Vodafone Çiftçi Kulübü (Vodafone Farmers’ Club)
Farmer’s news package via phone by mobile network operator
Description
The Vodafone Farmers' Club is a mobile subscription service offered by Vodafone Türkiye that can aid farmers in improving their farming practices by providing access to weather forecasts, agriculture information and news, while also facilitating their market access. The entry-level Farmers' Club package includes free occasional text updates related to farming subsidies, local fairs and trade shows, as well as news from the sector. Those opting for the advanced plan (the Farmer News Pack) receive (via SMS) two daily weather forecasts, weekly market price information on 93 products, agricultural news, agronomy tips and other information derived from official data for 966 districts. Farmers can request information relevant to a specific district and production area (fruit, vegetables, cereals, plants, livestock , beekeeping, etc.) as well as information about 93 specific crops. The Farmers’ Club features also a free virtual marketplace that connects buyers and sellers of agricultural products through a mobile channel. While SMS is the main channel for the delivery of content, Vodafone also maintains an Android application entitled “Vodafone Farmers' Guide” (Vodafone Çiftçi Kılavuzu). Vodafone partners with TABİT, a Turkish social enterprise that encourages smallholder farmers to embrace ICTs, for the creation of agricultural content, supported by the Turkish Agriculture Union (Türkiye Ziraat Odaları Birliği - TZOB), and drawing from the information provided by the state Meteorological Service (Meteoroloji Genel Müdürlüğü - MGM), the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (Türkiye Odalar ve Borsalar Birliği - TOBB), and the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock.
Technology
Farmers registered with the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Gıda, Tarım ve Hayvancılık Bakanlığı) are eligible for membership of the Vodafone Farmers’ Club. Customers, typically farmers, can subscribe to the Farmers’ Club free package for a month by sending an SMS containing the word “ciftci” (farmer) and their district name to 2434, or can access the plan through the mobile application. Customers who want to subscribe to the premium Farmer News Pack should send an SMS to 2434 containing the word “abone” (subscribe) with their district name and the crops they are interested in. There is no limit to the number of crops a farmer can subscribe to. To advertise, club members should send an SMS containing the word “ilan” (advert), with information about the product type, quantity, price and location to 2434. All SMS messages are received and reviewed by the TABİT team, who contact the sender if there is any missing or unclear information. Once the content has been edited and standardised, the adverts are published in a range of sectoral magazines, and two-minute slots with the adverts are broadcast on the Toprak TV satellite channel. All adverts are accessible via the Internet through the Tarimsal Pazarlama portal, and remain active for three months. Customers with an interest in an advertised product contact the farmers directly. Although SMS is the primary communication channel, an Android application (Vodafone Çiftçi Kılavuzu) is also available that is free to download from the Google Play Store on any Android device.
Target
The estimated number of active users was 903 000 in 2015, and around 20% of the active Farmers’ Club base currently subscribes to the premium plan. The mobile application has recorded 30 000 downloads at the time of writing.
Business model
Access for the first month is free, while Vodafone applies a charge of TRY 2.80 TL (around 0.038 USDA) per month (as of September 2022) thereafter. After adopting a freemium model, Vodafone grew its membership base to over 903 000 users.
Impact
Vodafone Farmers’ Club provides access to a wide range of agriculture information and news, including product-specific disease warnings and risk information, as well as market information such as stock market prices, agricultural grant and investment supports, and free trade show invitations. Şekerbank offers interest-free loans allowing farmers to pay back their post-paid bills once a year.
Partners
TABİT; Tarimsal Pazarlama; Şekerbank; Toprak TV
Four Betters
Better production
Better life
