Kenya's affordable smartphones a boon to farmers

NAIROBI - When dairy farmer Titus Rono recently suspected that one of his cows was suffering from mastitis, his first reaction was to contact the para-vet who attends to his animals.

Unable to reach the professional by phone, the farmer turned to his smartphone, switched on the internet and searched for the topic. He received plenty of answers. Among them were videos that enabled him do the test for mastitis himself, Rono recounted at a farmers' forum.

He watched the online videos on his phone for over an hour and did not even feel a pinch in his pockets due to low internet costs.