This proposal is part of a broader initiative that leverages the knowledge of Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and its strategic partners in the mobile world, promoting digital inclusion for smallholders and family farmers in Rwanda and Senegal, both countries which represent the face of digital divide, rural poverty and malnutrition. Through adoption of mobile applications, initially four services will be deployed, aiming to change the way rural households do business, manage their assets and access essential information for their daily needs and opportunities.

Discover and organize the best content in open and accessible repositories using the best and most suitable technologies, ensuring these FAO resources are available, timely, consistent, accurate, scalable and interoperable.Develop, implement and improve advisory and transactional services in and for the field, delivering knowledge, training and support to the extension teams (the last mile agents) or directly to the family farmers.Outreach, disseminate and create engagement for the services in each country, beneficiary and service, including development of online platforms and a media strategy but also tools able to engage farmers and extension agents in digital communities, in addition to promoting the mobile solutions in dissemination channels, like app stores.

In collaboration with the national governments, local and strategic partners, the main idea of this initiative is to offer, in near real time, a portfolio of these initial four mobile applications, providing services that support concrete daily needs of the farmers in an easy, hassle free and customisable way. Based on the knowledge gathered by FAO and local policies, the package of solutions will be delivered to ensure quality information and technical advisory services, using complementary and incremental approach between each one.FAO, strategic and local partners will support the development of mobile devices and ICT applications, broadcasting content, and literacy to deliver quality information about food production, nutrition, health, natural disasters and financial services inclusion and access to commercialisation market and agricultural credit for women farmers from Rwanda and Senegal.The capacity development will organise at least two workshops, use local radio programs in community broadcasting stations and other ways to communicate, inform and engage farmers, extension workers and rural leaders highlighting the benefits of the services and promote the apps.

Connection and mobile devices, combined with useful digital content, make a difference at the time of seeding or when planning the next harvest as well as animal husbandry. FAO, strategic and local partners will support the development of ICT applications, broadcasting content, and literacy to deliver quality information rural households in Rwanda and Senegal.In collaboration with the national governments, local and strategic partners, the main idea of this initiative is to offer, in near real time, a portfolio of these four initial mobile applications providing services that support concrete daily needs of poor households in an easy, hassle free and customisable way. Based on the knowledge gathered by FAO and local policies, the package of software solutions will be delivered to ensure quality information and technical advisory services, using complementary and incremental approach between each one. The group of applications will be validated by the local communities and producers to receive suggestions for improvements of the portfolio.Goals of this project have continued progression, having a global nature, bringing together a large multi-stakeholder community using digital communication tools and platforms. It tries to do business in a different way, addressing global challenges and creating inclusive business models, leveraging the potential of digital innovations allowing a quick and challenging enhancements. It’s about finding new scalable solutions to global issues, harnessing multi-stakeholder participation of governments, UN agencies, the private sector and civil society using the power of the internet to share knowledge.The proposed model and the strategy to implement these digital services ranging from basic information to more sophisticated services. They require intense consultation and articulation among the various partners starting with the national and regional governments to trained community leaders and extension workers supporting closer extension services for small farmers as well as professionals from private areas of telecommunications and internet.The project is in line and coordinated with national and priority programs in Rwanda and Senegal, FAO is addressing these challenges / problems with the coordination and support of local businesses of telecommunications and Internet access providers, launching digital services directly addressed for smallholder farmers, small scale agro-enterprises, subsistence farmers, and consumers groups in rural/Peri-urban areas. Communication through basic audiovisual aids (descriptive images, videos and audio in mobile formats) in local languages will reduce the communication time and gap between key players in the field.

Government of Senegal, Government of Rwanda, Global Framework Climate Service - Africa Office, telecom operators, local start-ups, District of Rulindo,