Setting the scene

Goodluck is a 35 year old progressive farmer. He starts his day early checking his smartphone for the latest news on the weather, the crops he grows and on any policy developments that may concern his business and the cooperative he is a member of.

As he is about to start work, he remembers that he wanted to see if he could find any information on a new pest he heard about yesterday on the radio. He will link up with his input provider, Kahilu, later today to discuss possible solutions and sends him a quick SMS to confirm the meeting. A firm believer in getting a second opinion, he reminds himself that he should also get in touch with the Farmers’ helpline.

After running a quick digital scan of his cows and sending the data to the national disease surveillance system, he checks the commodity prices at the nearby market before logging onto Facebook to see if there is anything new from the farmers’ federation which represents his interests in the region.