COMPETE - Uganda

Organisers say the project was based on an identified demand for market information, and increased use of mobile phone services in the rural sectors.

Prices for fish stocks were collected from 4 sources at participating sites, and then averaged for each site. Locally recruited agents, fishers, government fisheries officers, fish traders or any other member of the sector collected these prices. The averages were recorded on designed datasheets. Emphasis was placed on recruiting and working with local participants in the sector.

Price data was collected twice a day and sent within 30 minutes from collection time. The averages were sent via the mobile telephone SMS to a central data centre telephone, which had automatic connectivity to a computer that downloaded the information directly to a database. The remoteness of the sites from the network coverage areas and poor transport infrastructure were some of the major limitations at this stage. For instance, at some sites, telephone connection and the network could only be accessed a distance away. The furthest was at a very remote but major export market supplying site called Kasensero where the agent had to move 3 kilometers to the network area. "Another major challenge was ensuring reliability, accuracy and quality of the information sent to the data center, since update information was derived from this. The training, provision of incentives and contract-based operation helped in streamlining the data collection activities. Other measures include a pre-test during training with the whole team at one site and frequent spot checks at the sites."

The average prices at the datacentre were then used to update the price information at a mobile phone SMS platform that could be accessed by the service providers. The sending process had a built-in monitoring system, which would monitor individual prices for outliers and automatically send out queries to the agents. Also there was an automatic message acknowledging receipt of the information at the centre.

The dissemination methodology involved 2 possibilities. On the 'PUSH' system', the service provider (in this case, the consulting firm) made a phone database and sent out frequent updates on price information to the individual subscribers. Alternately, on the 'PULL system', an individual dials in a service number and sends an SMS using the query keywords. In this case he or she pays for the query sent and in return automatically receives a response from the service provider.

The major focus of this intervention was on seeking ways to increase the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in rural areas based on the assumption that greater access to information increases competitiveness. With technologies such as these, organisers say, buyers can place orders and inquire about availability of goods at certain locations, while sellers can inform buyers in a timely manner about expected commodities.