Question 1 (opens 12 Nov.)
Question 1: What roles does ICT play in producer organizations? Support examples with specific reference to an organization, the technology tool(s), and content delivered.
In particular consider:
- How can ICT facilitate accountability and transparency among members of an organization and between different organizations?
- How can ICT facilitate climate change adaptation among members of an organization and the rural communities where the organization is active?
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Hi Bryan,
This is very true.
Anne
Dear Anne
Thanks for this excellent example of how ICT can help farmers better negotiate prices or have access to knowledge through a help line.
I have a question. Who is managing the call centers the farmers can call for advices or for prices? Is this a free service? Is this service delivered by a farmers organization to members or by a private firm to every body or by Government?
Thanks in advance
Pierre
Dear Pierre,
The call centre is managed by KenCall the biggest call centre in the country with the help of a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. When the farmers call, they are connected to an agricultural expert who is answers all their queries.
The call center also keeps a data base of these subsistence farmers. It is a free service and gives them advice on best farming practices, with an aim of helping the farmers to increase their yields and boost the profits from both their livestock and crops.
This project aims to provide the farmers with vital and timely information throughout the planting, harvesting and marketing seasons.
http://www.m-kilimo.com/
Hi Anne. In the Philippines, in order for information to reach the majority of the farmers including those living in the far-flung areas, the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) has launched last year the Farmers Contact Center (FCC) which functions similarly to the Kenya Farmers' Helpline. Through the FCC, farmers and fishers can inquire on agri/fishery-related concerns via voice (call), short messaging service (SMS or text) as well as emails and other online communication platforms like instant messaging and the different forums. Immediate responses are being given to the queries of the farmers/fishers. All they have to do is Call 982 AGRI (2474) in Metro Manila; 1800982 AGRI (2472) in the provinces or Text 391 DA (32) for Smart, Talk & Text; 0920946 AGRI (2474) for Globe, TM, or SUN or EMAIL: [email protected]. But one issue here as regards the use of mobile phones and internet is connectivity. - Joyce Wendam
Hi Joyce,
I totally agree with you. When the mobile phone in a farmers hands can help him/her get information that will improve their farming methods or how they get their products to the market should be enhanced. I believe that the mobile telephony providers can go a step further and ensure proper and strong connectivity where the signals are weak.
The government can step in like in the case of Kenya by ensuring that there is proper infrastructure. There is no need of improving yields and yet the roads are impassable. Or farmers increasing milk yields but have no electricity to power coolers that can prolong the milks life.
Anne
Since we are globally networked through ICT, producer organizations are into it. For one, it is a source of data gathering to know even from the voice of the farmers the gaps in scaling up with the trends in farming and other activities necessary in the development of their work for only the farmers can really articulate their struggles and challenges in the projects designed by the institution. In the Including Smallholders in the Agricultural Research for Development (INSARD) Consortium, another problem mentioned is the lack of democracy among farmers for they have differing concerns and not encouraged to speak out. ICT could also be used to partner with the farmers in order to break the gaps mentioned. This is one way in setting up priorities, ensuring the efficiency of the research-driven projects, and delivering the program with easiness and assurance. The sharing of information through radio is indeed very useful as radios are still being used now with convenience that farmers can learn while working. Though I may say that some farmers would just be listening as they probably don’t have the means to communicate whatever they have in mind.
Reference: http://paepard.blogspot.com/
Kelly
The World Food Summit defines the four pillars of food security as availability, access, utilization and stability. A fifth, widely under-recognized pillar is proposed by the UN Environment Programme – ecological foundations, which include soil formation, nutrient recycling, on-farm and off-farm biodiversity, and climate condition (UNEP, Avoiding Future Famine, 2012).
The concern being raised is that we are undermining these ecological foundations. Conventional agricultural practices, for example, such a monocropping lead to biodiversity losses on the farms thus resulting in weakened resilience of crops to pests and diseases. Excessive tillage causes soil carbon loss while high fertilizer loading causes groundwater contamination. Pesticide contamination can destroy organisms responsible for pollination of crops or natural pest control.
More ecologically conducive approaches to farming -- improved soil management, integrated pest management, agroforestry, and biodiversity conservation -- can help reduce the impact of farming activities on natural resources.
Farmer organizations are very effective platforms for the exchange of information and best practices on these approaches. The Farmer-to-Farmer Program (Programa de Campesino a Campesino) in Siuna, Nicaragua, for example, builds local producer capacity by providing technical assistance in soil conservation, rehabilitation, and erosion control. The organization uses ICT to conduct farm and soil mapping which enables more informed land use planning and helps identify problem areas or if farming is encroaching in the high-conservation value areas of the nearby Bosawa’s Biosphere Reserve. Data collection for the mapping system also significantly incorporates inputs from the ‘horizontal’ exchange between farmers – a reaction to the traditionally vertical pedagogical approach to knowledge transfer in Nicaragua (www.equatorinitiative.org).
The Pholas Orientalis is a bivalve endemic to the Island of Panay and mostly in the City of Roxas, Capiz, Philippines. It is locally known as diwal or the angel wing and is a sought after delicacy because of its distinct sweet flesh. In the late 90s, overharvesting and environmental factors caused the populations of the bivalve to dwindle drastically. Through the efforts of then, Mayor Antonio del Rosario, studies were conducted together with UPV and SEAFDEC which resulted in the resurgence of bivalve populations. The return of the bivalve prompted the local government to establish a Diwal Farmers and Harvesters Organization which consisted of divers who harvested the bivalve, coastal folk earning their livelihood from selling the bivalve, and divers who have been trained in the seeding and preservation process of the bivalve. With the producer organization in place, ICT has been a resource that proved to be inevitable. There have been many instances of unauthorized harvesting of the bivalve because now, harvesting it required permits from the local government unit. ICT provided the organization with a means to rapidly contact the coast guard to respond promptly to unauthorized harvest operations and illegal fishing practices that have been known to damage the habitat of the bivalve. Mobile technology facilitated quick reporting and response times. In addition, since the bivalve is not well-known, the internet has provided a means to promote it again via the posting of events such as a Diwal Festival which drew in people from all over the country. However, these are just the short termed results of ICT in the organization. Now, with access to internet, the organization has become more aware of how valued the bivalve is all over the country and have developed a deeper sense of accountability for their product. While their intention was to protect the bivalve because this was their source of livelihood, their awareness of the value of the diwal had prompted them to be more environmentally responsible so as not to damage their livelihood. In addition, they have also become more vigilant in guarding against potential threats to the coastal environment primarily because they were aware of the repercussions should environmental damage corrupt the breeding ground of their prized bivalve. Mobile technology has also allowed them to constantly report on bivalve populations, harvest volumes, and potential harvests facilitating effective and real-time monitoring and assessment as well as transparency in their operations considering that they are, in part, an organization supported by the local government unit.
Hi, Bry. I guess the case that you shared with us highlights the difference between producers and resource managers, particularly in the marine or fisheries sector. Marine products are harvested but need not be produced or cultured. Nevertheless, producers need to become resource managers and vice versa since the link between food security and resource management has been underscored in these times of climate variability, extremes and uncertainty. The sharing and reuse of climate change knowledge through ICT may facilitate in the convergence of roles among producers and resource managers.
Yes sir, it helps to point out also that ICT could provide the sometimes non-existent connection between resource managers and producers allowing a more efficient and more practical relationship. This link could also be a means of preventing exploitation of resource managers by producers.
Bry