--- --- Nov 21, 2019 # Helping Rural Farmers Connect Farmerline Mergdata by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  Bernice Adu-Boahen from Farmerline explains to Nafisa Iddrisu how the Mergdata service works at Nafisa's farm in Gyinase, Kumasi, Ghana. Mergdata gives farmers useful information like weather, market prices and farming tips on their mobile phones to help them improve their harvest and get the best prices for it. Bernice Adu-Boahen from Farmerline explains to Nafisa Iddrisu how the Mergdata service works at Nafisa's farm in Gyinase, Kumasi, Ghana. Mergdata gives farmers useful information like weather, market prices and farming tips on their mobile phones to help them improve their harvest and get the best prices for it.Mwangi Kirubi—Click Pictureworks Africa Alloysius Attah grew up on his aunt’s farm in Ghana, so he knows how difficult it can be for small-scale farmers to access the resources they need to succeed. That’s why he developed a mobile and web platform just for them. [Mergdata](https://farmerline.co/) sends farmers information about the weather and produce prices via voice message in their language, bridging any literacy gaps. The ­farmers—who might not otherwise have access to financial services like loans—can also get farm supplies on credit through the platform. Localized farming tips for the season come free when farmers purchase supplies. “We need to get them everything they need to produce and sell more food and make lasting profit for their families,” Attah says. More than 200,000 farmers in 13 countries in Africa are currently using Mergdata. _—Amy Gunia_ Farmerline Mergdata: The 100 Best Inventions of 2019 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2019/5733119/farmerline-mergdata/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2019/5733119/farmerline-mergdata/"},"headline":"Helping Rural Farmers Connect","datePublished":"2019-11-21T01:37:04.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:36:34.589Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2019/5733119/farmerline-mergdata/","keywords":["Best Inventions 2019"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a71286a0cc184e/698a0640b21a9cedc7502b4b/best-inventions-2019-059-farmerline-mergdata.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt31a71286a0cc184e/698a0640b21a9cedc7502b4b/best-inventions-2019-059-farmerline-mergdata.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2019/5733119/farmerline-mergdata/","name":"Helping Rural Farmers Connect"}}]}] ```