Africa: Connecting farmers with mobile phones

A project launched in 2009 in Uganda's Bushenyi and Mbale districts enlists trusted local residents, such as farmers, agriculture extension workers, shopkeepers and school teachers, to disseminate and gather information about agriculture using mobile phones. The workers help the Ugandan farmers treat not only sick goats, but also blighted bananas, coffee berry bacterial infections, discolored tomatoes and other plant and livestock problems.