OUR PARTNERS

1. The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation which is a global foundation with a commitment to enrich and sustain the lives and livelihoods of poor and excluded people throughout the world, has through the University of Malawi, Bunda College provided financial and technical support to the Initiative for Development and Equity in African Agriculture (IDEAA) Malawi program for the development of cassava market and agriculture marketing information system – Malawi Agriculture Commodity Exchange(MACE) projects for the benefit of the resource poor farmers in Malawi" The Rockefeller Foundation has been supporting IDEAA since 1997.

In the photo, Dr. Akin Adesina of the Rockefeller Foundation holding a cassava plant together with Mr. Henry Nkhoma, one of the IDEAA associate cassava farmer fellows in his 17 hectare cassava  field in Mzimba at Vibangalala EPA, Dimi Section. in January 2005.

2. Telecom Networks Malawi

The project has made progress with Telekom Networks Malawi (TNM) Limited in which MACE is a content provider for agriculture information while TNM has provided the communications link between the networks SMS (Short Messaging System ("SMS") Centre) to channel information and services to TNM's subscribers.

The SMS service became active in December 2004. The system is being managed by IDEAA MACE through leased SMS software on an annual basis. IDEAA MACE in collaboration with TNM developed user-friendly steps (guide) to be followed by an information user to access or send the information by SMS. The SMS guide is in English and has been printed and distributed to possible users. Both MACE and TNM have advertised the service in the local papers and the radio in order to create more public awareness of the service.

Three types of services offered through SMS include:

Accessing wholesale and retail prices of agricultural commodities from 37 markets.
Selling or Buying agriculture commodities and Accessing buyers buying prices for Agricultural commodities
The marketing information is sent, received and charged as SMS messages, with charges paid to TNM mobile phone service provider.

3. SEEDCO Malawi Limited

4. Chemicals and Marketing