to negotiate the best deal. This has chancged with the a connect people advent of widespread telephony that connects farmers wiith markets, weather, and other data.
Governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and international donors are taking advantage of this technology revolution to help farmers access market information. They are convinced that low-cost access to agricultural prices could yield enormous payoffs.
In Uganda, the Women of Uganda Network (WOUGNET), a local NGO, is helping over 400 rural farmers in the Apac District in Northern Uganda, access information on market prices through text messages (SMS).
