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Kenya Farmers Helpline - ‘Huduma Kwa Wakulima’
New communication channels, notably mobile phones are altering customer expectations about service delivery. Within the past ten years, mobile communication has received recognition as the fastest growing and most effective technology allowing for the fast transmission and exchange of information by enabling people to access, create and use content to develop or enlighten various aspects of their lives such as business, farming, education and sport.
Recently, a donor funded extensive research study was carried out aimed at establishing the availability of information sources for Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) in Kenya and how the information is accessed. Findings from the study show that the farmers have a range of sources but which are not readily available and not always dependable. As a result of these findings, KenCall leveraged its technical and customer service management expertise to launch the revolutionary Kenya Farmers’ Helpline – Huduma Kwa Wakulima, a unique and innovative service that aims to provide agricultural and horticultural information, advice and support over the phone to small holder farmers who are living on or around the subsistence level.
The service which primarily targets individual farmers will also be accessible to agriculture extension facilities, so as to complement existing efforts to support and engage the SHFs with detailed and varied agricultural information on how to improve production (growing, harvesting and rearing), planning (agricultural inputs and planting), negotiating and selling. KenCall expects that with the right information, farmers will be in a position to improve their yields through better farming practices or an increase in the price that can be obtained for their produce through better understanding of product demand.
How to access the service
The service will create a two way channel between farmers and agricultural experts by enabling farmers to obtain real-time answers in English or Swahili depending on their preference. To access it, farmers will call to register whenever they have queries, and with their details already captured, the in-house agricultural experts will provide the right solutions or call them back with feedback within 24hours.
In the event that the agricultural expert is unable to respond in real-time, the helpline agent will get in touch with the second-line agriculture expert consultants and armed with the right answer, revert to the farmer.
Distribution and Roll-out:
The Kenya Farmers’ helpline service has been split geographically by regions and will commence with a test period in:
Central Province – Research findings shows that farmers in the central valley are early adopters to new farming techniques have an entrepreneurial mindset and have the highest ownership and use of mobile phones in the country. The main towns to be covered are Kinangop, Mai Mahiu and Kijabe.
Eastern Province – Research findings show that the Eastern district has climatic conditions closely related to other regions – North Eastern, Coastal and Rift Valley. The main areas to be covered are Athi River District and Kinanie Mathatani Division, Eastern Province.
The above areas were chosen to be in the test phase due to their proximity to the call centre and they are the areas with the most Small Holder Farmers.
The test period will involve understanding farmers’ needs and identifying the queries they are most likely to ask in order to develop a FAQ. During this period, agricultural experts will go out to the field to meet and speak with the farmers, create awareness about the helpline and collect information through questionnaires for data input in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. Registered farmers will then call the helpline and get assistance from the internal agriculture experts. The test period’s objective is to officially launch the helpline, roll-out and scale up across Kenya.
Through this campaign, KenCall’s innovative use of technology will enable SHFs build more productive and profitable businesses to support their communities. It also demonstrates KenCall’s strong focus not just on contract fulfillment in identifying opportunities that will provide platforms for the delivery of high quality services to end-customers.
ICPAC reviews Kenya Farmers’ Helpline read more....
Recently, a donor funded extensive research study was carried out aimed at establishing the availability of information sources for Small Holder Farmers (SHFs) in Kenya and how the information is accessed. Findings from the study show that the farmers have a range of sources but which are not readily available and not always dependable. As a result of these findings, KenCall leveraged its technical and customer service management expertise to launch the revolutionary Kenya Farmers’ Helpline – Huduma Kwa Wakulima, a unique and innovative service that aims to provide agricultural and horticultural information, advice and support over the phone to small holder farmers who are living on or around the subsistence level.
The service which primarily targets individual farmers will also be accessible to agriculture extension facilities, so as to complement existing efforts to support and engage the SHFs with detailed and varied agricultural information on how to improve production (growing, harvesting and rearing), planning (agricultural inputs and planting), negotiating and selling. KenCall expects that with the right information, farmers will be in a position to improve their yields through better farming practices or an increase in the price that can be obtained for their produce through better understanding of product demand.
How to access the service
The service will create a two way channel between farmers and agricultural experts by enabling farmers to obtain real-time answers in English or Swahili depending on their preference. To access it, farmers will call to register whenever they have queries, and with their details already captured, the in-house agricultural experts will provide the right solutions or call them back with feedback within 24hours.
In the event that the agricultural expert is unable to respond in real-time, the helpline agent will get in touch with the second-line agriculture expert consultants and armed with the right answer, revert to the farmer.
Distribution and Roll-out:
The Kenya Farmers’ helpline service has been split geographically by regions and will commence with a test period in:
Central Province – Research findings shows that farmers in the central valley are early adopters to new farming techniques have an entrepreneurial mindset and have the highest ownership and use of mobile phones in the country. The main towns to be covered are Kinangop, Mai Mahiu and Kijabe.
Eastern Province – Research findings show that the Eastern district has climatic conditions closely related to other regions – North Eastern, Coastal and Rift Valley. The main areas to be covered are Athi River District and Kinanie Mathatani Division, Eastern Province.
The above areas were chosen to be in the test phase due to their proximity to the call centre and they are the areas with the most Small Holder Farmers.
The test period will involve understanding farmers’ needs and identifying the queries they are most likely to ask in order to develop a FAQ. During this period, agricultural experts will go out to the field to meet and speak with the farmers, create awareness about the helpline and collect information through questionnaires for data input in the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. Registered farmers will then call the helpline and get assistance from the internal agriculture experts. The test period’s objective is to officially launch the helpline, roll-out and scale up across Kenya.
Through this campaign, KenCall’s innovative use of technology will enable SHFs build more productive and profitable businesses to support their communities. It also demonstrates KenCall’s strong focus not just on contract fulfillment in identifying opportunities that will provide platforms for the delivery of high quality services to end-customers.
ICPAC reviews Kenya Farmers’ Helpline read more....
