Rice farmers in the Philippines will get fertilizer advice via text messages

Farmers in the  Philippines will soon have nutrient management advice tailored specifically to their rice crops, and the info will be delivered to their mobile phones, according to an article in Rice Today, pulbished by the International Rice Research Institute, based in the Philippines.
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Dr. Roland Buresh says that after responding to a series of simple questions about their rice paddy, farmers would receive an automated text reply recommending what amounts, sources, and timings of fertilizer are needed for profitable rice production in their paddy. Buresh is part of the IRRI team that joined the Philippine Department of Agriculture to develop the system.

Residents in the Philippines have widely adopted text messaging as a regular means of communications, and it is known in the telecom industry as the "text messaging capital of the world." It was one of the first countries with affordable texting, and the average Filipino cell-phone subscriber sends 10 text messages a day.

- Owen Taylor