Question 4 (opens 20 Nov.)

Hi Pierre,

I agree that there is a gap called digital divide among the POs and farmers, making ICT a double-edged sword.  Indeed, the ones who are left behind are further marginalized, and I admire the people that can manage their farms/livelihood without ICT.  

In this study by Lumbo, Declaro and Casanova (2010) in Occidental Mindoro, Philippines, a vast majority of the women farmers are not affiliated in any community organization, had not attended any training, and had not recieved any assistance from outside organizations.  They still practice gama (farmers and household exchange labor with others) and pakyawan (arrangement that requires negotiating with one or two persons for labor supply) among farming communities.  Also, the extension programs available to them may have been designed for men as some regarded them as housewife material.  

In another study by Lu (2010) in Benguet, Philippines, women are not aware of the hazards of pesticide use.  They are not aware that chronic illnesses can develop over a long period of time.  They also believe that injuries/illnesses occur because of fate, and not because of unsafe conditions/practices.  Sad to say, the absence of ICT lead to negative effects.

Harv

Hi Harv,

I agree with you on this as per my vicarious observations of farmers in some very rural areas of the Philippines. And this applies not only for the womenfolk but for the men as well. Thus I feel the divide is more felt between rural and urban areas. However in terms of the divide between male and female, I do not perceive it. Since in the urban areas more women are technically adept in the use of their ICT devices or may be as equally adept as men are. 

I agree with you Peter.  If there is no electricity, the appropriate method to be used is mentoring and using peers for education and dissemination of information.  We are utilizing that in our agency.  We are into face-to-face contacts, actual field visit, information caravan, cliniquing, developing members of producer organizations as local farmer technicians/farmer scientists to share their knowledge and best practices to their fellow farmers in their communities, and others.  But as I have observed, majority of the people in the rural areas own a cell phone so they could also utilize their mobile phones in accessing information through the use of text messaging.  Immediately, they may receive  a reply to their queries through our facility, the Farmers Contact Center.  This is in partnership with Smart, Talk & Text, Sun and Globe.  But connectivity is sometimes a problem.  Distributing IEC materials is also one way of educating our farmers and dissemination of information.  We have this project called Barangay Agricultural Information Center (BAIC) established in the barangay itself in partnership with the Barangay LGU wherein IEC materials are being provided for use of the residents in the community.  All these strategies are effective in educating and disseminating information to our farmers and other agriculture stakeholders. - Joyce wendam

Good point Peter, that is why there is a need to engage the full range of actors to bridge this big gap and make things happen.  If there is a broad consensus that bolstering the participation and position of smallholder farmers in agriculture is key to economic growth specifically in developing countries, continuous improvement on areas requiring support should be prioritized. The process of integration must account for investments, knowledge, capabilities, etc if the most gains are to be made.

Reality check, these constraints are often ignored, thus identifying opportunities to enhance current practices are not properly assessed and no actions are taken.

If ICT is beyond reach in isolated communiteis, i guess at he moment, the sytem that works best should be used.  A system working for the people and not the people working for the system. 

Hi Pierre and all,

In my own experience working with a group of women in the rural area (wives of seafarers) I found out that age does not be the barrier of learning ICT.  At their age nearing and past 60's, still they are eager to learn and  discover the ICT's world.  When I organized a seminar on ICT they were being taught how to use ICT such as online communication (chatting, emailing, and text messaging from computer to cellular phone and from cellalur phone to computer), they were so happy and thankful.  

This category of women may not be materially poor, but they can be ICT's less fortunate and remain as "techno peasant" when they did not find the secret of learning it. So these group of women they are practicing what they learned until now; they are employing and enjoying the knowledge to use it in communication with their husbands working at sea on board ships.  These group of seafarers wives are usually some of them have own land and farm in the province, definitely they are the ones training their household and farm's workers to properly use the equipment otherwise they cannot exchange better communication.  So, I think there is gap in learning ICT when interest to be trained is present and when purpose and value of using it is also clear to them.

ICT may marginalize smallholders in producer organizations owing to the fact  that poor smallholders have no funds to invest in ICT, the PO has no funds to acquire ICT equipment, no access to ICT, lack of training of the smallholders, age, etc.  Thus, producer organizations may not be able to tap ICT as a "formidable and effective development tool" that in some cases can allow "leapfrogging" (Steinmueller 2001 - the idea that countries and societies can jump over one or more generations of technology and that poor nations can thus move more rapidly to the modern information age (Sunden and Wicander 2003, p. 21).  In the absence of supporting capacities and institutions, ICT may entrench inequality."  -  Joyce Wendam

http://ieg.worldbank.org/content/dam/ieg/ict/app

The Kenya AIDS Intervention Prevention Project Group (KAIPPG) is an organization that focuses its work on improving the status of women and young people living in rural areas, where HIV/AIDS, poverty, malnutrition, and illiteracy are prevalent. One of the group’s capacity-building objectives is to promote formation of micro-enterprise activities among HIV/AIDS households as a way of positively contributing to poverty reduction, and training community groups in advocacy through Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and project management so as to increase sustainability.

In the pursuance of its vision and mission, KAIPPG established community-based informal learning centres in western Kenya, giving priority to orphans, widows, low-income women and older vulnerable children from HIV/AIDS affected households. The participants are taught about nutrition, and receive training in relevant skills to enable them to care for people living with AIDS and to become economically and socially empowered. The project organized a health and agriculture community radio network for women who had completed the training. The participants were organized into six radio listening groups, and were trained in the use of audio and video recording equipment to enable them to exchange information, for example, on farming techniques, and to raise public awareness about HIV/AIDS.

The groups were also trained in photography and the use of drama and traditional oral storytelling as tools for learning, education and development. A radio/cassette player and a mobile phone were distributed to each of the groups, and the participants were encouraged to communicate with national FM radio stations—to respond to programmes, obtain information and share their experiences with a wider audience.

Terry and Gomes (2010) identified individual and collective benefits women get from ICT. Thus:

Individual Benefits

• Empowerment
• Increased self-esteem
• Reduced isolation
• Access to markets
• Access to health information

Collective Benefits

• Economic growth
• Improved health
• Improved education
• Capacity building
• Cultural transformation

These benefits however could only be realized after overcoming barriers, such as:

• Location, infrastructure and connectivity
• Time and money
• Lack of relevant content
• Low education and literacy
• Social norms and perceptions

Sources:

http://www.kaippg.org/programs.html

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/public/w2000-09.05-ict-e.pdf

http://www.ajol.info/index.php/jolte/article/viewFile/66724/54610

Women are increasingly taking advantage of ICT in all spheres of life, thus confirming that ICT can be a tool to promote gender equality and enhance the economic, political and social empowerment of women.  ICT is a powerful tool for advancing women's status, promoting gender equality, and enhancing women's economic, political and social empowerment.

Experiences throughout Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean illustrate ingenious and creative solutions to provide access to ICT, to use ICT as a tool for participation and most importantly to contribute to women's advancement and empowerment.

For example, the Multimedia Caravan project in Senegal exposed rural women to the benefits of ICT for development and provided the opportunity for women to develop their own ideas on how ICT can be used to further their development needs and goals.

In Kenya, women and men weavers were trained on using the Internet to learn new weaving techniques and develop more realistic prices for their products.  In Uganda, the Uganda Media Women's Association established a radio programme - Mama FM- where women can actively participate and learn about development issues such as human rights, children, governance, nutrition, health, among others.  In Poland, the Network of East West Women disseminates information to enhance women's participation in the EU accession process in EU candidate countries.  - Joyce Wendam

http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/egm/ict200

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.

      Certainly, ICT empowers or marginalizes women or smallholders in producer organizations, as supported by the examples below:

1. Women have lower levels of income and access to resources. They value affordable access as well as ways to increase their income.To meet women's pricing constraints/cost barriers, SMART (Philippines) provides Panolo Phone, a low-cost mobile with cheap airtime top-ups. It comes with an FM radio, a flashlight, calculator, access to a mobile money service, and a trial subscription to a job referral service.
2. Technologies should take into account issues of illiteracy, lack of comfort with technology, and cost effectiveness. Strategies include providing options for non-literates, being easy to use, integrating into existing networks, and utilizing different ICT channels. To meet women's resource and education constraints,  Enhancing Access to Agricultural Information, WOUGNET (Uganda) supports the two-way linkages with women farmers through radio, SMS, audiotape, videotape, CD-ROM, and local notice boards.
3. Long work days, lack of resources, and their family responsibilities lead women to choose options that are perceived to improve their workload, quality of life, children's health and education, and increase incomes.T o help women achieve their life and business goals, Cell phone use and reselling of airtime by women's farming cooperatives in Lesotho increased their income and public profile so that members will be able to participate in agricultural shows, trainings, and conferences through national programs to encourage small-scale farmers.

4.  Women make up the majority of population in rural areas in most regions, with less access to reliable power. Decreased earning power leaves them vulnerable to poor energy access. To use a reliable and affordable power supply—solar, renewable, wind-up radios, a) Community Listening Clubs in Niger encouraged women to call local radio stations over their mobiles with questions and comments for local broadcast. Solar/wind-up radios and solar-charged mobile phones provide consistent access in remote areas b) The Turning Ox, used by Radio Maigaro (Central African Republic) and the Mobile Power bicycle phone charger (Uganda) are examples of renewable power generation.

5.  Women need to reduce transaction and travel costs to increase profits and make their enterprises more productive. They do not have the same access to producer organizations, technical support, and capacity building. To improve efficiency through time and money saved, a) Market Extension and Mobile Phones for Women Chicken Farmers (Bangladesh) provided women farmers new leverage with a local trader and allowed them to increase the volume sold. Prices increased by 60 percent and prompted expanded production b)FEPPASI (Burkina Faso) provided female farmers with computers and training to manage their revenue-generating activities more efficiently.

http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/sis/newslog/