Posted on 02/04/2013 4:50:36 AM PST by Pan_Yan
...
FastCompany reports that cellphones are giving farmers in African countries remote access to critical banking services that were previously unavailable to them. The ability to pay their bills, move money and make insurance adjustments empowers these farmers with a new ability to keep their finances stabilized— despite being miles from any financial institution.
But the phones are accomplishing more than administrative duties. According to CNN, they’re also allowing rural residents to easily broker deals, and share weather information and market prices with each other. With a simple text, a farmer can find out the prices of specific crops in markets that are thousands of miles away, and in turn he can adjust his own harvest in anticipation of those market conditions. It’s this newfound ability to plan and adjust their output that’s making it possible for farmers to generate higher incomes.
And as mobile phones become more popular among the rural residents of the continent, apps specifically tailored to them do as well. “iCow” is one of them. It’s an SMS and voice service that allows dairy farmers to track their cows’ gestation periods while providing tips on breeding and nutrition.
...
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
I am sure phone companies don’t mind putting up cell towers in remote areas for free ....
In a follow up story Al Gore announced a new non-profit called benefits without borders (BWB). By teaming up with Richard Branson of Virgin mobile the goal is to provide every third world citizen an Obama phone. Using the existing network of arms distribution of Al-Qaeda to get the benefits of an Obama phone in everyone hands. When questioned about the $1,000 price tag of each phone and the danger of using Al-Qaeda Mr. Gore stated “ It is a small investment to make after America stole all their natural resources, and we are saving the taxpayers millions by using an existing network, besides what could go wrong?” Obama praised the initiative by proposing fifty dollar per call tax on rich Americans with cell phones. Unions, federal workers and donors are exempt so as not to hurt the economy.
Dang, I’m 12 miles from Albuquerque and don’t have coverage.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.