Agricultural Transformation Platform
Built for the economy Somalia actually runs on.
M-TACAB delivers advisory, market prices, weather and soil intelligence to farmers on the phones they already own — USSD, SMS, IVR and Web — and gives the institutions around them one register to work from.
National Agriculture Context
75%
of GDP from agriculture, livestock, forestry & fisheries (World Bank CEM 2018)
93%
of Somalia's exports are agricultural (World Bank CEM 2018)
46%
of employed Somalis work in agriculture (World Bank CEM 2018)
8.9M ha
Total arable land
Source: FAO Somalia / World Bank / MOAI agricultural sector data
Somalia's Main Crop Divide
Somali agriculture splits into two economies — one feeds households, the other earns foreign exchange.
Sorghum
DomesticNative to Africa. Somalia's #1 rain-fed cereal — drought-tolerant, feeds households across the sorghum belt.
Maize
DomesticIntroduced staple. High-yielding on irrigated Shabelle land, second only to sorghum in national production.
Sesame
ExportIndigenous oilseed. Somalia's top agricultural export earner — grown along the Juba and Shabelle rivers.
Cowpeas
DomesticNitrogen-fixing legume grown between cereal rows — a household protein source and a soil-restoring rotation crop.
Bananas
ExportHistoric export crop of Lower Shabelle. High-value irrigated plantations feeding Gulf markets.
The M-Tacab ecosystem
One farmer. Nine ways in.
Three services reach the farmer on a basic phone. Six kinds of partner reach the farmer through those services. Select any entry for its brief: what they bring, what they get, and where it stands today.
Figure. The M-Tacab ecosystem. Every service and every partnership is organised around one registered farmer. Entries 01–03 are what the farmer receives; 04–09 are the parties that reach the farmer through those services.
At the centre
What the farmer receives
Who reaches the farmer through M-Tacab
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Our Focus Areas
Target Regions
M-TACAB works across all 18 Somali regions, prioritising the riverine belt along the Shabelle and the Juba where irrigated agriculture is concentrated.
Riverine regions — Hiiraan, Middle & Lower Shebelle, Gedo, Middle & Lower Juba — carry most irrigated production.
Rice, bananas, sesame, maize and vegetables in the south; sorghum and livestock in the agro-pastoral interior.
Field teams, market monitors and advisory channels reach farmers in every region.
A platform built for Somalia — and built to last
M-TACAB grew from a simple idea: the fastest way to reach Somali farmers is the phone already in their hand. Since 2023 it has delivered advisory to hundreds of thousands of farmers, livestock herders and fishermen — in Somali, over USSD, SMS and voice.
Built by Innovii, its technology partner, and powered by Hormuud, its telecom partner, it runs on telecom-grade infrastructure with reach across Hormuud, Telesom and Golis — and is designed to grow into a full agricultural ecosystem as partners come on board.
Read our storyPractical training for Somali farmers — from field to market
M-TACAB partners with cooperatives, NGOs and extension officers to deliver hands-on training on modern harvesting, post-harvest handling and market readiness — filmed and shared through the same USSD, IVR and web channels farmers already use.
Every session is designed around what actually happens in Somali fields: rain-fed sorghum belts, irrigated Shabelle plots and pastoral rangelands.
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Delivery Channels
Deliver information to the right people, at the right time over a variety of mobile channels
Advisory reaches farmers on the phone already in their hand — market prices, weather, pest warnings and input guidance in Somali, on any handset.
SMS
Push and on-demand text advisory in Somali, delivered to any handset.
IVR
Voice bulletins farmers can listen to — no literacy required.
USSD
Menu-driven queries at *141*6# — instant, and no data needed.
OBD
Outbound dialer campaigns for time-sensitive alerts and warnings.
M-TACAB
M-TACAB Advisory
Showers likely in Afgooye this evening — delay spraying until tomorrow morning.
M-TACAB Voice Advisory
Press 1 for market prices in Somali
31°C
Dry spell — irrigate today
0+
Years live
Serving Somali farmers over USSD, SMS and voice since 2023.
0
Active subscribers
Farmers, herders and fishers using the service across crops, livestock and fisheries — over USSD, SMS and voice.
Our Partners
Trusted By Leading Organizations
