Since 2008, the Agricultural Value Chain (AVC) project in Uzbekistan has supported commercial horticulture development by working with producers, processors, traders and exporters to create market linkages and increase technical expertise through information exchange.
The project’s information services began with printed manuals before evolving to a custom mobile app. The project then began producing videos and publishing them on video sharing platforms such as YouTube, as well as social media forums. In 2017, the project team added a series of targeted forums on Telegram, which was Uzbekistan’s most popular messaging application in 2016.
Key findings include:
- Use an app that beneficiaries already have on their phones and are familiar with.
- Expand gradually, start with a small group of select beneficiaries, test different messaging approaches and then slowly grew the group and expand to new chat groups and channels.
- Use existing professional and digital networks to grow the number of participants and engagement levels.
