Lower-income farmers in remote villages are expected to be able to use their mobile phones soon to gain access to rural financial services.

The change in the nature of rural finance will start by making banking services immediately accessible by mobile phone.

Farmers and entrepreneurs will also be able to use mobile communications to get up-to-date market information.

Affordable, innovative mobile solutions for rural residents are being explored by a project jointly initiated by Ericsson and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched in Beijing on Saturday.