Question 1: ICTs for collecting agricultural, socio-economic, or M&E data (Open 11 June)

Hello Rabiu,

Just read your post on software for streaming.

IT / Software is my forte and I might just be able to pitch in one or two things with regards to implementation for your project.

I hope things work well with regards to the impact you want to make.

Are you reaching implementation stage anytime soon?

ALso You mentioned '20 million listeners in two states at least ' listen to the radio- is that an estimate or you can  quote from relaibale sources ?

All the best.

Well said rabiu,

But I believe the future remains bright for agriculture in Nigeria - after all , 160 million (plus) people have to feed- and feed others

Besides , technology has also helped us with the concepts of geo-location and geo-mapping. I can broadcast messages to a select target audience without the need of a extensive state owned machinery - as long as it is within the confines of the law.

Also break throughs in m-learning and elearning gives cause for cheer- as long as we dont want to get left behind.

I come from an IT based back ground but practiced substinence farming as a teenager.

  I am playing with the idea of doing a research of mobile/radio proliferarion in rural farming areas in the country  which states would you recommend I narrow my survey / fact finding excercises to ?

Thanks.

Hello Jolash,

that is great to have some expert close by to work with. I would very pleased we start working on the ground along the line of discussion.

First, make sure we clear the legal requirements that may not neccessarily be there regarding the latest mobile/radio technology but then trust authorities too, with our sudden appearance in the air and with heavy impact on rural farmers we appear to make, a nearest clause distortion in the legal provisions of the country would be changed instantly changed to curtail our operations. so..

About m-agriculture, currently with my little ICT devices and field work with farmers I document my training/research works in one area for viewing in a different area for effects.

Where else would I recommend for collaboration to work with you than my local environment that I know best. That is rural Kano state, 44 local government areas, heavy irrigation of vegetables, intensive cereal production (rice/maize/cowpea), livestock rearing, over 8 million smallholder farmers etc, I have little work I did in 2009 called RURAL DIGITAL BRIDGE (RDB) is along the line you want to start it might be usefull to you. 

Dear all,

Welcome to the this forum! it is great to read these engaging posts.

Just a kind reminder to everybody about acronyms and abbreviations: if you use them, please provide a definition first, so that it is clear to everybody.

Regards,

Lisa
e-Agriculture Team

 Can anyone speak to how well these different options work when part of your data collection is still done by hand? While eventually we might move all surveys to mobile collection, the transitional period would likely include both paper and mobile collection. How easy is it for this data to be consolidated (off-line) in a database and then accessed and queried through the cloud when internet access is available? To the latter point, what solutions have folks used as the backend for both database management, data visualization, report customization, etc.?

I'm wondering how sophisticated your data collection is? How many questions are in the survey and how many are branched options (e.g. if A answer questions 1-5, if B answer questions 6-10)? 

We're always stressing that "context is king" and its important to consider those tools people you're communicating with have access to - sometimes appropriate tech can mean a crayon, sometimes it is paper surveys. When you move to mobile collection do you envisage your staff to gather and return results, or will it be direct from communities? Will they need a certain type of handset?

Speaking to the way FrontlineSMS works, it can operate offline and SMS can be exported in csv (excel) or pdf, or even forwarded to SMS or (if you are online) connected to an internet site or database via http trigger. The new version released yesterday is browser-based so we are starting to build some more sophisticated frameworks. 

Laurawhudson,

so fascinated and interested to try the FrontlineSMS software free download from your domain but my laptop warned me seriously of the uncertified status of the tool and possible danger of damage to my system therefrom that eventually I shelved the idea of installing/running it in. I still have it dumped in my system though

Appears you have two versions already in use? which one is most suitable for a trial start?

Any re-asuarance?

Thank  you alot

rabiu

 Hello Rabiu,

Great to hear you're trying out the software! As far as the warning message, FrontlineSMS v1 runs as a Java application, and it's a good idea to be sure of the source of Java applications before installing them, as it is possible they contain malicious code. I can assure you, though, that as long as you are downloading the software off of a FrontlineSMS.com domain [v1 here, v2 here], there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

As far as which version of the software is better to use, it probably depends on the scope and timeline of your project. Version 2, which is just launching, is a total rewrite of our software, with a more intuitive user interface, smoother operation, and increased stability. However, as it has just launched, it is still lacking some of the more complex data analytical features of v1, specifically integration with FrontlineForms, though these integrations are coming soon. You might download both versions, to familiarize yourself with the full suite of data collection functionality in version 1, and then to get used to the interface of version 2, in preparation for full feature integration by the end of this year. If you are hoping to field-test FrontlineSMS in a data collection project in the very near future, though, v1 will probably be your best bet.

On the pages linked above, you can read more about the specific differences between v1 and v2, as well as our schedule for a complete transition to Version 2.

That is better Laura and many thanks. Wish us good trial of your material.

Bye for now

As USAID's ICT Advisor for Agriculture, I was just in Senegal learning from our Feed the Future Project (called PCE) about how they collect data on paper and electronically.  To keep things simple, they have lead farmers collect basic data from 10-20 farmers in their village.  An field advisor from the AG association then checks it quickly for quality and keys it into an Excel spreadsheet.  This spreadsheet is then shared with millers (buyers from these farmers) via free accounts on DropBox.  The spreadsheets are automatically synched up and shared (with anyone with permission to see the data) anytime a PC with the spreadsheet is connected (via a mobile phone network).  Theoretically it would be best to capture the data first in digitized form but the PCE team argues that the lead farmers carry around small notebooks and pencils anyway and can easily jot down the information as they see "their" farmers often.  It seems this is a good example of pencil and digital coming together and the use of DropBox (which offers free accounts for a few Gig of storage -- plenty for a spreadsheet) makes this work well even when connectivity is sporadic.