LONDON (Alliance News) - Vodafone Group PLC Tuesday said the Connected Farmer Alliance public-private partnership has signed its first commercial agreement to use mobile technology to boost the productivity of farmers in Tanzania.
Vodafone said the alliance, in which it is partnered with the US Agency for International Development and non-profit group TechoServe, has signed a deal with Olam International Ltd, the Singapore-based agribusiness group.
Under the deal, the alliance will provide mobile services for around 30,000 Olam coffee, cotton and cocoa smallholder farmers in Tanzania. The services will be provided by Vodacom Tanzania, a subsidiary of Vodacom Group, in which Vodafone holds a majority stake.
The services will include the introduction of the Vodafone M-Pesa mobile money transfer service, it said.
"Mobile communications offer major opportunities to advance human development - from providing access to education and health information to helping boost productivity in the agriculture sector," said Serpil Timuray, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific Regional Manager at Vodafone.
"In this case, mobile services are being used to enhance farmers' lives and transform business performance at all points of the agricultural value chain," he added.
Vodafone shares were up 0.3% to 194.4495 pence on Tuesday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2014 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Vodafone (VOD)