Last week I discussed how mobile phones were being used by people in developing economies. Here is a link to a discussion of another study done on the same topic, in this case in Kerala, India:

… the power the middleman holds over the fishermen due to the monopoly on price information has lessened somewhat. The free flow of information ensures the fishermen get the opportunity to drive a harder bargain than before.

Which sort of circles back to whether or not fishermen or other commodity producers have access to the same information via radio or similar communications technology.
Read the rest of this entry »

More cell phones, better grain prices. This is a fairly important aspect of how mobile technology enables producers in developing countries to get a better deal for their products. And it makes perfect sense. I have also heard about this in relation to fish, and other commodities. In some, the fishermen in that case can check if the price is high enough to warrant them going out that day and potentially avoid lost productivity.

Read the rest of this entry »