"Buuza Omulimisa" (ask the extension officer): text messaging for low literate farming communities in rural Uganda

Abstract

This paper presents a study of a mobile based question and answer platform --- Buuza-Omulimisa --- that enables farmers to interact with their respective extension officers in their own local dialects. The study was conducted in the two villages of Ssebbi and Bukalango Kakiri Sub-county, Wakiso district central Uganda from June through August 2014. The objectives of the study were to: (1) examine the effect of the use of farmers' own languages on the use of the system; (2) investigate the information needs of farmers; and (3) examine the effectiveness and efficiency of the system in comparison with the conventional extension system. We also intended to examine how existing local extension agents can be integrated in the implementation of ICT based services for agriculture --- to reduce operational costs. The study provided useful insights into how the use of farmers' own local languages in implementing SMS based systems affects adoption; and important lessons on the feasibility of integrating existing local extension agents in the implementation of ICT based services for agriculture as a way to reduce operational costs and achieve long term sustainability. Findings suggest that using farmers' own languages in ICT services makes it easy and quick for farmers to learn and use the system and thus increases chances of adoption. It also helps overcome issues of illiteracy as most farmers can read and write in their own languages but cannot do the same in English. Findings further suggest that involving local extension agents in the implementation of ICT-based services for agriculture instead of bypassing them, significantly reduces operational costs and makes sustainability of ICT initiatives possible.