Agriculture In agriculture, mobile applications are being used to deliver advice, education, pest/disease early warning and marketing information to small-holder farmers. In Uganda, the Collecting and Exchange of Local Agricultural Content (CELAC) project uses SMS to send farming tips to small-holder communities. The project uses mobile access to advise farmers on new and potentially lucrative micro-agroenterprises, such as livestock and export crops (such as coffee, cotton, tea, tobacco and sugar). Mobile applications like the one used by CELAC make it possible for farmers to network and share knowledge and experiences with other small-holders on best practices, appropriate crop varieties, and good pest management tools (including tracking disease and pest outbreaks). In turn, farmers can improve crop yields, expand market possibilities, and improve their overall food security.
Job Creation and Education Mobile phones can also facilitate employment and help coordinate the informal job market by opening up new venues such as mobile employment platforms for people seeking permanent work as well as day-to-day contractual work (Mariscal 2009). In Palestine, for example, the Souktel project connects employers and job seekers through text message services without the need for an Internet connection. M-education initiatives using simple text-based applications can help with tutoring, open communication channels to libraries, as well as notify and provide scheduling information and progress reports to students and parents. In South Africa, a mobile mathematics tutoring programme, Dr. Math, uses the MXit instant messaging platform to allow students to submit math problems to tutors (Butgereit 2009).24 Developed by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in South Africa, project leaders indicate that around 12,000 pupils have used Dr. Math with assistance from over 100 tutors. The BridgeIt project in Tanzania and the Philippines provides teachers in primary school with access to digital video content for use in classrooms in mathematics, science, English and life skills. And mobile
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