Cell phones are not just for talking

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Cell phones are not just for talking. In the hands of our farmers and fisherfolk, the power of this technology can forge new enterprise cultures in agriculture and fisheries, critical to overall productivity. 

Affordable smartphones in the hands of our farmers mean they can 
  • receive planting advice and disease diagnoses from the Ministry of Agriculture or CARDI
  • weather information 
  • be assisted with planning and coordination
  • exchange information with other farmers (peer advice/assistance; knowing who is planting what and when to avoid a glut on the market) 
  • inform supermarkets, hotels and wholesale buyers what they have in stock, and receive orders 
  • receive payments via online banking through banks or credit unions.
We need to take advantage of the profound effect that cellphone technology might have on Grenada’s efforts to reduce our import food bill, consistently deliver more produce at affordable prices, and support our national food security. 

For much of the past decade, cellphones assist farmers in sub-Saharan Africa to improve agriculture, by providing them with up-to-date information about a range of relevant topics increasing the incomes of small scale farmers, farming co-operatives and organisations. I believe we need to pair Grenadian youth, technology and gadgets with agriculture and fisheries, or we may end up with no food producers within two generations. The youth generally have no assets, no money, no land, no market or business connections and are seen as actors in the value chain instead of partners with assets of knowledge, innovation and problem-solving. As partners to solutions, youth with technology at its disposal can unlock the bottlenecks in the agriculture and fisheries food systems that our fore-parents grappled with. Because we need our younger and future generations to be involved in food production for our survival, our youth must be empowered to utilise their knowledge asset to contribute as a true partner in our food systems. 

Technology at the end level and at the production level can be used to leverage improved productivity and returns to the existing and new generation agriprenures toward overall improvement of their lives and our nation. 

As Senator for Agriculture and Fisheries I look forward to see the rollout and implementation of Apps and other innovations needed for unblocking bottlenecks in the agriculture supply chain and improving our food security through agriculture and fisheries advancement. My added expectation is that our youth will be motivated to step up to the plate with similar innovations supported by the main beneficiaries of these “new generation” solutions – Government and the private sector.

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