Pakistan's connectivity rate is to be given a boost when 5 million of its rural farmers will receive smartphones. From October, the devices will be distributed across the country, with the aim of improving the farmers' knowledge of modern agriculture. Dr Umar Saif, from the Punjab Information Technology Board, said that "the farmers will receive free alerts about the use of pesticides for their yields" as well as other advice from experts. Pakistan is not the first nation to try this type of scheme, with India and Kenya having used smartphone technology for its farming industry. The move has been described as “laudable”, but getting the relevant information to farmers has been pulled up as a possible hurdle by some, including Hendrik Knoche, who was involved in a similar project in Africa.
