Funded by ROOTS and with United Purpose (UP) as the implementing partner, the development of the horticulture sector in The Gambia has been a focal point for UP / Self-Help Africa for over two decades. The focus of UP and our partners’ work in the sector includes building the capability of women ‘’kafos’’ across the country, developing horticulture value chains, and increasing market linkages. The lack of women vegetable growers’ access to prevailing market prices of vegetables is among the key challenges faced, as they mostly rely on middlemen and/or whenever they travel to the nearest markets to access current market prices of produce. This situation reduces their ability to make informed long-term production plans based on their knowledge of demand and supply trends in the markets. In turn, this has a significant impact on the income from the sale of their vegetable produce, their livelihoods, and their families’ food security. Low levels of functional literacy, lack of education, and multiple local languages are all challenges that hinder women’s access to and productive use of market price information.

 

In response to the situation, UP in partnership with ROOTS, has piloted and expanded a Market Information System (MIS) that has enabled farmers to access prevailing market prices of key vegetables across the major markets in the country. This was done to provide them with stronger negotiating power when engaging with value chain actors and selling at the farm gate. It also helps them to make a more informed decision on when to travel to urban markets and sell their produce. Consultations with beneficiaries and UP’s wider experience in the region of using information and communication technologies (MIS) for delivering information to rural populations confirmed that there was a need for a voice-based system to deliver market information in appropriate local languages.

The Market Price Information System (MIS) has undergone futher enhancements, now offering access through a WhatsApp chatbot. This expansion signifies that the (MIS) is no longer exclusive to farmers; rather, it is now accessible to all Gambians, enabling them to conveniently check weekly market prices at any time.