Thank you for your contribution and greatly appreciated.

You will notice that this e-Forum has 3 questions, and these aim at giving an all-round approach to the topic under discussion. As you might have noticed, we have representation from a broader spectrum of international players within the agricultural field.

The first question is a WHAT question, l can assure you the HOW question is there. In the second week we will be calling for the practical HOW cases. Examples on the use and benefits of ICTs and Open Data in Agriculture and Nutrition. I therefore, urge you to stay and also contribute to the next week again.

This e-Forum is a separate structure; it does not overtake the governance bodies for partners in this forum - for example FAO,WFP ( as you mentioned them) or other partners in the e-forum, have their respective internal mechanisms to reach their decisions. You can visit the FAO Council and WFP Executive boards to learn specifically about these - you can do the same with WorldBank, GODAN and CTA. This forum is not replacing these established bodies within these organisation.However, the results can be a good advocacy for policy change, as an example.

Back to this e-Forum, for sure the report should be moving in understanding the issues that arise with open data, we will later offer more information on the output of this discussion. However, l might also mention that there are also policy recommendation that will address the HOW question and also your concerns. The next e-Forum  (e-Forum discussion on the GODAN Agriculture Open Data Package -AgPack.info) on this platform will also provide you with more practical points that are being implemented in Open Data in Agriculture.

We are looking forward to your thrilling and exciting comments

Thembani Malapela (Co-Moderator)

 (Translation to English provided by e-Agricuture Team)   Context of the experience in which innovations have been developed    In the context of promoting good horticultural practices "producing more with less", the CIAAD, supports family gardens (groups of small gardens from households to increase fruit and vegetable consumption). Together, they propose a new mode of marketing directly bringing together the market gardeners and the consumers of the neighborhood and neighboring communes, thus avoiding intermediaries. Direct sales contracts between market gardeners practicing production and integrated pest management (IPP) and consumers are based on the experience of the FAO GCP / DRC / 028 / BEL project.   What kinds of changes have been brought about by innovations via NICT?   The contract, via pre-financing of market gardening production cycles, secures the incomes of women heads of households. They thus have a monthly visibility and low market uncertainty, since the purchase prices of vegetables with IPP label are guaranteed and are higher than the market prices of the neighborhood.   This approach reverses the traditional image of the market gardener with low bargaining power in a food chain composed of many intermediaries who capture most of the value added at the expense of producers. This more equitable economic model allows a better valorisation of the fresh products proposed. Consumers have access to "labeled" fruits and vegetables, of which they know the producer. The IPP mode of production responds to a growing demand from urban consumers in Kinshasa, who denounce the bad uses of chemicals in the market gardens of the capital Kinshasa, and are concerned about their health and the protection of the environment. It avoids the use of pesticides and other herbicides that are costly and dangerous for producers. Through qualified training and access to appropriate technical / technological innovations via mobile phones, targeted vegetable producers have adopted alternative pest management and fertilization techniques (bio-pesticides, composting of household waste, above-ground cultivation , etc.). A certification system, involving urban producers and consumers (CPCU), is currently being implemented, attesting to the IPP label of the products sold.   In addition, vegetables from intelligent horticulture are cheaper than those offered in the main markets of Kinshasa and are not grown in IPP mode. Main results:    •  50 families of IPP consumers are affiliated to the CIAAD in the communes of Mont Ngafula, Lemba and Mbinza-UPN, including 3 religious convents  • 25 vegetable producers, including 15 women, were able to pre-finance their production and increase their income by 10 to 20% • 5 horticultural workers and 3 jobs created in the distribution • Each month, nearly 100 kg of vegetables and fruit are sold in 3 horticultural outlets.    Main types of innovation: • Organizational: - direct contracting between producers and consumers • Participatory certification system for organic products under implementation, involving producers and consumers • Institutional: - partnership between the Institute and the Center for Research and Communication in Sustainable Development • Social: - active involvement of consumers in the food chain  • Financial: - prefinancing of the vegetable production cycle by consumers   Description of the "NIC" innovations Web 2.0 Training   By 2015, five CIAAD facilitators were trained in intelligence horticulture, NICT and short marketing channels in neighborhood markets, at a workshop to capitalize on the achievements of the HUP-FAO project organized by the Consultant Expert in Horticulture : Clément TENGE TENGE.   They were introduced to the production and use of compost and learned good sustainable horticultural production practices, with the application of ICT tools for the exchange of information and technological innovations. Thanks to the exchange of experiences and knowledge, a group of households of partial gardens emerged in the Kindele, Kimbondo and Ngansele districts in the urban commune of Mont Ngafula.   Although GMPPs were originally set up to promote the consumption of vegetables in households, today, at the request of informed consumers, they are seeking a partnership with local plots of vegetable plots to consume quality. And in the current phase, market gardeners and CIAAD have proposed the establishment of horticultural baskets, with a view to marketing IPP products at reasonable prices for consumers while ensuring equitable remuneration for market gardeners, avoiding the intermediaries.   This short marketing circuit is based on a reciprocal commitment between producers and consumers, formalized by a renewable contract lasting 6 months. While market gardeners can finance their production more easily and ensure a stable and regular outlet, consumers undertake to pre-finance production by knowing in advance the provenance and production conditions while benefiting from quality at very competitive prices. Moreover, the participatory guarantee system for the IPP production mode is an innovative device thanks to the applications of the ICT tools, and the involvement of consumers.   To diversify their product baskets, market gardeners have established a relationship with the Horticultural Fruit Resellers Association to provide a supply of fresh fruit. Supplementing the needs of "fruit-vegetable" portions of consumers, women also sell spices, processed horticultural products, including jams and local fruit juices (pineapple, papaya, guava, lemon, etc.).   Key players involved   Actors Status Roles Contribution : CIAAD ONGD Founder of AMAP organizes courses and training for family households and gardens, promotes fruit and vegetable consumption, horticultural production and local marketing channels through solidarity-based local partnerships. Households Producers partial plot gardens Producers Products provides IPP-labeled products, adopt good sustainable production practices and use tools and ICT applications Consumers Kinois Individuals / families Client partner of producers Prefinancing of horticultural production Endowment of unburned plots of land for market gardening  Participation in the implementation of the promotion of fruit and vegetable consumption.  CERED Center for Research and Communication for Sustainable Development: Support for participatory certification Provides technical and methodological support on the certification process.   Challenges    The pilot experience of CIAAD works well and faces strong urban demand. The increase in the supply of IPP vegetables depends on the factors of production available, access to secured land constituting a major obstacle to its development, particularly on the market gardens of Kimwenza, Funa Campus which are currently occupied by anarchic constructions, not resilient to climate change. At the same time, the training of future kitchen garden households on good horticultural practices and the applications of ICTs in market gardening and the contractual and concerted distribution system of the CIAAD type is of a strategic nature, hence the CIAAD, seeks the support of the FAO to support a qualifying training project. Finally, mastering the tools and applications of ICTs in a guaranteed operational, participatory communication system is essential to ensure the sustainability of the achievements.   Obstacles to overcome    Voluntary households and market gardening to adopt good agro-ecological practices (after awareness of pesticide-related health problems)  Land insecurity for market gardening  Strong demand from urban consumers and insufficient distribution points Training Of the producers provided by the NGO CIAAD (former beneficiary of the FAO-HUP-DR Congo project) Lack of a continuing education center for young and future household gardeners   Upscaling of the activities   The CIAAD in DR Congo illustrates the transfer of an organizational innovation concerning the marketing of quality horticultural products within the framework of a system for transferring technological and technological innovations thanks to ICT applications. This innovation is being widely disseminated in the main urban agglomerations in the country, with a view to developing Greener Cities in DR Congo.   This adoption of the applications of the ICTs differs, however, by a more oriented steering from the family kitchen gardens. Generally presented as a way to introduce the younger family, and encourage the increased use of fruits and vegetables in daily meals. The CIAAD seeks to make accessible to the largest number of urban households in the disadvantaged neighborhoods of the capital.   Main lessons learned    This organized system of IPP fruit and vegetable baskets enables us to upgrade the horticultural industry in a city where it is generally synonymous with social decline. Horticulture is a potential source of employment for the upgrading of young people. Beyond the exchange of food, CIAAD has innovated by setting up a fair trade of participatory type, consumers buying land destined for market gardening. Finally, this experiment proposes a new system of agricultural innovation and knowledge in which professional, institutional and associative actors participate, in particular the consumers involved in the ICTs.

Translation to English provided by e-Agriculture

Our experience with vegetable gardens in residential plots in urban areas. We share information and experiences with mobile phones. The Kindele and Kimbondo districts in the municipality of Mont Ngafula are a model for the DRC.

Since October 2016, 30 households of Kindele or neighboring districts (women and men), cultivate plots according to its means, and this to promote the daily consumption of (400 to 600) fresh quality vegetables, according to FAO-WHO standards. In order to do so they use good old watering cans.

Fertilizers are made from the recycled biodegradable household waste.

About 60% of the production is used for auto-consumption. What is left is sold and allows the households to buy other products. We want the plots to become fully organic and eco-responsible. Through messages and direct calls, women can ask questions and get answers to their concerns about technical steps to take (seed selection, separation, seeding mode and planting) such as application of compost for example. Especially SMS are used to contact local mentors.

Our goal is to reach a large number of households, since most of the hortiultural sites in the municipality of Mont Ngafula are destroyed by buildings. Garden plots have the advantage of being secured land for households/farmers in plots and the quality of the vegetables remains good for their health

Translation to English provided by e-Agriculture

Smart horticultural production in residential areas.

We are experimenting various social networks tools, to develop innovations that can produce changes in the horticultural practices used by farmers in urban areas. We are confronted with a serious problem thus the misuse of chemicals in horticuture growing sites. We have met young people (women and men) who are practicing horticulture farming in their respective residential plots (Smart agriculture) having an objective to preserve the environment and the health of consumers. Our concern is to give them access to a network of peers and mentors and to have them benefiting from FAO’s funds as well as regular ICT support, for example case of http://www.fao.org/hortivar/.