Connected Farmer Alliance: Helping Poor Farmers with Commercially Sustainable m-Agri Services

Citrus vendors learned to use simple mobile technology to improve market linkages through voluntary technical assistance from the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer Program.
Credit: CNFA

Event Information

Can mobile technology help deepen relationships with agribusiness and improve access to financial services for smallholder farmers? Several innovative international development programs are testing that premise. The Connected Farmer Alliance (CFA), one such program, has demonstrated, after three years, that commercially viable models of m-Agricultural services can also have impact. Operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique, this public-private partnership between USAID and Vodafone, with TechnoServe as implementing partner, has showcased an approach that provides benefits to poor farmers as well as agribusinesses.

On May 13 we got a glimpse into the CFA program and learned tips and tricks about forming business relationships between mobile network operators and agribusinesses that leverage mobile money and strengthen links across value chains. Michael Elliott of TechnoServe, Laura Crow of Vodafone, and Judy Payne of USAID discussed what the CFA partnership is working on, how it is benefiting stakeholders, and how the lessons learned can help inform the field of m-Agriculture.

Speakers

Michael Elliott

Michael Elliott

TechnoServe

Michael Elliott is the regional program director for the Connected Farmer Alliance (CFA), a partnership with USAID and Vodafone to develop mobile solutions for agriculture in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. He came to TechnoServe from the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), where he led teams working on strategy development and implementation for Fortune 100 firms. Michael served three years in Niger, first as a Peace Corp Volunteer working with smallholder farmers on natural resource management, and later with Catholic Relief Services developing their IT strategy.

Laura Crow

Laura Crow

Vodafone

Laura Crow is part of Vodafone’s Commercial and Strategy team for M-Pesa where she focuses on new product development in the areas of agriculture and health, and supports the efficacy of the M-Pesa distribution network. Laura has been at Vodafone for six years, with other roles dedicated to their emerging market footprint in consumer services, commercial development and external affairs. Prior to joining Vodafone, Laura worked on issues related to business practices and human rights at a consultancy based in Singapore.

Judy Payne

Judy Payne

USAID

Judy Payne is USAID’s e-business advisor where she helps USAID missions and their projects around the world use information and communications technologies as a tool for economic growth and agriculture development. Her work includes helping USAID’s implementing partners find ways to use ICT-enabled approaches to increase their projects’ success in sustainable and scalable ways. Applications include mobile banking, market price information systems, applications to help large buyers deal with thousands of producers, and new technical and business models to extend access to the Internet to the poor. Prior to joining USAID, Payne worked for over 25 years in the US private sector, including 15 years working in all aspects of e-business, electronic commerce, and e-government.

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Spotlight Event

Online and In-person Event
United States

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