E-Agriculture

Question 1 (opens 17 Sept.)

Question 1 (opens 17 Sept.)

 What ICT innovations are being used for farmers to access and exchange the information they need, and for service providers to provide information to farmers?

 


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Fulvio  Sansone
Fulvio SansoneSatADSLBelgium

Hi Bruce,

We offer Internet connections, which can then be used for any communication purpose, and VOIP. We work with local partners distributor for reaching the end users and with NGOs or other similar organisations in specific projects where special content is needed.

For example we work with an NGO in South Africa on an e-learning project, with a large Intergovernmental Organisation in DRC for rural radios, with Electoral Commissions in 10 countries in West and Central Africa for e-voting, etc.

We would be delighted to start an e-agriculture project with a relevant organisation in this field.

Cheers, Fulvio

Bruce Kisitu
Bruce KisituKIVA Agro Supplies LtdUganda

Fulvio, can you please share some ideas on the operation of the e-agriculture project you mentioned, am sure there are many potential partners reading?

Fulvio  Sansone
Fulvio SansoneSatADSLBelgium

Bruce,

Thanks for the invitation.

We focus on providing low cost/ high quality connectivity and leave the content part to the specialists. I was mentioning our interest in the forum to hear about projects which find difficulties in getting information or applications to the rural areas. 

We would be eager to offering our contribution on this specific matter.

Jean-Claude KAMWENUBUSA
Jean-Claude KAMWENUBUSAASASS-BURUNDIBurundi

Greet Bruce,

This initiative interests me in Burundi. We are working to empower 70 rural small farmers and poultry NGOs via a project on mobile phone connected to a web and via VoIP services in Burundi,

We need new partner to run this useful project for small people.
 

Hello Dear Fulvio;

It is one of the major contribution to wards developmnet of rural farmers but one thing that we need to cosnider is thier eduacttional level.  Hence such gap could be addresses if we present any inforamtion  interms of  animation or  speech.

 

 

Ssenabulya James
Ssenabulya JamesNakaseke Community Multimedia CentreUganda

Emmanuel, thanks for that input. For sure before we think about all these connectivity issues, something that should be considered first is the educational level of the farmers. A lot of useful information has been (and still being) developed and uploaded but the end user (rural local farmers) has not benefited just because of that gap.

For a number of years, we have been actively involved in translating and diluting lots of information resources that we later disseminate to the rural farmers through the different media that we operate.

On many occassions, we have been involved in training different groups of people in accessing web content and using the different ICT services but the main challenge has always been the language gap.

Debbi Wins10
Debbi Wins10United States of America

In Ghana's Upper East Region, an agriculture extension worker may only visit a village once per year.  And then, he -- because it's almost always a male -- gathers the men around a tree.  But the women --who do much of the actual farming-- are busy caring for children, and may not hear how to improve their crops, how they can plant differently by spacing seeds out to an optimal distance, or prepare their soil differently. All things where they didn’t need to buy some special seed. Instead, it was just doing things a different way from what they’ve learned from their ancestors.

And even if they do listen while doing childcare, how are these people without literacy going to remember the new techniques?  How will they ask questions, get answers, reinforce this new knowledge?

If you don't have literacy, you can't write things down... what you learn in one hour may be forgotten or confused the next day.

This is where a simple audio computer that speaks in local language can really help.  In fact, families that had intermittent access to Talking Books, grew 48% more food in a rigorous pilot study, published in the journal, Information Technologies & International Development, and summarized here: http://www.literacybridge.org/our-mission/pilot-results

I work with the Lagos State Agricultural Development Authority (Nigeria), we use the radio to reach our farmers in remote locations. Recently Government initiated the use of SMS to sell directly to crop farmers in need of fertiliser. This removes midle men who are often the cause of high prices. However, few of the small holder farmers who have access to the internet often complain about cost. Our organisation together with the World bank sponsored Fadama (dry season farming) project launched an ICT clinic, with the aim of providing resources/ information and access to farmers who can come to make use of the facility. However, the farmer may need to bear a huge cost on transportation to get to the facility which is situated in the town and the internet speed could be incredibly fruastrating and service charges prohibitive. How, can your organisation be of use?

Fulvio  Sansone
Fulvio SansoneSatADSLBelgium

Hi Elliot,

Thank you for your enquiry.

We provide low cost / high quality internet access that is available everywhere.

Our communications solution may, for example allow decentralising the facility you were mentioning into a number of smaller and rural access points so to drastically reduce the transportation costs for farmers.

We have a similar experience with a completely different application that shares the same issue of decentralisation: money transfer. Large internetational money transfer networks allow transactions between large cities, but transportation cost and inconvenience prevent the use of these networks by people leaving in rural areas that would need to go to the capital city to get their remittance. We have among our customers local/regional money transfer companies that allow transactions through very small offices (2-3 PCs) in very remote places. We provide them the ubiquitous, low cost, high quality communications means necessary to process transactions in real time with total security. This allows people in rural areas to get remittances and is an engine for development.

Please give a look at

www.satadsl.net

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mKVCJLxjG8Q

to get more information.

 

Ritu  Raj
Ritu RajDigital GreenIndia

India's current agricultural extension system often fails to effectively communicate with small and marginal farmers. Over several decades, public investment in agriculture has fallen. Some of this decrease has been offset by the private sector, but such investment tends to concentrate on larger, more mechanised farms. But Digital Green an Indian non- profit organisation has demonstrated that a participatory process of engagement with small and marginal farmers, coupled with the production and screening of training videos born out of that process of engagement, is a more effective method of transmitting low cost agricultural innovations.

Digital Green is an organisation that works to increase agricultural productivity by training small and marginal farmers via short instructional videos. The organisation collaborates with local partners to train rural communities to produce videos by farmers, of farmers, and for farmers, and promote the exchange of information on agricultural practices. The videos feature local farmers, speaking in local languages, sharing personal experiences utilizing a particular agricultural practice. Examples include the use of improved seeds; new planting or harvesting techniques; the building of compost pits; natural pest control; the development of kitchen or homestead gardens; and other practices across relevant agricultural value-chains.

Once videos are produced, they are shown in villages by local intermediaries among small groups of farmers on a weekly basis using portable, battery-operated projectors. The mediators explain the techniques, answer questions, encourage, and track adoptions of the behavior. The Digital Green approach uses a "dialogue" or "reflective" process among peers, rather than a traditional approach of outside "experts" telling clients what they should do. Videos also highlight early adopters of innovation. While the videos provide excitement and a focal point, it is the engagement and empowerment of people and social dynamics, which drives the model’s success. Enthusiasm over new technology and innovation in general, and the thrill of appearing on video or seeing fellow community members on video motivates individuals to participate. The power of positive identification with peers is leveraged to minimize the distance between teacher and learner, and to maximize the adoption of the practices or behaviors being modelled.

Further, to support a continuous process of self appraisal and monitoring, Digital Green has developed a robust technology platform that tracks metrics necessary for evaluating and adapting its programs. The platform, has been designed to function under conditions of intermittent power supply and internet connectivity, features an open-access suite of analytics dashboards. Careful data management allows Digital Green to track the location of each video screened, the mediator who presents the video at each screening, and the farmers who have viewed each video, those who have asked questions about the new techniques, and those who have ultimately taken them up on their own farms.

The tracking of questions creates an iterative platform through which also Digital Green and its partners are able not only to disseminate information, but also to learn about how that information can better address such commonly asked questions of farmers viewing the videos. 

The Digital Green on a cost per adoption basis has been found to be at least ten times more effective and seven times more likely to encourage farmers to adopt new practices compared to conventional agricultural extension systems, such as Farmer Field Schools, or Training and Visit extension.

Digital Green's network of partners and communities have produced over 2,200 videos and reached out to 110,000 farmers across 1,100 villages in India. Over the next 3.5 years, Digital Green aims to reach at least 1 million farmers across 10,000 villages in India and other parts of South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.