Jason Hahn is Business Development Manager ICT Innovation, at Grameen Foundation Seattle.
As readers of this blog know, Grameen Foundation’s AppLab is building a network of Community Knowledge Workers (CKWs) in Uganda. These CKW’s, equipped with mobile phones and customized agricultural apps, bridge the last mile of agricultural extension work. Below you will find the story of farmer Michael Kipsang’s experience working with his local CKW and we answered his coffee question. Thanks to Edward Chelangat, one of our field officers in Uganda, for passing Michael’s story along.
Micheal Kipsang
Michael is a farmer from Kapting parish, Kapwosobey village, who farms cabbage, bananas and coffee, although he largely buys and sells coffee. Michael went to our CKW Albert Somikwo and asked to know the price of coffee in Mbale (a larger regional town). Albert used his mobile phone to search for him and found that coffee was going for 5000 Uganda shillings (USD 2.27) in Mbale. Michael knew 5600 Uganda shillings was the price per kilogram of coffee in Kapchorwa, a town closer than Mbale. Michael decided to sell his crop in Kapchorwa because the price was higher than in Mbale, which would also require high transport costs.
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