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INTRODUCTION Agriculture has, for many years, formed the backbone of Kenya's economy: the agriculture sector contributes about 30 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and accounts for 80 per cent of national employment, mainly in the rural areas. In addition, the sector contributes more than 60 per cent of the total export earnings and about 45 per cent of government revenue, while providing for most of the country's food requirements. The sector is estimated to have a further indirect contribution of nearly 27 per cent of GDP through linkages with manufacturing, distribution, and other service related sectors. Kenya's agricultural sector directly influences overall economic performance through its contribution to GDP. Periods of high economic growth rates have been synonymous with increased agricultural growth. The tea sector is a dominant sector and the coffee sector has started to pick up following a decline in the recent past. The horticultural and flora sectors have seen unprecedented growth over the past years as more companies venture into production and export of flowers and fresh produce. The sugar industry has faced significant challenges and it is the governments intention to improve the sector. This industry is expected to show good growth over the next few years, should the government implement their stated policies. Other sectors where the country has significant untapped resources include cotton, forestry, fishing, pyrethrum, and macadamia nuts.1 Ewakulima.com is a new web portal designed to provide three things. Access to markets for the Kenyan farmer, provision of advertising to players in the entire agricultural value chain, and to act as a clearing house for the latest scientific research, policy changes and other news of interest for all those
http://www.pwc.com/ke/en/industries/agriculture.jhtml
interested in the agricultural sector in Kenya. This document seeks to answer the following questions:1. How will Ewakulima.com gain a foothold into the market?
2. Where will the market and the information come from?
For further information please see the study conducted by Portland Communications available at http://www.portland-communications.com/Twitter_in_Africa_PPT.pdf
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By promoting the use of Twitter for mobile, and provision of detailed information on the portal, it will enable Kenyan farmers access detailed information more than they would find on Twitter. It must therefore be stressed that the key for this business model to succeed would be to tightly integrate Ewakulimas social media, with the consumers mobile and with further linkages to the market and relevant curated information on agriculture.