“I don’t think the development being done now for mobile phones is going to stop,” Mr. Gossier said, “but I think we’ll see a whole new generation of applications coming out of Africa, including mobile applications that utilize the Web.”

Image David Bangirana uses a GPS device to get information on sick plants. Credit... Sarah Arnquist

Tracking banana disease and educating farmers on how to protect their plantations is among several mobile phone applications being piloted in Uganda by the Grameen Foundation, a nongovernmental agency that aims to reduce poverty through microfinancing and new technology.

Grameen partnered with Uganda’s largest mobile network operator, MTN, to create AppLab Uganda, an initiative to explore ways to use mobile technologies to improve people’s lives, said the program director, Eric Cantor.

“People already have phones in their pocket, already need information, and some organizations already that provide information,” Mr. Cantor said. “We’re accelerating those connections.”

Building applications for agriculture seemed logical in a country that is predominately rural and reliant on small farms, he said.

Mr. Rutagumirwa is among several leaders in rural communities who were trained by Grameen to survey and educate neighboring farmers about the proper methods to contain banana disease. In recent years, the wide spread of two diseases has decimated banana crops in East Africa, threatening the food security and livelihood for an estimated 30 million farmers, according to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture.

In Uganda alone, bananas cover about 40 percent of the country’s farmable land and are a staple food for more than 12 million people. Losses from banana disease are estimated to be $70 million to $200 million each year.