A special report on telecoms in emerging markets: : Beyond voice | The Economist

A special report on telecoms in emerging markets: : Beyond voice | The Economist

The Farmer’s Friend service accepts text-message queries such as “rice aphids”, “tomato blight” or “how to plant bananas” and dispenses relevant advice from a database compiled by local partners. More complicated questions (“my chicken’s eyes are bulging”) are relayed to human experts, who either call back within 15 minutes or, with particularly difficult problems, promise to provide an answer within four days. These answers are then used to improve the database.


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Ted Eytan, MD