{"id":10157,"date":"2016-11-04T17:55:49","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T21:55:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/power-of-mobile-technology-to-build-climate-resilience-for-the-rural-poor\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T18:00:45","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T22:00:45","slug":"echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/","title":{"rendered":"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"

In many developing countries, the effects of severe climate changes are seen most often in the reduction of food resources, as well as degradation of water ecosystems.\u00a0Yet, farmers oftentimes receive little or no relevant information to help them cope with drought and other climatic stresses, which lead to further productivity inefficiencies.<\/p>\n

Echo Mobile (Echo) is one of the many social enterprises aiming to deploy mobile technology on the farm to build climate resilience.\u00a0Launched by Juhudi Labs, Echo Mobile provides a mobile platform that enables real-time field reporting, geospatial analysis, and integrated communication.[1] Through their mobile devices, farmers, especially in remote areas, can not only send real-time field data through SMS, but also receive agricultural advisories to help them adapt to the changing climate conditions.<\/p>\n

\"large_u57w0bzufhylgayekq323sjjknipuvzzbkrfiugx0te\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Field Data Collection<\/strong><\/p>\n

Traditionally, field data collection has been slow and cumbersome. Data is first collected in the field, filled in on paper forms, then is transported to a central location (often several kilometers away), where it is then transcribed.[2] The manual nature as well as process delay can often hamper the ability to make meaningful and effective real-time decisions.<\/p>\n

In recent years, mobile phone adoption in developing countries has grown at an exponential rate, unseen in any other sector. More often than not, villagers are more likely to have access to a mobile phone than clean water or electricity, and 77% of the world\u2019s 6 billion active mobile phone users are located in the developing world.[3] The availability of mobile phones in the developing world is radically changing the agricultural landscape in terms of data collection and information delivery.<\/p>\n

And this is where Echo comes in. Through both a web-based application and an SMS messaging system, Echo allows farmers to send field data using mobile phones in real time, and provide access to high-quality, locally-relevant information about weather, markets, and guidance on farming technologies.[4] Data collection through a mobile device improves not only the speed of the collection process, but also the quality of farming information obtained from the field. Because mobile phone users can send data from many remote locations, information can be transmitted for database storage and analysis in near real-time.[5]<\/p>\n

GeSI Partnership in Uganda <\/strong><\/p>\n

In one of the most successful initiatives, Echo Mobile partnered with UN Global e-Sustainability Initiative, and launched\u00a0a platform initiative\u00a0to help Ugandan farmers to adapt to climate change. Through Echo\u2019s SMS application platform, farmers can use the mobile tools to collect and send field data to a regional GeSI research center. The data is analyzed in real-time, and farmers receive agricultural guidance, as well as crop and livestock market information and weather data.[6]<\/p>\n

\"screen-shot-2016-11-04-at-5-23-53-pm\"<\/a><\/p>\n

More than 100,000 farmers now receive seasonal and short-term weather forecasts and agricultural advisories on low-cost rainwater harvesting techniques, and drought and flood response mechanisms via mobile-phone technology.[7]\u00a0In turn, farmers are able to increase yields, minimize crop damage and resource wastage, allowing them to build greater resilience to erratic weather patterns.<\/p>\n

Disaster Response \u2013 Fight Against Ebola <\/strong><\/p>\n

Echo Mobile has also employed its mobile technology to address disaster situations. When the endemic hit in May 2015, Echo joined forces with IBM Africa\u2019s research unit and regional telecom provider Airtel in a pilot program to combat Ebola in Sierra Leone.[8]<\/p>\n

Through the initiative, local villagers used the Echo Mobile platform to send relevant disease information, such as number and conditions of people affected, via SMS to a central information hub. Echo then aggregates and translate the data with analytics, which is received and analyzed by the Sierra Leone Open Government Initiative through IBM\u2019s research facility. Medical and response teams are then dispatched to assist affected families and communities.[9]<\/p>\n

The citizen engagement as well as the research response system has enabled the government to effectively allocate resources and identify particular areas of needs in real time. With the proliferation of mobile usage worldwide and advancement in remote data analytics, Echo as well as other communications providers will be able to use mobile technology to significantly enhance efforts in disaster response and recovery.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next? <\/strong><\/p>\n

While the SMS nature of Echo\u2019s information flow allows the applications to be deployed in the most remote areas, the range of services is still quite simple and limited. To fully take advantage of the latest agricultural technology and to effectively address the global shortage of food supply, Echo should follow the footsteps of other telecom providers, and explore partnership with equipment and hardware OEMs to create \u201cConnected Smart Farming\u201d solutions to solve the agricultural challenge.[10] For example, soil-based sensors and camera imaging devices can help analyze presence of nutrients in the crops, as well as identify diseased plants and weed-infested areas. Location-based solutions and tractor sensors could also reduce wastage and identify areas in the field where fertilizers or pesticides are needed the most.[11]<\/p>\n

Through Echo Mobile, farmers in remote areas in developing countries have improved access to field data technologies, which they can use to better anticipate climate change-related risks and build resilience in farming communities.<\/p>\n

(Word count: 796)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

[1] Kulsoom. “Meet Echo Mobile, the first Juhudi Labs partner company”.\u00a0Juhudi Labs Blog<\/em>. October 23, 2014.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[2] Omondi, Julius. “Kenyan agriculture platform supports smallholder farmers”.\u00a0BizTech Africa.\u00a0<\/em>November 17, 2013.<\/p>\n

[3] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[4] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[5] Caring for Climate.\u00a0Business and Climate Change Adaption: Toward Resilient Companies and Communities<\/em>. 2012.<\/p>\n

[6]\u00a0UN Framework on Climate Change. Enabling Farmers to Adapt to Climate change<\/em>.\u00a0http:\/\/unfccc.int\/secretariat\/momentum_for_change\/items\/9256.php<\/p>\n

[7] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[8] IBM. “IBM Launches Humanitarian Initative to\u00a0Contain Ebola Outbreak in Africa.”\u00a0Press Release.\u00a0<\/em>October 27, 2014.<\/p>\n

[9] Ibid.<\/p>\n

[10] Dasgupta, Jishnu.\u00a0“Old MacDonald gets a “Smart Farm”.\u00a0Nokia Blog.\u00a0<\/span><\/em>September 26, 2016<\/p>\n

[11] Ibid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Echo Mobile harnesses the power of mobile technology<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2389,"featured_media":13915,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1711,28,1218,704,1964],"class_list":["post-10157","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adaptation","category-agriculture","category-climate-change","category-developing-economies","category-echo-mobile"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nEcho Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Echo Mobile harnesses the power of mobile technology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-04T22:00:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/0f351ac.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"646\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"199\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/\",\"name\":\"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/0f351ac.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-11-04T21:55:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-11-04T22:00:45+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/0f351ac.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/4\\\/2016\\\/11\\\/0f351ac.png\",\"width\":646,\"height\":199},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Submissions\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/\",\"name\":\"Technology and Operations Management\",\"description\":\"MBA Student Perspectives\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"性视界Action\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management","og_description":"Echo Mobile harnesses the power of mobile technology","og_url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/","og_site_name":"Technology and Operations Management","article_modified_time":"2016-11-04T22:00:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":646,"height":199,"url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/0f351ac.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/","name":"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience - Technology and Operations Management","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/0f351ac.png","datePublished":"2016-11-04T21:55:49+00:00","dateModified":"2016-11-04T22:00:45+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/0f351ac.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/0f351ac.png","width":646,"height":199},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/echo-mobile-helping-farmers-build-climate-resilience\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Submissions","item":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Echo Mobile: Helping Farmers Build Climate Resilience"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/","name":"Technology and Operations Management","description":"MBA Student Perspectives","potentialAction":[{"@type":"性视界Action","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/10157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/hck-submission"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2389"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10157"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hck-submission\/10157\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}