Question 3 (opens 23 May) What is the role of ICT in value chain partnerships?

Question 3
ICT is quite important in value chain finance. How can ICT play an even greater role in enabling strategic value chain partnerships to work in facilitating efficiency and/or inclusiveness in agricultural finance and insurance?
What are the key challenges in getting partners systems to operate seamlessly, including value chain players and value chain service providers, including financial institutions, insurers, warehouse managers, agri market information provider, etc.?

juliet KyokundaMICROENSUREUganda

23.05.2013

ICT enables greater coverage in an efficient model. So improves financial inclusiveness, gives access to VC financing to farmers exposed to higher risks e.g. higher flood, drought risks.

ICT Can enable automatic insurance coverage linked to VC financing, better understanding of product, better policy administration and speedy claims settlement.

Key challenges include systems compatibility, understanding of product, systems availability and IT capacity, infrastructure (e.g. availability of computers in field offices).

Anita CampionAZMJUnited States of America

23.05.2013

There are many ways in which ICT applications can help to strengthen value chain finance and the relationships between strategic partners, such as:

to monitor changes in client risk profiles,
to manage timing of cash flows,
to monitor the transfer of goods and payments from a distance (GPS can be used to monitor location of goods over time and whether on-time delivery is expected, which is especially important for perishable products),
to facilitate web-based linkages and market information from overseas buyers.

Also Value Chain actors can facilitate access to higher cost technology by leasing it to farmers to ensure higher quality standards (e.g. Parmalat leases cold storage equipment to its dairy farmers in Nicaragua).

The more I have worked in agricultural value chain finance, the more I have become aware of the importance of having access to timely market information. When conducting a training on Agricultural Value Chain Finance in Mali in which market information related to the potential strengthening of shallots, potatoes, tomatoes and rice, a managing director of the large agricultural bank exclaimed “This is the kind of information we need to make good agricultural loan decisions, more so than the guarantees are typically offered.” Also, a respected colleague, Siobhan Green of Sonjara Inc., a small woman-owned ICT firm based in Falls Church, VA (www.sonjara.com), emphasizes there is a sizable difference in access and usage of ICTs by gender and education/wealth, which need to be factored into financial inclusion strategies. She recently shared with me a number of relevant links, which I share with you below:

Link to an Assessment of Market Information Systems in East Africa:
https://communities.usaidallnet.gov/ictforag/node/406?utm_source=ICTworks&utm_campaign=c0c6e8e101-MC-RSS-Email&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_0814c7961e-c0c6e8e101-48215873

From USAID Agrilinks Site, sorted by ICTs - mostly blog posts and discussion from Rwanda conference:
http://agrilinks.org/site-search/ICTs

List of African mobile agriculture services and applications (Oct 2012):
http://www.oafrica.com/mobile/list-of-african-mobile-agriculture-services-and-applications/

A list of ICT articles on Natural Resource Management:
http://frameweb.org/CommunityBrowser.aspx?id=4965&view=a&lang=en-US

Saripalli suryanarayanaProfessional Engineer-Administrator-40 years experience-water,irrigation and infrastructure Projects conceptulationIndia

25.05.2013

My experience is from crop seedlings,the expenses are to be met.While crop water requirements are field managed this activity also need ICT.This is because if the so called area[ayacut-in India] drinage of excess water from irrigation has to be attended.
Then comes the sowing,now there are direct sowing technicques,with out getting the seedling,hence now it may not be pertinent.
Before this the agriculturist has to ascertain about the soil fertility for the crop,where in the soil is tested in lab or in field.
Well all other oprations as discussed by you follows.

Michael RiggsFAOItaly

27.05.2013

<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1>Anita, you said that “Value Chain actors can facilitate access to higher cost technology by leasing it to farmers to ensure higher quality standards (e.g. Parmalat leases cold storage equipment to its dairy farmers in Nicaragua).” <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>Do you – or does anyone else – know of examples where a value chain actor is leasing an ICT tool to farmers or other producers? This would be very interesting. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p>Write abo

Michael RiggsFAOItaly

27.05.2013

<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1>It is absolutely essential to be aware of, and seek to address, the disparity in ICT access/use based on gender. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p>Here in the e-Agriculture Community we have worked with CTA, APC/Genardis, and others on the topic. In addition to what Anita has kindly shared, more information on gender, agriculture and ICT can be found at <a href="http://www.e-agriculture.org/gender-icts-and-rural-livelihoods">http://w... <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'>Fr

Kow SamPrepeez Tech LtdGhana

28.05.2013

Prepeez Ltd a worldbank contracted Consulting company in Ghana and La cote D'voire in Partnership with MTN the leading mobile services provider in Africa are currently launching a complete value chain solution tha provides Technology support services through a GPS anabled monitoring and management system for agriculture(www.e-extension.gov.gh) . Farmers can now access value content and services in their local dilate on all issues from commodity cultivation to market access and even health tips from their standard mobile phones. This partnership has compeled MTN to offer very low Tarrif call services for farmers and total value chain service providers and actors to talk among themselves for as low as $1.00 per week. through this there is an expected wider access for the farmer to reach a wider buyer market as well as buyers reaching where commodities can be located and negociations can take place vitually before physical meeting for a better bargain.

MTNs Parnership with this product is also to promote the use Mobile money for commodity payments tha can offer an opportunity for farmer insurance and financing solutions since Locating and identifying farmers as well as match making can be well established. here financing istitutions can offer various products since communications and access to farmers are made easy on the platform http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zu3co0RojJE

Michael RiggsFAOItaly

28.05.2013

<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><meta http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 12 (filtered medium)"><style></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1>Thanks for sharing the cost information and video about Prep-eez. Very interesting for this discussion. <o:p></o:p><o:p> </o:p><o:p> </o:p><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0cm 0cm 0cm'>

Saripalli suryanarayanaProfessional Engineer-Administrator-40 years experience-water,irrigation and infrastructure Projects conceptulationIndia

30.05.2013

The tools and technology we employ shall have a protection for the farmer,have a control by the society or the Government.These tools shall not eat the farmers property,or the governments right to bring more areas under farming.

Let us take cue in to the tools deployed for getting the Spatial data,micro finace and water shed managent, and analyse the safety of such tools to protect the small amd marginal farmers.After all our group in UNESCO is Heritage and culture and we are discussing how best to achive more productivity by using science and technology for all.

Calvin MillerFAOItaly

30.05.2013

Hi,
People used to be connected by the town drum beating in Africa or a bell or a conch. Farmers were connected to seeds from what they stored, buyers were the local trader or trucker who lived in the larger house in the village. People were connected at the town water well or by the river, drinking tea or something stronger at a party, under a shade-tree and/or by marriage. Today many of these forms of information and communication approaches have lost their economic importance as production, marketing and financing decisions are now commonly made wirelessly without any direct face-to-face communication. Competitive agriculture is connected agriculture. The ICT revolution has made it infinitely cheaper and easier to be connected in ways not possible before. It has also made it more important to have and use the technologies. Many persons associate ICT with cell phones; while they certainly are very important, ICT is much more. In the 2013 document, ICT uses for inclusive agricultural value chains
http://www.ruralfinance.org/library/financial-services/technology-and-outreach/technology-and-outreach-details/en/?srec=14148&tdet=training&tdet2=&tdet3=2&referer= FAO and the Indian Society of Agricultural Professions looked at many ways, both in India and other parts of the world that ICT is used directly and indirectly in value chain linkages and value chain finance with a focus on how ICT facilitates the poor to be more competitive through improved information, links to better markets, timely sales for better sales, better inputs and the like. When I think back to the countless hours I spent on horse or foot to communicate messages in rural villages and visiting house after house, I think "wow", now the farmers have ICT tools that increase efficiency many times over -- any so much more innovation is on the threshold.

Calvin

Ivana GegenbauerSerbia

30.05.2013

Hi Everyone,

For more documents on this topic have a look at the RFLC - technology and outreach section: http://www.ruralfinance.org/library/financial-services/technology-and-ou...

For those not familiar with the Rural Finance Learning Center (RFLC) here is a short description:

The Rural Finance Learning Center (RFLC) is a premier knowledge research platform that provides access, through its library, to some of the world’s leading policy and training resources on rural and agricultural finance. It targets public and private organizations in developing countries as well as policy makers and researchers who whish to promote and deliver superior financial services that adapt to the investment needs of rural enterprises and households. This powerful platform provides timely updates on the latest news and events related to inclusive rural and agricultural development, including its own newsletter that has been continuously published since 2007. Please visit the website and join our membership base!
The RFLC is the result of the Capacity Building on Rural Finance (CABFIN) partnership, composed by IFAD, FAO, GIZ, World Bank and UNCDF.