Reaching More Farmers through IVR

Digital Green reached more than 18,600 farmers, including 1,957 female farmers, with various seasonal agricultural messages in five different languages through ATA’s 8028 in the past six months. The messages, transmitted starting from June, 2021; focuses on harvest and post-harvest, weeding & fertilizer application, pest & disease control, row planting, land preparation, seed selection for crops like wheat, tef, barley, maize, sorghum, and coffee. 

Digital Green is using technologies such as video and IVR to empower farmers by providing access to information on improved agricultural practices in partnership with other like minded organizations and institutions. This collaboration will reach out to a wider audience base and farmers who cannot be able to have the opportunity to attend the face to face video extension sessions. In this regard, Digital Green partners with the Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA) and is utilizing the 8028 line, to ensure that smallholders have immediate access to relevant seasonal agricultural information, which will help them to make decisions aligned with their farming practices. Accordingly, Digital Green has managed to reach 18658 farmers, 3168 Development Agents (DAs) as well as 528 regional, zonal and woreda level heads with various messages in five languages. Besides using the 8028-line, Digital Green is partnering with ATA in various activities. As part of the partnership, Digital Green assigned Ecom Technologies to provide capacity building and skill transfer focusing on Application and user side of 8028. The 8028 Farmers’ Hotline is a system designed to provide agronomic best practices to smallholder farmers via mobile and landline phones. Starting its operation in 2014, the 8028 Farmer’s Hotline reached more than 5.5 million registered users to receive different agronomy, and Livestock based information in the country using 6 languages.