Esoko
A suite of digital tools allowing for information sharing and data collection for remote farming communities
Farmers in Africa lose out due to a lack of information on commodity prices, weather, and different buyers. While this problem has often been the result of rural isolation, the increasing adoption of mobile technology across the continent provides an opportunity to address it.
Dubbed ‘Facebook for farmers’, Esoko provides powerful web-based mobile tools that empower organisations to provide services to hard-to-reach communities. Esoko’s Information Services platform can be used to create customised networks and share content - such as market prices, weather forecast and agronomic advice - via SMS and call centres.
Current and Future Impact
Esoko's information services has been independently studied by New York University and CIRAD, who concluded that Esoko's market prices helped smallholder farmers improve their incomes/revenue by 10%-20%.
Through strategic partnerships, Esoko is able to provide its services in multiple countries including Mexico, Burkina Faso, Malawi and Tanzania. Collected data is also used by governments, replacing outmoded and inefficient paper systems. Esoko helped the Government of Ghana profile 3.7 million beneficiaries in 936,000 households to better target beneficiaries for intervention programs and cash payments.
