Calvin Miller
| Organization | FAO |
|---|---|
| Organization type | International Organization |
| Country | Italy |
Mr. Miller is an Agricultural Economist with over 35 years of experience in all regions of the world in economic development, including the design, implementation and evaluation of rural and agricultural programs and policies, micro and rural finance programs, value chain development programs and agribusinesses, and institutional development. Prior experience spans from on-the-ground fieldwork as an agricultural economist to organizational and program management as the Country Manager of MEDA in Bolivia, and includes numerous consultancies for organizations such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Inter-American Development Bank, World Bank, Development Alternatives and World Vision. He was Director of CARE’s Economic Development Unit, which provided the overall strategic direction, leadership and technical support for 200 CARE micro and small enterprise, and agriculture and natural resource projects in over 40 countries. He was founder of and active in MicroVest, a $200 million dollar for-profit, socially responsive global microfinance family of funds financed by private sector investors. From 2004, Mr. Miller has worked with FAO and heads the Agribusiness and Finance Group, AGS Division within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department of working with policy and sector development in rural finance with governments, development agencies and field projects. His works in finance includes risk management, value chain finance and guarantee funds for agriculture and agribusiness. He is the author of a book on “Agricultural Value Chain Finance: Tools and Lessons”, and numerous publications such as Agricultural Investment Funds for Developing Countries” and “El Crédito Rural: Manual Práctico de Administración”.
This member participated in the following Forums
Forum Forum: ICT enabling rural financial services and micro-insurance for smallholders
Question 3 (opens 23 May) What is the role of ICT in value chain partnerships?
Submitted by Calvin Miller on Thu, 05/30/2013 - 22:39
Hi,
People used to be connected by the town drum beating in Africa or a bell or a conch. Farmers were connected to seeds from what they stored, buyers were the local trader or trucker who lived in the larger house in the village. People were connected at the town water well or by the river, drinking tea or something stronger at a party, under a shade-tree and/or by marriage. Today many of these forms of information and communication approaches have lost their economic importance as production, marketing and financing decisions are now commonly made wirelessly without any direct face-to-face communication. Competitive agriculture is connected agriculture. The ICT revolution has made it infinitely cheaper and easier to be connected in ways not possible before. It has also made it more important to have and use the technologies. Many persons associate ICT with cell phones; while they certainly are very important, ICT is much more. In the 2013 document, ICT uses for inclusive agricultural value chains
http://www.ruralfinance.org/library/financial-services/technology-and-outreach/technology-and-outreach-details/en/?srec=14148&tdet=training&tdet2=&tdet3=2&referer= FAO and the Indian Society of Agricultural Professions looked at many ways, both in India and other parts of the world that ICT is used directly and indirectly in value chain linkages and value chain finance with a focus on how ICT facilitates the poor to be more competitive through improved information, links to better markets, timely sales for better sales, better inputs and the like. When I think back to the countless hours I spent on horse or foot to communicate messages in rural villages and visiting house after house, I think "wow", now the farmers have ICT tools that increase efficiency many times over -- any so much more innovation is on the threshold.
Calvin
People used to be connected by the town drum beating in Africa or a bell or a conch. Farmers were connected to seeds from what they stored, buyers were the local trader or trucker who lived in the larger house in the village. People were connected at the town water well or by the river, drinking tea or something stronger at a party, under a shade-tree and/or by marriage. Today many of these forms of information and communication approaches have lost their economic importance as production, marketing and financing decisions are now commonly made wirelessly without any direct face-to-face communication. Competitive agriculture is connected agriculture. The ICT revolution has made it infinitely cheaper and easier to be connected in ways not possible before. It has also made it more important to have and use the technologies. Many persons associate ICT with cell phones; while they certainly are very important, ICT is much more. In the 2013 document, ICT uses for inclusive agricultural value chains
http://www.ruralfinance.org/library/financial-services/technology-and-outreach/technology-and-outreach-details/en/?srec=14148&tdet=training&tdet2=&tdet3=2&referer= FAO and the Indian Society of Agricultural Professions looked at many ways, both in India and other parts of the world that ICT is used directly and indirectly in value chain linkages and value chain finance with a focus on how ICT facilitates the poor to be more competitive through improved information, links to better markets, timely sales for better sales, better inputs and the like. When I think back to the countless hours I spent on horse or foot to communicate messages in rural villages and visiting house after house, I think "wow", now the farmers have ICT tools that increase efficiency many times over -- any so much more innovation is on the threshold.
Calvin
Question 1 (opens 20 May) How are ICT being used in operations of rural finance and micro-insurance providers?
Submitted by Calvin Miller on Wed, 05/22/2013 - 08:16
We tend to think of ICT as mobile money, texting, etc. but it is at the heart of modern technology which has opened new doors for financial access to small holds -- farmers, micro-savers, insurance services and the like. But I also want to note three areas we sometimes overlook:
a. Communication between financial institutions and their clients, between clients, and between staff
b. Back-office communication, which allows for agile decision-making and monitoring, improving efficiency and timeliness
c. Business efficiency, which improves the buying, selling and market competitiveness of the clients which in turn makes them better clients. A strong client is one with a strong, sustainable business.
a. Communication between financial institutions and their clients, between clients, and between staff
b. Back-office communication, which allows for agile decision-making and monitoring, improving efficiency and timeliness
c. Business efficiency, which improves the buying, selling and market competitiveness of the clients which in turn makes them better clients. A strong client is one with a strong, sustainable business.