Just in time for this year’s growing season, farmers have new equipment to help keep tabs on their crops while away. With SmartCrop, a system developed by Accent Engineering, farmers get text messages when their plants need water. The system uses infrared thermometers to measure leaf temperature and data is then transferred to a computerized base station. A cellphone modem hooked up to the base station allows farmers to receive SMS alerts when their plants are too hot. Research has shown that each plant species has a range of temperatures that is best for its growth.

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Last week, we reported on the good that can come from text-messaging in the context of NGOs using it to build community in developing nations. Now we’re seeing a story on SMS with a decidedly less altruistic bent. In the past two years, Sweden has seen the birth and rapid rise in popularity of SMS loans.

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Most of us think of text-messaging (or SMS—for Short Message Service) as the medium of teenagers, which they use to gossip, pass wireless notes in class, and spread bad spelling habits. The people behind the nGOmobile competition see it differently. They see it as a simple and effective communications tool for the developing world. While most people in those areas do not have access to the Internet or to computers, the cellphone market is expanding there rapidly. And while they may not have the ability to watch YouTube on their phones, they are able to send messages to places previously unreachable.

The competition asked NGOs to think of ways SMS messaging could aid in their work.

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