Milly Sekandi a member of Zibula Atudde Women’s group purchased a village phone. She and other farmers have grown upland rice and maize and are now able to confirm prices in Kampala and the border trading markets in Busia, Kenya. A few years ago it would have been the middlemen who dictated the price and made the most profit from sales.

Some farmers are liaising with buyers who drive from Kenya. Before, they may have waited days for the buyer to arrive. Now,they can stay at their farms until the buyer calls to say he is nearby.

Others are using the phones to arrange milk deliveries. Zubairi Sebyala, for example, is the village phone operator at Bugerere Dairy at Baale, to the north of Kayunga district, which specializes in the production of milk. Any delay in delivery can spell disaster, as the milk deteriorates rapidly in the heat. Using the village phone, dairy farmers monitor prices at faraway markets and connect to buyers to arrange prompt delivery, saving their milk from going sour.