Mobile Money and PAYG Innovation to Scale AgTech Adoption in Smallholder Value Chains
- Partner: Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), International Development Research Centre (IDRC)
- Publication Type: Brief
- Date: February 2020
- Team: MarketShare Associates
- Recommended Citation:
MarketShare Associates was engaged as MEDA’s INNOVATE learning partner to produce a series of briefs highlighting key results and learnings from its research portfolio assessing the potential of non-traditional finance to stimulate agricultural innovation adoption among smallholder farmers in South Asia, South America and East Africa. This brief focuses on experiences and lessons learned from the pilot project implemented by I-DEV International, “Mobile Money & Pay-AsYou-Go (PAYG) Innovation to Scale: AgTech Adoption in the Smallholder Value Chain”.
The project set out to introduce drip irrigation; offer best-in-class clean energy systems for irrigation; and integrate the use of Peru’s national mobile money platform BIM for loan repayments. Ultimately, I-DEV International adjusted its original pilot design, which intended to introduce multiple new elements to farmers at the same time. I-DEV International opted for a single new element (drip irrigation) delivered at the lowest possible cost, drawing on locally available solutions, and focused on the primary objective: to strengthen farming income and resilience in the face of shifting climate patterns and less reliable public sources of water.
