A VoIP enabled cooperative network for agricultural commerce in Amazon Peru

This paper addresses the use of a VoIP communication service running on a Wi-Fi-based network in the Peruvian Rainforest to enable a cooperative network among producers, buyers and transporters of agricultural products. As a result, uncertainties in a geographically isolated imperfect agricultural market will be reduced, leading to a more efficient use of scarce resources, an increase of farmers' incomes, and more competitive prices of products in urban markets. This project involves enabling access to agricultural product information from buyers in urban areas to farmers in rural villages, as well as transporters and middlemen. The deployment of the Wi-Fi network began in 2007. This network, a 445 km long Wi-Fi Long Distance-based network, was deployed by the Rural Telecommunications Research Group and the Spanish-Americas Health Link (EHAS) Foundation to support telemedicine programs. The deployed network and excess bandwidth makes it possible to continue promoting development in this area by allowing coexistence with other services such as the proposed VoIP enabled cooperative network for commerce of agricultural products. To achieve this end, challenges include: 1) designing an appropriate framework to enable the cooperative network among participants, 2) designing appropriate friendly end-user technology for first-time technology users, and 3) designing an appropriate business model which ensures a sustainable growing service. Using the VoIP service as a tool to enable affordable communication for this agricultural initiative will allow interaction among producers, buyers and transporters located hundreds of kilometers apart and open unprecedented choices for them to offer and trade products, generating innovative practices tailored for the local conditions.