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Produce Prices at a Farmer’s Fingertips

Cell Phone

Information is money. Easy-to-use technology can mean better prices for agricultural producers. In agriculture, wholesale buyers know at what prices they can sell produce for at terminal markets. That information has always allowed them to negotiate with rural producers from a position of power. An innovative new project has helped level the playing field for Serbian farmers.

AGRO-SMS enables agricultural producers and companies in Serbia to get information on the latest prices of fresh fruit and vegetables from terminal markets in Serbia and Europe delivered to their mobile phone by SMS. As long as a farmer has a mobile phone, he or she can access this information anywhere in Serbia.

Users of the service get an SMS message with the most recent terminal prices of fresh fruit and vegetables for Belgrade, Niš, Kraljevo, Paris, London, Hamburg and Rotterdam, after sending a request message with the appropriate produce code.

Quoted in an article on British website "freshinfo," one Serbian strawberry grower said that growers are no longer at an information disadvantage when dealing with buyers.

"This time we didn't give in and accept their promises, instead we got information by SMS and knew exactly how purchasing transactions were proceeding in other parts of the country… No beating around the bush anymore. This technology works for us peasants, too."

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