The moderator is not going to provide any more specific direction on question 2. :-)

The fact that a discussion about what is “sustainable” has begun here indicates that there will be value in it happening. People who prefer not to debate the term are most welcome to interject examples and ideas about sustainability with a note on what “type” of sustainability refers.

How’s that?

cheers, Michael the moderator/facilitator

Rachel’s point that Backpack Farm’s content was ignored when free, but subscribed to when associated with an economic value is fascinating. Do others have similar or different experiences to share?

Thanks Ritu Raj for sharing these key points based on Digital Green's experience. They bring out important factors to keep in mind, particular to ensure the sustainablity of demand for these services. I look forward to comments from you and others on how the supply (provision) of these services can be made sustainable.

cheers

Thanks for your comments Piere Paolo. In our experience at FAO, content is also seen as a major standing challenge. I hope the participants of this forum will take this topic up for further discussion in Question 2: What factors make ICT-based advisory services for smallholders sustainable?

A very intersting point Rachel. In fact sustainability may rest not only on finding the right business or partnership models, but also on how new innovation is fostered.

In this forum we will be looking at ICT from different perspectives. In the current question the focus is on the ICT no matter what direction the information is flowing.

In question 3, which will open Monday, we will look specifically at how ICT can support both farmers and their abiltity to innovate.

Mr Kahilu, thank you for this interesting news about SMS based extension in Zambia.

Can you tell us how long this initiative has existed, and how many farmers it reaches?

Also, the URL at the end of your post says "access denied". Is there another site where we could learn more about this project?

Thank you!

Rachel, are there examples of ICT being used to support appropriate/sustainable use of agro-chemicals? Either through innovations in learning or application measurement and control?

From people's experience, is it necessary to identify and differentiate different information content/processes and the ICT that is best suited to it? Or is mobile (phone) technology growing fast enough and mobile voice/data service price falling fast enough that one can (should?) wait for this nearly ubiquitious tool to catch up to the information need?

Bruce, what recourse does the farmer have if the product is found to be fake?