Hi Sir Sandy,

I don't think most agricultural POs in the Philippines invest in ICT, unless they are involved in some money lending schemes (like our coops).  One real life case I can think of is the father of my officemate who owns a trucking business yet he's contented with using columnar pad for accounting.  Somethimes a phone, paper and a pen will do.

Regards,

Harv

Hi Pierre,

In the Philippines, one cannot own transmitters or transceivers without registering with the National Telecommunications Co., our telco regulating body.  The frequencies used are also applied to the said entity, so the cheapest way to broadcast is through the Net.  I have seen amateur "radio stations" being broadcast via Ustream.

Regards,
Harv

Hi John, Sansu,

I believe the cost is more than that as that will only cover a very basic computer.  To be able to reach 5km, we will be needing a strong router with antennas and/or repeaters.  A good line of sight is also needed so the signal won't drop. 

Regards,
Harv

Hi Stepman,

I commend Access Agriculture for offering this service, this is truly a nice idea.  With the cost of DVDs and players going down, I think this can be useful to the farmers in our country, the Philippines (well, I'm thinking some of the farmers cooperatives have DVD players, or at least the mayor/governor in his/her office).  I think it will be nice to volunteer to translate a video into Tagalog, but I prefer that some videos remain intact and have subtitles instead.  Thank you for sharing.

Regards,

Harv

Hi Kelly,

Since most farmers in the Philippines have no access to the Net, then the TV is still a good source of information.  This reminds me of Gerry Geronimo's tv show, Ating Alamin, which serves as a guide to alternative means of livelihood, including farming.  I'm just not sure if the show is still broadcasting though.

Regards,
Harv

Hi Anne,

I think we can solve the language barrier by creating applications that do the translation themselves.  If we can only gather all the languages of all your tribes and create a database of information then we can work on the apps.  At first, we can translate them all to English then afterwards we can do direct translations from dialect to dialect.

Regards,
Harv

Hi John,

I think you're referring to the Village Phone program of Grameen, which I heard has improved the lives of farmers.  Perhaps the closest approach to this program in the Philippines is the launch of wireless payphones by PLDT-SMART, one of the leading telcos here.  They have even partnered with 7-11 to produce GSM Coin Payphones, which I find very convenient (although I haven't seen one).

Regards,
Harv