A wide range of ICT tools were developed and deployed along the agriculture value chain this year. Having reviewed a number of them, here is a list of what I consider the five most fascinating ag apps of 2011.

Note: This is entirely subjective and excludes those that predates 2011 but were either rebranded, boosted by research or additional usage this year. The order is intended.

1. iCow
I gave this app props long before Forbes Magazine dubbed it “The best African Mobile App”. This Green Dreams Ltd creation topped the Apps4Africa Contest, but unlike many other prize-winning apps, the iCow became a worldwide sensation. The voice-based mobile information app for diary farmers is leaps and bounds above most others because of its earthy nature and its catchy name—branding is certainly one of its strongest cards. It will be delightful to know the uptake since it was first piloted.

2. RITS Apps
This suite of traceability and efficiency tools, developed by Exprima Media and Sustainable Harvest, is fascinating on many levels. It uses the most rugged platform, the iPad, to get the big benefits of computing (automation, info sharing) in the hands of farmers. The simplicity of the user interface also enhance usability by those with limited computer literacy, thereby reducing the need for heavy investment of scare resources (money and time) in training. 2012 should be a great year for this suite of apps, as it moves out of the piloting phase and we are able to take stock of the findings. At the very least, it is the most anthropologically astute ag app on the market today.

3. mFisheries
This innovative suite of mobile apps was developed by Dr. Kim Mallalieu and a team at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad. It is fascinating for two primary reasons: 1) It tackles challenges in the fisheries sector, which is often neglected by developers, by providing access to fish and fish processing best practices, connecting suppliers and consumers. 2) Despite the challenges in building a vibrant developer community and culture in the tiny region, this app confronts the particular needs of the Caribbean fishing industry in a truly innovative way—utilizing location-positioning functions in mobiles for search and rescue purposes. That will certainly come in handy in the hurricane season when many fisher folks experience difficulties at sea.

4. Africa Commodities and Futures Exchange (ACFEX)
Though still in the implementation phase, ACFEX makes the list of the five most fascinating ICT tools for agriculture in 2011 because it is the first truly pan-Africa commodities FX—though I have seen several others, none is quite like this. It tackles the multicurrency and cross-border constraints using some of the most advanced technologies available, while keeping the small farmer at its core. Eight countries have signed on so far, 2012 should test the mettle of this private sector initiative as more states come on board.

5. CellBazaar

This glitzy app, developed by an international nonprofit think-tank called Think, tackles a familiar problem—marketing. So it isn’t innovative in that sense. However, it is fascinating because of the branding and the rapid uptake. Few apps, though they are rapidly churned out, in the ag space have been properly branded and marketed—even the essentials of life must be touted for people to rapidly adhere to, use and preserve them! Even the name of CellBazaar tells you precisely what it is. The tagline tops it off with “the market in your mobile phone.” Evidence of the effectiveness of touting it as a virtual marketplace for GrameenPhone’s 20 million mobile subscribers is evident from the one million up-take noted soon after its launch—and a quarter of those subscribers still regularly use it. 2012 should bring more success for this app as it expands beyond Bangladesh and into parts of Sub-Saharan Africa.