Question 4 (opens 20 Nov.)
Question 4: Does ICT empower or marginalize women or smallholders in producer organizations? Support examples with specific reference to an organization, the technology tool(s), and content delivered.
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Hi Bry,
The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) sees to it that the local government units (LGUs) complied with the organization of the LCPC and monitors its' functionality. The LCPC fund - 1% of the LGU's Internal Revenue Allotment - is mandated that is courtesy of RA 9344 or the Juvenile Justice Welfare Act of 2006, for the purpose of providing programs/projects/activities that will serve as interventions for child at risk to be a child in conflict with the law (CICL) and for the diversion and rehabilitation programs of the CICL. Some LGUs utilized it for programs and projects which addresses child's survival, protection, development and participation. I am happy though that there are LGUs who used their funds responsibly.
For women empowerment, LGUs are mandated to allot 5% of their total budget for gender and development and related programs, projects and activities. This amount is much bigger than the 1% LCPC fund which the government (when the PPAs are well planned by the LGU and other sectors conecerned, especially marginalized women) can address gender and development gaps.
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To directly respond to the given question, I would say that definitely, ICT can empower women or smallholders in Producers' Organizations. From obervations, farmers' organizations are often dominated by farmers of higher level status in terms of economic resources. ICTs promotes transparency that leads to wider range of participation because everyone in the organizations know what are going on in the organization.
In most Producer Organitions who invest in ICT, they always starts on financial and accounting services, specially the farmers' cooperatives. These allow the members (and not only the leaders and officers) to have better access to information regarding financial status of the cooperatives. These information are important to members since most cooperatives have services to provide credit/loans to farmers' projects and women's projects. Cooperatives have also been encouraged to be gender sensitive and have been providing equal services to both men and women. Most cooperatives in the Cordillera Administrative Region (Philippines) are already improving service delivery as they have created e-mail addresses where information can be exchanged. Information are also exchange through mobile phones as well as through the available social networking services (e.g. facebook) where announcements/other information on available services and technologies are posted and shared. Though ICT, transparency is promoted and thus reducing discrimination and marginalization.
The Farmers' Information and Technology Services (FITS) Information System developed and supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) is a great step towards the use of ICT to facilitate access to information to stakeholders in agriculture, forestry and natural resources. The FITS which are web-based systems are set up at the local levels accessible to small farmers and women to be able to access information to technology and service providers. Although this is government supported, the centers helps empower women and small farm holders in the rural areas as information on opportunities and potential ventures becomes available.
There are some issues however that have to resolved even with the success of having ICTs. One is in terms of available time. Rural women are recognized to be doing multi-functions - doing household chores early at dawn and late at night and farm activities during the day, leaving little or time for them to look through or browse on information. Another issue would be on language/dialect barriers - information are written in language/dialect not familiar to readers or that information are written with so many technical terms that cannot be understood.
Question 4: Does ICT empower or marginalize women or smallholders in producer organizations? Support examples with specific reference to an organization, the technology tool(s), and content delivered.
An interesting question, though I cannot give any specific examples because I am not working with small holders or women in producer orgs. In general, I think that "new" technolgies and approaches, particularly when they require a personal investment (ie time & effort) and may be "untested" from the view point of current membershave a great appeal to those who are not as relatively sucessful as others in the a partiocular organization. The marginalized groups may be more likely to utilize this "new" idea, because are marginalized and probably less sucessful that they more empowered members.
I believe that they have more incentive and can benifit more from new technolgy (as the study Lucy cited mentions seems to indicate) if AT the initial stages they are drawn into the use of ICT. I think it is fair to say that most societies have some kind of social compoent that is intermixed with economic activity and to varying degrees, personal networks and other social dynamics WILL directly impact the sucess of participants.
I believe that ICT can help marginalized groups because it may help them to transcend or even neutralized some of the cutural, social or "business practices" that act as barriers or deterents to their sucess.
Cheers
Peter
Deal All,
Women could be very much treated as partners in most of the ICT endeavors of producer organizations. They can become leaders and managers in most of the projects, but some consider them as lacking in training, time and education the reason why most of them are not valued and are still marginalized.
ICT-based initiatives are good activities to empower women. An overview on the best practices of e-commerce/e-retailing projects showed that it contributes to women’s empowerment and capacity building in numerous ways that is why in the areas where women were given training in management and business practices, they found success in their ICT ventures.
Below are some successful E-commerce projects by women:
Readings from:
http://www.uncsd2012.org/index.php?page=view&type=1000&nr=307&menu=126
http://itidjournal.org/itid/article/viewFile/255/125
Marie-Claire, Rwanda
HIV doesn’t stop Marie-Claire from running a successful mobile phone business
Marie-Claire Ayurwanda stands on the rock foundation of the house she is building in Setwara, Rwanda, looking at the progress. “I want to finish building this house for my children before I die,” she says.
Although she smiles when she talks about her present and future, her past has not been easy. In addition to her own son, she cares for her brother’s two children who she took in after her brother was killed in the 1994 genocide. Her first husband died in 2003. She remarried and had a daughter, but left her second husband because of his problem with alcohol. Soon after, she discovered she had HIV.
After her second husband died, Marie-Claire decided to start a business. She took a 20,000 franc ($40) loan from Village Phone microfinance partner URWEGO to open the Isimbi Restaurant. The profits from the restaurant help support the four children in her household and pay school fees. If a customer wants to make a phone call, she proudly takes them to a separate, private room where she has set up her Village Phone. Her Village Phone business was so profitable that she was able to pay off the loan for it in five months (rather than the standard six months). She is one of the top five Village Phone operators in Rwanda, generating about US$624 a year for herself and her children in a country where the average income is around US$230 year.
Marie-Claire is honest about her HIV status. “I am very strong because of the medicine,” she says. “And I was able to tell my friends, and now they are on the drugs too.” In her village, she is the president of IMPUHWE, an association of people living with HIV.
She is now interested in adding a second phone that she can run in another small village. She also wants to buy a pickup truck to help others in IMPUHWE thrive economically. “People in the association have their own gardens with Irish potatoes. With a pickup, I can take the potatoes to Kigali and sell them.”
http://www.grameenfoundation.org/our-impact/marie-claire
Dear All
Reading the different posts it seems that ICT does empower women and smallholders in POs.
To have a cell phone may be easier than to have an internet or e-mail account in rural areas. ICT need however, a minimum of public and private infrastructure + a minimum of knowledge to be used and accessible: electricity, internet connection, wifi or bluetooth, computer and or cell phone with chargers etc...
Let me be provocative by saying that ICT may also marginalize smallholders or people who have no access to these modern technologies, thus increasing the gap between those who can use ICT and access knowledge and services and those who can not use ICT (for whatever reason), who will be left behind.
In remote rural areas of Yemen or Morocco or in Africa or in Asia, who are those who can access and use ICT? How producer organizations can make sure that ICT is bridging the knowledge gap for all members and not only for those who can have access and use ICT?
I have seen often older women or smallholders telling us that ICT is for young people as they are not used to it and they did not grow up with such technology.
ICT can be a fantastic tool to promote transparency and accountability; it can also increase the gap between those who can use the technology and those who have difficulties with it, here again whatever the reason.
Hi Pierre
Thank you for your post:
You said:
In remote rural areas of Yemen or Morocco or in Africa or in Asia, who are those who can access and use ICT? How producer organizations can make sure that ICT is bridging the knowledge gap for all members and not only for those who can have access and use ICT?
Thanks Peter for your remark. You are not pessimistic but realist.
This is because Technology including ICT, creates gap in all nations that Governments in all nations, including the US and Europe, are supporting producer organizations in rural areas, to among other things, help them reduce this gap. Producer organization can be much more effective than Government institutions in doing this, if properly supported.
The role of Government in that case is not to do the job but to help producer organizations do the job.
As of today, in developping countries more than a quarter of people do not have access to electricity. This does not prevent them to listen to radio nor to have a cell phone.
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS?display=map
Internet user are even less
http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IT.NET.USER.P2?display=map
What I what to underline is that ICT can realy help bridge the knpowledge gap and the smallholder to be better off if Producer Organization are careful to help those who have difficulties to access and use ICT. This is the role of Government to support PO to bridge this gap.