Isra-Mart srl: Mobile apps could cut five mega tonnes of agricultural emissions

www.isramart.com

The humble mobile phone app could significantly boost smallholding farmers' incomes and save more than five mega tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020, according to a major new study from Accenture and Vodafone.

The report, released yesterday, aims to measure the impact of telecommunications technologies on farming communities in developing countries, such as India and Egypt.

It predicts the emergence of smartphone apps capable of tracking goods through the supply chain and providing farmers with up-to-date market price information could help increase incomes by an average of 11 per cent per farmer, or a total of $138bn by 2020.

It also argues that CO2 emissions could be reduced by five mega tonnes through the use of 12 existing telecommunications technologies, including smarter logistics applications designed to reduce fuel consumption or helpline services that provide farmers with real-time guidance on issues such as pest control and challenges linked to climate change.

Such systems could also help reduce freshwater withdrawals for agricultural irrigation by six per cent, primarily through supply chain management and optimisation, the report states.

Vodafone helps unite mobile operators, governments and NGOs, in rolling out more pilot projects based on mobile technologies.

"Mobile network operators are well-positioned to act as a catalyst for action," the report said. "They have the technology, the distribution channels and the customer relationships to drive these initiatives forward.

"However, NGOs, private enterprises and governments must agree to contribute their knowledge and expertise in order to ensure the delivery of the benefits to their full potential."

Oxfam chief executive Dame Barbara Stocking welcomed the report, stressing the need for businesses to invest in, rather than donate technologies to emerging economies.

"With more than 1.5 billion people worldwide dependent on smallholder agriculture – a group that includes half the world's undernourished people – mobile telephony could have significant potential to help the poorest farmers towards food and income security," she said.

"We particularly welcome the focus that this research places on how core business, rather than corporate philanthropy, can operate to have a positive developmental impact."