Forums

Welcome to the “WSIS+10 Forum” sponsored by the Grameen Foundation and FAO. Join us from 25 November through 6 December.

Over the last several years, there has been significant progress in improving communication and decision making in rural areas through the application of new technologies. Multi-stakeholder partnerships have formed, and time and money have been invested. Now more than ever we need to reflect on our experiences and strategize for the future.
 
What have we learned? What are the obstacles that still need to be overcome? Is everyone benefiting equally from these advances in technology?

In 2014 and 2015 reviews of our successes and failures in improving agricultural and rural development with ICT will be part of the WSIS+10 events and the MDG review. Multiple local, national and regional events will provide inputs. The e-Agriculture Community, has been invited to make its own inputs, and the Grameen Foundation has kindly offered to lead this activity.
 
Our guest Subject Matter Experts will contribute to the discussion, including:
•    Md. Shahid Uddin Akbar, CEO, Bangladesh Institute of ICT in Development
•    Lee Babcock, Managing Director, LHB Associates
•    Stephane Boyera, CEO, SB Consulting
•    Esteban Gallego, MANA Manager (Regional Food Security Program)
•    Enrique Hennings, Global Producer Finance Manager, Fairtrade International
•    Kiringai Kamau, Value Chain Analyst, VACID Africa
•    Megan Mayzelle, e-Afghan Ag, UC Davis
•    Hillary Miller-Wise, VP, Information Services, Grameen Foundation
•    Pablo Ramirez, Ethical Sourcing Manager, Starbucks
•    Rachel Sibande, Chief of Party, Agribusiness Systems International's Malawi TEXTs programs
•    Gerard Sylvester, FAO Asia-Pacific
•    John Tull, Director, Mobile Agriculture Innovation, Grameen Foundation
•    Rachel Zedeck, Founder, Backpack Farm Agriculture Program

A synthesis will be prepared following the debate and a policy brief, which will take into account key initiatives, recommendations and conclusions, will be prepared for use in the WSIS+10 High Level Event scheduled for April 2014.

The forum is moderated by Juan Forero (Grameen Foundation) and Michael Riggs (FAO).

Preparatory discussion 25 February – 08 March 2013

These activities are organized by CTA in collaboration with the FAO, the World Bank, the East African Farmers’ Federation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources (Rwanda), The Ministry of Communication (Ghana), the International Institute for Communication and Development (IICD), the NEPAD Agency and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA/ISTD).

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This discussion will gather opinions and recommendations from a wide audience of global ICT and agriculture stakeholders and identify additional initiatives and issues that could be discussed.
 
Even though in most ACP countries there are no specific ICT for agriculture strategies, the background report commissioned by CTA, prior to the workshop, informs that e-agriculture strategy initiatives have been or are being put in place in a few countries such as Ghana, Mali, Ivory Coast, Rwanda. Moreover, in most ICT policies developed with the support of organizations such as the UNECA, IICD, UNDP etc., there are provisions on sectoral strategies for agriculture. The report also illustrates that there is a lack of understanding or a lack of interest, and different approaches on that issue.
 
The specific questions to be addressed during the debate are:
 
Week 1:  The concept, need and state of adoption of e-agriculture strategies in ACP countries and beyond
1. Why are national e-agriculture strategies (also referred to as “ICT for agriculture strategies” or “cyber-strategies for agriculture”) needed for the agricultural sector to fully realize the benefits of ICTs?
2. What examples of ICT strategies targeting the agricultural sector do we have in ACP and in non-ACP countries (“ACP” stands for “Africa, Caribbean and Pacific”)?
3. What are the key target areas and value chain segments for these e-agriculture strategies? And Why?
 
Week 2: Stakeholders, challenges and lessons learned for formulating and implementing inclusive e-agriculture strategies
4. What are the key challenges faced in formulating and implementing these strategies/policies and what lessons learned from on-going or past processes?
5. Stakeholder roles: What are the roles of ICT and agricultural stakeholders in e-agriculture strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation? How can we ensure the full participation of farmers and other non-governmental stakeholders ? What are the role(s) of the Ministry in charge of ICT and the one in charge of Agriculture? What role(s) for international stakeholders?
6. What key policy recommendations can be made to support the implementation of effective e-agriculture strategies or policies?
 
Subject Matter Experts from various organizations will contribute to the discussions. A synthesis will be prepared following the debate and a policy brief, which will take into account key initiatives, recommendations and conclusions, will be prepared following the organization of the ICT Observatory meeting.
 
Subject Matter Experts:
• Benjamin Addom, consultant, ICT for Agriculture
• Justin Chisenga, Regional Office for Africa, FAO
• Aparajita Goyal, Economist, Agricultural and Environment Services, World Bank
• Stella Kamuyu Wanjau, East African Farmer Federation (EAFF)
• Ken Lohento, ICT4D Programme Coordinator, CTA
• Anju Mangal, ICT4D Officer, Secretariat of the Pacific Community
• Mary Rucibigango, Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources, Rwanda
• Issah Yahaya, Director, Policy Planning, Monitoring & Evaluation, Ministry of Communications, Ghana
• Representative of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA/ISTD)

This was the fourth in a series of online discussions that stem from the launch of the World Bank's ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook and the growing demand for knowledge on how to use ICT to improve agricultural productivity and raise smallholder incomes. 17-28 September 2012

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can expand communication, cooperation, and ultimately innovation among the wide array of actors in agriculture. Building on Module 6 of the "ICT in Agriculture e-Sourcebook", this forum explored how ICT can improve the concepts and operations discussed in the Agricultural Innovation Systems Sourcebook.

The Benefits of Forming Strong Partnerships to Create Sustainable and Scalable Information Advisory Services - 21 November to 2 December, 2011 

The mFarmer Initiative, a partnership between GSMA, USAID and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) was set up to support mobile operators and agricultural partners in launching mobile information services that benefit farmers and are commercially viable. This forum initiated a discussion around the types of partnerships that are conducive to creating sustainable and scalable mobile information and advisory services for farmers. The forum focused on the different roles of each partner, namely mobile network operators (MNOs) and agricultural organizations, the assets that each bring to the partnership, and the challenges currently experienced.

e-Agriculture et le Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale (CTA) ont organisé une discussion en ligne en français, du 9 au 31 mai 2011.

Ce forum avait comme objectif participer à l’amélioration des politiques et des processus concernant l’utilisation des TIC et du genre au service de l’agriculture et du développement rural, afin d’avoir un impact positif sur les moyens d’existence en milieu rural. L’accès universel aux Technologies de l’Information et de la Communication (TIC) est en passe de devenir un droit humain, et Les Nations unies encouragent un accès universel à l'Internet. La perception la plus répandue est que l’Internet et les autres TIC peuvent apporter des changements positifs ; et en milieu rural, ces changements touchent les moyens d’existence des communautés et des femmes en particulier. 

Exploring some of the challenges faced when implementing projects aimed at empowering women in ICTs in relation to rural livelihoods. Organized by e-Agriculture and GenARDIS. 5-16 July 2010

For Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) to benefit women in agricultural production and to challenge existing gender imbalances in rural livelihoods, it is necessary to understand women’s status and the gender roles and responsibilities in the society. Thus, when designing interventions, projects need to consider that women are integral to households, families and communities and that gender issues are not fixed, varying from community to community

This forum discussed the key opportunities and challenges of ICT interventions in agricultural value chains with a special focus on the most beneficial interventions in rural areas. 7-18 December 2009.

This Forum examined the challenges that rural communities face in enhancing the benefits of mobile telephony, and looked at some examples of interesting initiatives and good outcomes from around the globe. November, 2008.

This forum was organized by the World fish center, in collaboration with the Fisheries and Aquaculture department of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Discussion topics included: How are ICTs being used in Fisheries programmes? What are the constraints and opportunities of using ICT to support Fisheries and Fishing communities? How can the use of ICTs be extended in the fisheries sector?

This forum built on the results of the 2006 e-Agriculture survey, and focused on respondents' experiences with innovative e-agriculture systems and ways to make e-agriculture systems and their content demand driven. The results of the Forum were presented at e-Agriculture week from  21-28 September 2007.

The discussions focused around the following questions: Improving Information Access for Farmers: How Can This be Achieved? What are the different important elements in enabling access at the front and back ends (i.e. getting the information into the system, and making sure farmers can access the system) How do these vary depending on the different kinds of information demanded? How do these vary depending on different demanders? How can the private sector get involved in e-agriculture? What are some examples of successful private initiatives or public-private partnerships in e-agriculture and what made them successful? - What are the key factors in successful information management policies and strategies for agriculture?