CAIRO - The Ministry of Agriculture has decided to launch an initiative that takes advantage of communication technology to promote agricultural guidance. The Ministry will communicate with farmers via SMS and voice mail to give them tips and remind them of necessary agriculture-related dates. The envisaged service is meant to instruct and update six million farmers who will, in turn, be entitled to contact the Agricultural Guidance Centre for information and inquiries free of charge. In a recent press conference, AGC Chairman Mohamed Fathi explained that a host of experts would be ready to answer the farmers' queries via what he termed a ‘green line'. The project, planned in collaboration with one of the three local mobile phone companies, is said to cost LE 15 million. Although the idea looks good on paper, it might not be convenient for Egyptian farmers. It is no secret that agrarian land is often divided into small plots either owned or leased by humble farmers. Regrettably, many suffer from poverty and illiteracy. A minority of landowners, whether investors or peasants, are the ones who could benefit from this new mobile phone service. The majority of farmers are in need of more practical measures; agricultural guidance departments in each town or village could provide such a service. Even more importantly, these farmers were neglected under the former Government and, more than anything, need tools to help them improve their agricultural produce. Better and cheaper seeds and fertilisers are actually available at affordable prices. It would be unwise at the present moment to deal with peasants as if they were phone and Internet users well versed in high-tech communication.
