The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is rolling out digital innovation technologies in the form of SMS text messages and smart phone applications across the African continent, starting in Senegal and Rwanda. In this pilot episode of FAO's new podcast Stories From The Field, we head to Tambacounda, 450 kilometers south-east of Dakar, Senegal, to find out how digital tools are helping to transform the country’s agriculture sector and boost farmers' livelihoods.

Report: Emmanuelle Landais, Senegal
Producer/Editor: Charlotta Lomas, Anais Hotin, FAO
Audio technician: Eric Deleu
Photo ©FAO/Alioune Ndiaye

Senegal's smart phone farmers

FAO Podcasts, a multilingual audio series produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, addresses pressing global issues including hunger, poverty, agriculture, and sustainability. With content available in English, Spanish, and French, our dedicated audio team ensures these vital conversations are accessible to a global audience. Our three distinct formats - the concise FAO Brief, insightful FAO Talks, and the deeply human documentary pieces - serve as your gateway to understanding and participating in these critical global discussions. Tune in, enrich your perspective, and join us in shaping a more sustainable future for all.

The FAO of the UN leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and debate policy. FAO is also a source of knowledge and information. We help developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices and ensure good nutrition for all. Since our founding in 1945, we have focused special attention on developing rural areas, home to 70 percent of the world's poor and hungry people. FAO's activities comprise four main areas:

1. Putting information within reach.
2. Sharing policy expertise.
3. Providing a meeting place for nations.
4. Bringing knowledge to the field.