The potential of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to provide smallholder farmers with useful agronomic and market information is widely heralded. Mobile phones can offer much richer modes of communication sharing, but in many parts of the world limited digital literacy and very limited smart phone ownership can constrain this potential.

This study evaluated a platform that enables Irish potato farmers in Rwanda to access interactive and dynamic content on feature phones using technology provided by the company @frnds.

Overall, usage rates of the platform remained low, even after repeated attempts to engage and train more
farmers. Most uses of the platform consisted of examining weather forecasts, and there was little interest in the interactive chat features offered by the platform.