User:Vishnusudhir/sandbox

FarmerConnect is a cloud-based platform that allows agencies to sign-up and register farmers and farm context to receive free extension services. FarmerConnect is used by agencies such as Government/NGO/International bodies who are engaged with helping smallholder farmers improve their productivity by rendering personalized agricultural extension services in their local language in text/audio. This will keep the smallholder farmers stay connected with the agencies on a daily basis and help themselves increase their yields/incomes, reduce hunger, poverty and undernutrition. The FarmerConnect Platform is cloud-based and mobile enabled and requires no technical knowledge in implementing and using it.

FarmerConnect is primarily designed for smallholder and women farmers who could not access or comprehend information from standard sources.

History
Esoko began as TradeNet in 2004 with the encouragement of the UN's FAO, and in partnership with FoodNet in Uganda. Focused on agricultural marketing it provided current market data via SMS and the web to stakeholders within the agriculture and trade sectors in developing countries.

In 2005 TradeNet signed a three-year agreement with USAID's MISTOWA program to adapt the product and make it available to their target beneficiaries (MISTOWA's mission was to increase regional trade in West Africa by 20%). Esoko was described as 'a simple sort of eBay for agricultural products across a dozen countries in West Africa'.

In April 2009 TradeNet rebranded as Esoko, switching to a new platform with a broader set of tools. The name Esoko originated from the Swahili name Soko which means Market; the 'e' representing 'electronic'. The eSoko name is also used by the eRwanda Project in Rwanda where they have a different version of eSoko, owned by the Ministry of Agriculture.

Today, the platform can be used anywhere and with any mobile network. Esoko has directly managed offices in Ghana and Kenya and through a reseller network have representatives in seven other countries offering local strategy and training to clients.

Impact
Based on the experience of 10,000 current users of FarmerConnect™ and the 50,000 highly contextual and personalized messages that were delivered to them during last 6 months, the benefits observed include: a)	10% improvement in yield due to the timely knowledge of Good Agricultural Practices and weather updates b)	12% more value for their commodities due to the timely information on market updates