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Export group in Mali uses GPS, cameras and computers to gather product data

Denise Senmartin
François Laureys

A Malian association uses ICT to gather data from farmers to meet international export standards and makes the same information on the web to help supply chain partners and inform consumers.

When the Malian fruit and vegetable export organization, Fruit et Légumes du Mali (Fruiléma), decided to promote locally grown mangoes to markets overseas, it also wanted to give consumers the chance to find out more about the product and where it came from. The two people responsible for the project, Boukary Bâ and Mamadou Koné, have been developing an information and communication system to identify producers and their farm plots, and to introduce quantity and quality indicators. They then publish the information on the web for anyone to access.

All agricultural goods destined for international markets need to meet certification requirements guaranteeing the quality and identifying the source of the product. GLOBALGAP is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the world. To meet the standards, all goods are checked for quality and exporters have to provide details of everyone who has handled the product throughout the entire supply chain, that is everyone from the farmer to the exporter and includes transporters, traders and warehousers.

Fruiléma, an association representing 790 small producers and five exporter groups throughout the country, wants to use all the data gathered to further inform partners about the supply process and improve north-south linkages that promote not only trade, but also mutual understanding and collaboration. The organization hopes that, eventually, consumers will be able to type a number from a tag on the fruit into the website to get exact details of where a mango came from, its producer, their efforts to cultivate the product and generally learn more about the ‘green gold of Mali’. There are, however, still some important challenges remaining before the organization can make this service widely available.

Motivation
One of the main challenges has been to convince farmers to provide all the information required to qualify for exports. The necessary details are quite extensive and include not only the exact amounts produced, but also the fertilizers and the processes used in cultivation. Fruiléma began by looking at how farmers currently collect information and then looked, together with the farmers, at how they could combine those existing methods with newer techniques involving information and communication technology.

The information was collected on paper at the start of the project, but its organizers paired this process with training on how to input the same data into spreadsheet and word processing documents. The association also provided training to personnel from each of the five exporter groups in using a variety of ICTs to collate information, starting with inserting names, numbers and photos into computer files. The farmers, however, were especially interested in the use of digital cameras and taking profile photos has become a surprising incentive for producers to join the information collection efforts and take part in the project.

In the words of Mamadou Koné, who is in charge of Fruiléma in the Sikasso region, ‘The turning point came when those who originally didn't want to sign up learned that we were taking photos. They suddenly wanted to be a part of this and get their photo taken. The pictures really helped to change peoples’ minds and the use of digital cameras has enhanced the involvement of the farmers. Now we have a picture and data related to each of the farmers’.

The initial struggle to get farmers involved would seem to imply that simply talking about information systems for market expansion is not enough to attract farmers; they have to feel more personally involved before they agree to take part. But once the farmers were interested the project quickly became much more than simply the expansion of markets. It started taking a different shape and meaning, going beyond the number and quality of mangos, to include the farmers’ expectations, their knowledge and personal commitment to meeting information requests from buyers’.

Efficiency
ICTs are playing a key role in advancing the project. The equipment Fruiléma now uses includes computers, digital cameras and GPS (global positioning system) receivers. At the moment, staff from the exporter groups enter the information to the web platform. In the near future, producers will use Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) to send the data directly from the field to the web platform and the project team will extend the use of GPS will improve the tracking process.

While the process of uploading farmers’ information is ongoing, there are other areas of the production process that the project still needs to be developed. For the project to be a real success, the team needs to ensure that the data they gather is reliable and that the information system eventually leads to a number of improvements including:

increased productivity,
packaging centres with a sufficient variety of products to enable operations all year round,
continued compliance with the requirements of external markets,
the introduction of new farming techniques,
product traceability for consumer reassurance,
the creation of a Malian label for market recognition and
increasing the effectiveness and professionalism of Fruiléma and its members.

Although the creation of a website strengthened the credibility of the exporting partners and even led to exporting contracts with companies in the Netherlands and Belgium, developing a database with all the necessary information does not guarantee a successful market information system. Many other factors need to be taken into account such as access to credit, physical infrastructure, skills and marketing. In fact, the banking system in Mali could prove to be a real limiting factor. As so many people in the country lack bank accounts, money transfers to and from overseas partners can be time consuming and complex and has caused problems in previous transactions.

Also, working with exporters’ organizations alone does not guarantee improvements at the producers’ level. It is important to involve the producers as much as possible at all phases of the project, from the early planning stages through to raising interest in the project and developing training courses. Given the complexity of the process, Fruiléma has realized that it is important to closely support their partners during implementation and provide training to the five district exporter groups. More specifically, personnel from these smaller associations will need help to develop their technical skills and expertise when transferring existing procedures and processes to an information system and they will need support to further develop the procedures, market demands, laws and regulations to everyone along the supply chain.

The next step for Fruiléma is to encourage more direct input from the producers by helping them to determine the exact geographical coordinates of their farm plots and, through wider cooperation and coordination of activities of neighbouring farmers, to reduce their expenditure on pesticides and fertilizers. With the right incentives the farmers can be encouraged to contribute to the information gathering process which will, ultimately, help make the supply process more efficient and give the producers better access to overseas markets.

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Denise Senmartin is officer knowledge sharing and François Laureys is country manager at the International Institute for Communication and Development.

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