Through other interactions in the e-Agriculture Community we know that traceability is increasingly important to local communities and producer groups, particularly those producing products with high value or export potential. A well known case is the shea butter producing women’s groups in Ghana that Oumy Ndiaye wrote about here http://www.e-agriculture.org/es/blog/rural-women-want-more-access-icts

Another example is Sustainable Harvest’s RITS, which is used by coffee cooperatives in Africa and Latin America http://www.e-agriculture.org/content/sustainable-harvests-relationship-information-tracking-system-rits-ict-and-ag-profile-usaid

Thank you Lucy. You may have identified an area where development organizations, in collaboration with producer organizations, should put greater emphasis on the use of ICT.

Gerard, you ask the questions that are the reason the e-Agriculture Community came into existence 5 years ago. We hope that through the networking, information sharing, and focused discussions such as this forum, piece by piece we will find all the answers.

Dear Ravishankar, thank you for this overview of the situation in India and the types of information and services involving ICT. As there are many types of producer organizations in India, from self-help groups to IFFCO, are you aware of any examples where the organizations are using or faciliting their members' use of ICT?

Thanks.

Thanks Fatima, this is an intersting example. Is there any information on who is supporting the initiative? Is the vegetable industry council working alone, or do they have financial support from government or another party? Also, is the local mobile network operator directly involved in the project (or is the project just making use of the mobile network service)?

Thanks.

There are several examples of farmers forming organizations that invest in technology or facilities to reduce post-harvest losses. Most of the well known examples focus on facilities like silos or refrigeration units.

Are there examples of producer organizations using ICT to reduce food loss?

Thank you for this and the Uganda information Joyce. It's valuable to know in the Uganda case how the telecenter is supported with funds. Do you know how the Malaysian centers are funded?

The sustainability of telecenters has long been a topic of discussion. Over the years we have seen several models to cover operating costs, but few examples of self-sustaining centers.

James, that is really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

I understand you are in Uganda working with the Nakaseke Community Multimedia Centre. Would you tell us a bit more about your work with producer organizations? What types of organizations are these? How long have you been doing this work?

Cheers.