ICTs and e-solutions can reap benefits for Fijian farmers: Harvesting mobile technology for agri-business

Access to information and communication technologies (ICTs) and e-solutions can enable Fiji to make great advancements in agriculture, and offer avenues for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in problem-solving and innovation.

International Trade Centre (ITC) is working with the Government of Fiji to support its agricultural industry through the sharing of expertise in technology and innovation. A new mobile application for Fiji farmers will improve their know-how on crop and livestock data.

ITC has also devised a match-making service for buyers and suppliers to conduct their trading online in a project undertaken for the Fiji Crop and Livestock Council (FCLC). Another app loaded onto a computer tablet facilitates the collation of market prices by officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, which can cover more than 40 types of farm products sold in municipal markets. Through a database and mobile application server, the info is published at municipal markets countrywide.

This service has been made possible through funds provided by the European Union through its Improvement of Key Services to Agriculture Project under its Accompanying Measures for the Sugar Protocol Development Programme.

"These new mobile applications respond to the needs of Fijian farmers in the rural provinces of the country to gain access to information which is vital in bringing their products from farm to market,’ said ITC Executive Director Arancha González.

Fiji Prime Minister Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama visited the FCLC on 28 March 2014 to officiate at its opening and to look at a demonstration of the new apps to communicate with farmers across the country.