OSTRICHGROUP MEMBERS:1. Dorothy Okello2. Nigel Crawhill3. Sylvestre

Ouedraogo4. Ednah Karamagi

Characteristics of the Women's Group

• Have a good team work spirit

• They are hard working• Skilled in tomato

production for a specific market

• Have low, middle and high end mobile phones

MAIN PROBLEM

The farmers were engaged in a specific business model for a

defined market...

....today, the contract has ended and the economic environment

has changed

Two Options ...

Option A??? Option B???

Way Forward

• These women farmers need to develop skills towards a broader economic context, in particular, there is need for them to: -– Rethink the business plan– Think about product

diversification– Have a market analysis; and

understand the market– Start thinking about effective

post harvest mechanisms

TASK

What is the best way to get solutions to their problem with a bias to usage of a mobile phone

technology???

First and foremost ...• They need skills outside their production skills

– Negotiation, proposal writing, Training– Market analysis– Climate forecasts– Functions of a mobile phone (low, middle and high

end)

• Money for skill building– Start from salvaging the immediate rot

• Obtain the seeds, sun dry them and sell them off to earn income. Excess seeds can be stored in ash for future sale

• Sun dry the tomatoes and sell them to the South African Market

• Rooting fruit pulp be sold off to chicken or pig farmers • Consider batter trade

– Look for willing partners– Obtain negotiation skills

• New sources of income

SolutionsThey need new sources of income• Use online search engines (google,

infoseek, ask jeeves, etc) to: -– Look for donors online, contact them

and commence discussions– Obtain information for a fee in tomato

growing and various other products; thereby becoming village info points

– Look for market within and out of Zimbabwe. Get in touch and commence discussions

– Look for information on other products and engage in them

– Download songs and sell to the youth, pass on via blue tooth

...solutions

• Engaging in M Learning– Develop a web presence by taking

advantage of the existing free platforms like word press, blogger, etc. Add content about their project

– Develop training and information skits for tomato growing and other products. They upload them on their web platform. They then train other farmers for a fee: -• Using the mobile phones using emails • Using customized times for the trainees

using chat rooms like Skype, yahoo, etc

...solutions

• Use of Multi Media Messaging– Develop a database of common

diseases and pests affecting the crops and livestock in their area. Upload it on their web platform. Attach avoidance and management solutions. Use this as a consultancy base for a fee. Either: -• They send the distressed farmer an

SMS• They physically visit the distressed

farmer

...solutions

• Use of Instant Mobile Messaging & SMS usage– Get farmers to subscribe

afore to relevant SMS categories periodically. These are charged per batch e.g.• Football News updates for

desired matches• Specific crop/livestock

information• Government information

affecting agriculture

In Conclusion

• It is important for these farmers to: -– Draw from the lessons learnt

– Continue to practise effective team work

– Learn the art of money savings and appropriate investment