Can digital services help tackle the extension service dilemma?

Manfa is a 42-year-old farmer, who produces chili peppers in southern Mali on a small plot of land close to the border with Guinea, where much of his produce is exported. Manfa is an experienced farmer, having grown vegetables for more than 20 years. Yet, despite his experience, he faces major challenges with his chili pepper crops. Last season, he lost about 70 per cent of his seedlings to crickets and other pests.

This season, however, things changed. It all started when he received a promotional robocall on his phone. The call shared advice on how to fertilize vegetable plots and invited farmers to access additional advice, on demand and free of charge, through the “Kunafoniw” 3-2-1 service. To learn more, Manfa dialled 37321 to access the service. There, he found several messages on chili pepper production, including advice on preparing a nursery and caring for seedlings. He learned, for example, that seedling beds could be covered with mosquito netting, secured to the ground, to protect them from pests. After applying this technique, along with others he had discovered, Manfa reduced his seedling losses to less than 10 per cent. Overall, he also reported increasing his yields by around 50 per cent, a result that he attributes largely to the advice received through the service.

Across Mali, thousands of farmers like Manfa listened to IVR messages on farming best practices developed by the ILO’s An Ka Baara project, and many reported putting what they learned into practice. This case study examines the central question: Can a basic phone service provide practical technical advice that farmers can use? It unpacks the ILO’s work to answer this question through details on the intervention’s context, design, reach, reported results and lessons.