Question 2 (opens 14 Nov.)

In July 2010, the number of mobile phone subscriptions surpassed the five billion mark (figure 3.1), further establishing mobile phones as the most popular form of global connectivity.¹In their various designs and capabilities, mobile phones can be found in the pockets of the wealthy and poor alike. Even in rural areas, mobiles are growing in number and sophistication. Recent figures suggest that although only 81 million Indians (7 percent of the population) regularly use the Internet, price wars mean that 507 million own mobile phones. Calls cost as little as US$ 0.006 per minute, and Indian operators are said to sign up 20 million new subscribers per month (“The Next Billion Geeks,” The Economist 2010).

Figures for access to mobiles are higher than ownership figures. A survey in Uganda found that 86 percent of those asked claimed to have access to a mobile phone, although only one-quarter of farmers said they actually owned one (Ferris, Engoru, and Kaganzi 2008).

This module highlights the impact of mobile phones on agriculture and rural development by outlining current knowledge and describing innovative practices. The discussion complements information in Module 2 on technical aspects of increasing mobile phone use in rural areas and agriculture. It also serves as a preface to numerous other descriptions of mobile phone applications throughout this sourcebook.

The rise of the mobile phone has been one of the most stunning changes in the developing world over the past decade. The increasing ubiquity of mobiles in developing countries presents both opportunities and challenges, especially for critical sectors such as agriculture. Like other technologies before it, the mobile phone is likely to be the subject of inflated expectations and hopes. To caution against the hype, this module also explores barriers to using mobile phones to benefit agriculture and provides recommendations for practitioners seeking to use the mobile platform to improve farmers’ livelihoods.

http://www.ictinagriculture.org/ictinag/sourcebook/module-3-mobile-devic...

I appreciate those discussions that pertain to the whole concerns of building the society particularly those reports from pragmatic study regarding the use of mobile as a means for communication in the agricultural industry.  As well as those media actual practice nowadays of our product organizations in delivering messages to the farmers or fishers.  My creative mind inspires me to think not only the kind of mobile phone our beloved local farmers can afford, as nowadays advanced mobile phones can carry almost all the facets of communications, like radio and television can be integrated in the mobile phone, including calculator for accounting, address book for directory, space for organizing data and calendar of schedule, and the most appreciative is that its connection to Internet where anywhere and anytime information (sending, browsing, and receiving) is truly easy to access, we can even send attachment of documens or files.

While I agree that there are modern mobile phones which can carry, accommodate, and bank bigger and higher data memories, wherein we can send probably messages which contain 200 or even 500 words per text messaging, I am still doubting the capacity of mobile phones.  So, I can see that mobile phones are only good for simple communication and brief instruction although it is handy and advantagous in terms of speed and rapidity, sound practical in sending and receiving messages.  And we can keep up to 1000 text messages but my suspicion is that when we talk about mobile application for agricultural development, I reflect the other side of mobile application and usage with regards to  keeping and restoring files and data of information.  I believe in this situation we will be needing soft and hardware machines in order to process the data and to ensure needed volume files are kept secured.  Hence in this point mobile phones are still on the way to advance yet still limited in terms of sustaining quantity and volume of data of information.

In this way, speaking of managing a farm production, I think mobile phones are not sufficient, especially in today's world where everything must be computerized for both business and formal transactions, even official receipts or any kind of formal and legal writtien communications.  So print out materials are needed in order to be valid and acceptable and I am sure that soft and hardware machines and equipment are more relevant in terms of readability, clearness, quantity of restoring and keeping records, files, and data.

Hi Sr. Eva,

The data doesn't have to be stored in phones.  We already have cloud technology where information can be stored in the Net and can be shared to everyone who has access to it.  As for managing farm productions, I believe mobile phones are sufficient for the far-flung areas where there's no electricity.  For them, paper is enough.

Regards,

Harv

Loraine mentioned a good point. Financial sustainability should be a major consideration, but the main focus should be on the financial and technical capacity of the cooperative to purchase and maintain the new ICT technology.

Hi John! I go with your idea of placing priority in both financial and technical capacity of the cooperatives to purchase and maintain the new technology. However, let me emphasize KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL CAPACITY of the farmer-members of certain cooperatives. Those in cooperatives heavily rely on those few staff that has the technical skills.  Computer skills of most people in cooperatives are low and learning ICT skills is more often not, the least of their priority.  This ties up with HUMAN AND INTELLECTUAL CAPITAL as mentioned by Fatima. Farmer-members of cooperatives should properly see the importance of individual capacity building which is based on their intrinsic desire to learn and use ICT. Cooperative members should actually realize the potentials of the use of ICTs. This in turn is related to another issue which is RELIANCE ON SUPPORT SERVICES SUPPORTERS. Farmers should yes, utilize ICT materials like videos, computing design, and other software products but they should be encouraged to assess and give feedback as to how to contextualize in accordance with the group’s needs. On the financial side, realities like most cooperatives are poor, they are often deficient in infrastructures and are dependent on loan investments should be appropriately addressed.

For a more detailed discussion of these issues kindly refer to:

http://www.ifip.dsg.ae/Docs/FinalPDF/Full%20Papers/ifip_25_nissila,%20ta...

Hi Dolores,

You have raised a very important issue of knowledge and technical capacity of the individual farmers. I share the opinion that the individual farmers need to be sensitized on the need of embracing ICT skills. Fatma puts it clearly as 'Intellectual Capacity'. 

As much as there is strength in numbers (read cooperatives), a group like this can only be as strong as its weakest member. It therefore behooves the ICT service providers in whatever level of the group to ensure that all members (farmers) are able to adeptly use these ICTs. This would exponentially raise the potential profits of the individual and the group as a whole.

Anne

Hi Anne,

Thanks for picking up on my line of thinking. Embracing ICT as I have mentioned in my previous take indeed offers challenge among members (farmers) but as you have said it could also exponentially raise the potential profits of the individual and the group as a whole-- a clear presentation of opportunities though.

I therefore would like to emphasize the value of collaborative marketing among producers. After identifying common strength, weaknesses, opportunities and  threats, producers would be in te best position to come out with marketing strategies meant to counteract long term challenges in their produce. This is projection of long-term challenges such as the case of the Praire Lamb located in MInnesota Cooperative did. The Cooperative’s official mission was clear - to develop and provide profitable market opportunities for shareholding members, who consistently produce high-quality lamb and related sheep products. This in a way help them to a jumpstart in trying to innovate in the cooperative area. 

"As much as there is strength in numbers (read cooperatives), a group like this can only be as strong as its weakest member." This statement of yours in essence emphasizes the value of cooperative among producers, thus the word cooperative.

Hi Anne,

Yes, farmers (the older generation) may be less educated, yet, some members of their families who are sent to school can help their parent-farmers in ICT education or new technologies that could help them in their farming activities.  This may sound ideal, but I know some far-flung people who are ICT-illiterates and depend on their children on being oriented/educated even on the simpler types of technology.

Sansu

 

Yes Sansu and Anne, 

Your brief remarks are correct.  Based on my observations too, even in the rural areas (farmers or fishermen) most of them have cellular phones.  It is true their children especially those  who attained education or those who gained knowledge and experience from the works outside their place, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts are the ones who assist their parents to manage using cellular phones, even in the operation of computer.  I also witnessed that there are those farmers or non-farmers even at their old age still able to adjust in the use of ICT, in my recent adventure in one of the provinces in the Philippines, that area, farming and producing products, their means of communication majority are cellular phones since there is no land line server available yet on that place.

Producer organizations can consider creation of sustainable Industry model.  Also, ICT readiness and usage remain key drivers and preconditions for obtaining any impacts especially in the rural areas.  Thus, producer organizations must ensure that they can provide able support to the rural farmers.

Traditional organizations and industry infrastructures are also facing challenges as industries converge.  This will inevitably have consequences for policy and regulations. Governments can perform policies and regulations to encourage competition and remove barriers to investment.  Governments can also directly invest in ICT infrastructure and services.  In other words, governments can facilitate the technological innovation required for ICT convergence and meet market demands.