How Philippine rice farmers can use a mobile phone to get fertilizer information from IRRI

Listen to a NMRice feature on IRRI Radio at https://soundcloud.com/irri-radio/rice-survivor-ep-7-nutrient Roland Buresh, principal scientist at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI; http://irri.org ), and his team have spent thousands of hours turning the idea of small-scale precision farming into a reality through the decision tool known as Nutrient Manager for Rice (NMRice). This computer-based software guides farmers in properly and efficiently applying fertilizer in their respective rice fields. The software, which was first made available on CD and through the internet (http://irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=11742&Itemid=100588&lang=en), was intended to assist extension workers and farmers in accessing recommendations regarding fertilizer application specific to the conditions of a rice farm. But the necessity for computers, internet, and even electricity to run these tools limits access for many small-scale farmers in Asia. Hence, Dr. Buresh's team thought of using the mobile phone since it is affordable and widely available to farmers. NMRice Mobile was created to transfer the information available from the web version ( http://irri.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=itemlist&layout=category&task=category&id=615&Itemid=100153&lang=en ) to a mobile phone application that provides rapid, accessible, inexpensive, and credible field-specific fertilizer recommendations to farmers through a basic SMS (short messaging system). A farmer simply calls a toll-free number and is guided by an automated voice to answer several questions about his or her farm by pressing the corresponding button on the mobile phone. After all the questions have been answered, the farmer receives a text message, which recommends optimal timing, amount, and type of fertilizer to be applied to the farmer's rice field. At 4:48 into this video clip, IRRI Assistant Scientist Rowena Castillo begins a demonstration on how the mobile application works in the Philippines--as presented during IRRI's Annual Program Review on 26 August 2010. Also see: http://www.voanews.com/learningenglish/home/Phoning-Fertilizer-Philippine-Rice-Farmers--100792084.html