Ghana’s cocoa farmers receive 100,000 SMS in year one of Hershey technology programme

One year after US chocolate maker Hershey Company Ltd., has launched a mobile technology programme to connect cocoa farmers in communities where the crop is produced, 100,000 SMS or text messages have been received.

The programme which has been implemented in 15 farming communities in the Western Region of Ghana, has registered 4000 farmers, according to Hershey.

The technology known as CocoaLink which provides text messages to farmers with access to mobile phones enables them to ask specific cocoa growing questions and share ideas and knowledge with other farmers.

The technology also uses voice in a local language (Twi) and English to connect cocoa farmers with useful information about improving farming practices, farm safety, child labour, health, crop disease prevention, post-harvest management practices and produce marketing for free. It also provides farmers with critical agricultural and social information that benefits farmer families and their communities.

According to Hershey, 40% of registered farmers in CocoaLink have attended community farming and literacy training sessions adding that it is the largest mobile farmer technology programme of its kind on track to reach 25,000 farmers in 2012.

Other sponsors of the programme are the Ghana Cocoa Board and the World Cocoa Foundation.

By Emmanuel K. Dogbevi

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