Dear all, Accountability should be the watch word in implementing important processes. The inventorization of the chain will enhance transparency as individuals, organizations and government can closely mark each other through time bound reporting of activities in their domain. I understand the political interest of some government in developing countries, but then improvement in audio transactions,video clips and pictures will be great materials for submitting progress report of various activities. The farmer with more incentives will be ready to pay for improvement. The private sector has to see how they can also contribute for social growth while they still make profits. Governments in the developing Countries, especially in Africa have more problems because of no focus vision for the Continent. We hope sooner or later, there will be a shift from their money making ventures through there political positions and the masses may enjoy good governance. Sea

Dear Lisa I strongly stand by Flauerys points. Thank you. Sea

Dear all Bosch and Yves point are very important. Although government and the private sector can outline roles that can be traceable. I assume that database for all players in the agricultural chain can have great impact if properly organized and functions assigned in the organogram to facilitate accountability and transparency in empowering those with up-to-date informations on their various activities. People can work together if the SMART tool is used to define the various aspect of implementation of ICT project, everyone must be given a task and should be able to deliver according to specification, also incentives will enhance efficiency. Please, take a look at this, "A Review of Nigerian Agricultural Policies".

Dear Sapna The role of private sector in ICTs agric-value chain includes; infrastrutural development, management and funding. Many ICT corporations, Banks, financial institutions, and agro related companies. In Nigeria, Companies like Leventis PLC., play a lot of role in the agricultural sector development; one of which is ICT improvement towards Sustainable Food Security Programme. The role of public sector should not be restricted to funding, rather they should also serve as regulators(watchdogs), for efficient and effective services. The PPP approach in ICT for strengthen agric-value chain is important because the veiw of the stakeholders will be more appreciated since the impact will be observed by all those in the coverage area and they can serve as checkers and balancers in project monitoring and evaluation. Promotes accountability and transparency in processes. It also reduce fraud and will promote timeliness in all transactions. The oppurtunty of the owners of a project to be part of it will increase the level of speedy and sustainable development. Sea

[quote="jo.cadilhon"] [quote="zainul"] I felt that talking through mobile phone in the preferred languages by the various actors of value chain is the best ICT device/means for operation of value chain activities. [...] I think SMS is not that popular or usable because of language,typing or operational procedure. [/quote] Dear Zainul and other ICT experts, Do you think preference of calling over SMS is only due to technical reasons? What about pricing of the different services? I've noticed the price of SMS services can vary widely between countries. Does pricing policy by mobile phone operators lead users to choose call rather than SMS? Jo Dear Jo I think pricing policy may not be responsible for calls over SMS, most time the text do not go through due to network congestion, moreso, some persons take a while before they go through their SMS box and reply thereafter. So calls most time are cheaper, because you get instant response. Thank you. Sea [/quote]

[quote="flaureys"] [quote="Tasnim"] Security may be considered a vital challenge for the use of ICT(in value chains)in rural areas. Unless the safety and security can be ensured for the costly ICT devices,the realization of ICT in value chains may be very difficult. [/quote] Hi Tasnim, Yes indeed, the deployed ICT solutions should be adapted to the local situation in order to last as long as possible. And in some cases, well guarded too... However, I believe that trust is the most important issue to address when considering how to change behaviours - whether it's with ICT's or without. Without trust between the actors, even the best market price information system will not work. The same accounts for agricultural information: only when the beneficiaries trust the provider of the information will they accept it and eventually adopt it to their situation. This is one of the reasons why I believe that it is essential that farmers themselves become ICT-proficient: the strongest testimonies will come from their fellow farmers. [/quote] I strongly agree with Faureys statement, trust is really the key. Morality also will contribute, because when knowlegde is applied with understanding things work almost perfectly.

Dear All, Great respond from Dr(Mrs) Krishna and Dr. Zainul. It will be of great use to introduce the value chain in developing Countries. There is also need for capacity building to enhance the chain progression in developing countries. Although some developing countries have the resources but unable to match them properly to their needs. Sea

Hi all! Promoting gender efficiency in the value chain will go a long way to promote harmony. I attach a case view, in respect to experiences from Nigerian women. Best regards

Good day Sapna, I also have problem accessing the pdf. Thank you