In Mali, telecom operator Orange just reinforced its farmers-focused added value services offer. After launching in July 2013 Sénèkela, a phone support service related to agriculture which provides prices of commodities in agricultural markets, the operator now launched “Sandji”. Another service which is as useful as the former and which provides people from rural zones rain forecasts for productive farming.

“Sandji will help farmers take the most appropriate decisions when needed, in order to successfully carry out various activities such as planting, fertilizer application, pulverization and harvest,” said Orange. Only accessible to Orange users, the new service provides its users daily, monthly and seasonal rain forecasts, with an 84% accuracy, specific to the farm’s location and in a 3km radius. Once subscribed, the user receive the forecasts s in French or Bamanankan (local dialect), via SMS.

“Sandji” is the fruit of a partnership between Orange Mali and Ignitia, a Swedish high-tech firm that offers, under subscription, vital information to agricultural actors in tropical areas. Present at the launching of Orange’s new service, Seydou Keita, representative of the ministry of Agriculture, said he was glad about the transformation that “Sandji” would bring and also for the fact that this change corresponds to the ministry’s objective to develop a modern and more productive agriculture in Mali and for Malians.