[quote="sapnaaroranarula"] Hi sameera, Thanks for this information [/quote] You are welcome Sapna. I am really glad to meet you on this e-agriculture forum again to share knowledge on ICT4Agriculture. @ Pretty Here in Sri Lanka, Dialog Telekom, a telecommunication company has introduced a mobile payment method called eZ Pay (pronounce it as easy pay). With that system any buyer can make a payment to a farmer instantly within Sri Lanka just using his mobile phone. So there is no risk of farmer carrying money. Beauty of this system is you do not want to have computers, internet, etc. (which most of the time can not be afforded by poor farmers). Just having a mobile phone with a bank account would do. -Sameera.

Hi All Let me to share with you outcomes of a interesting research done by LIRNEasia, a research organization in Sri Lanka. The research was on Cost of Information in agriculture markets, with special reference to "Dambulla" a whole sale vegetable market in Sri Lanka. Findings; Transaction cost -> 15% of the total cost of production Out of that 15% Transaction cost -> 70% is Cost of Information That is the cost of traveling and searching information, which could have minimized with the support of ICT. I do not try to generalize the findings of a research done with Sri Lankan vegetable farmers to whole world, but this research help us to understand the potential role ICT can play to minimize the Transaction cost. Sameera.

Hi Jean/Michael and others Since Jean mentioned that some farmers do not have access to Televisions and Michael seconded it giving reasons, I thought of sharing following with you. Here in Sri Lanka, Department of Agriculture handles it in very innovative way. Every Monday they have a TV show on agricultural technical matters at 6.30pm on National TV channel. Everyday they discuss about a timely technical matter. Let's say they discussed about a particular way of improving the quality of the harvest on this Monday. Let's assume a farmer couldn't watch it due to; - not having a TV - car battery which is used to watch TV is dead - was in the farm at that time From Tuesday onwards, he can get the TEXT version (with images) of the same half an hour video from their Cyber extension centers (Agrarian Service Centers around the country) -Sameera.

"Does anyone think it would be useful (and possible) to assign different roles in the value chain to different types of ICT? Or would that be too much of a generalization?" - Michael It is nearly impossible to generalize Sameera

Hi All What types of ICT? I would like to divide ICT mainly in to two types; Traditional ICT tools, such as Televisions, Radios, etc. and Modern ICT tools, such as mobile phones, computers, internet, etc. Different types of ICT play different roles Different types of ICT have different strengths and also weaknesses. I think this is where we need ICT and Agriculture experts to work together to find the right tool for right role. Sameera.

Hi All Yes Sonigitu, transparency is key aspect and ICT helps to achieve it. That is why we say that e-Gov systems help to minimize the bribery and corruptions. As Henry correctly pointed out "ignorance" or abuse of small producers happen when there is no transparency. I would like to term it as "exploitation". When poor/small farmers or producers do not have limited or no access to information, they become vulnerable and could be exploited by the middleman. So tools such as mobile phones will empower the poor farmers with information and that would help farmers to make informed decisions. -Sameera.

Hi All The Middleman Even in the previous posts that came up. Some tend to believe that middleman is someone from whom we should get rid of and ICT can be used for that. This is bit wrong way of thinking as well as a wrong positioning of ICT in Agriculture. So, some may go against the ICT in Agriculture initiatives (especially systems which provides market prices, etc.) and could try to sabotage those. Middleman also adds a value in the agriculture value-chains. So what we try to do is make the existing market systems more efficient (most of the time) than trying to change them completely. All the stakeholders also should be made aware on that fact. -Sameera.

Hi All I am Sameera Wijerathna, Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D) Activist in Sri Lanka. Currently I am attached to Dialog Telekom (www.dialog.lk), a telecommunication company in Sri Lanka. Under the main theme of ICT4D, I am involved in different programmes and ICT for Agriculture is one of my key areas of interest. Currently I am working on my Masters Degree research - "Mobile Phone for Agricultural Development of Sri Lanka". Sameera. [url=]http://ict4d-in-srilanka.blogspot.com/[/url]

Hi Luca This is a good job, I'll try to mark the Sri Lankan "Mobile for Development" projects also in your map. Hope I have rights! Sameera. http://ict4d-in-srilanka.blogspot.com

Hi Mr. Bulbul Ahmed, I agree with your points except the first one. "1. The call charge should be reduced or a compensation scheme may be given to them." This will kill the sustainability; Telecom Operators mostly profit oriented private sector institutions, they need profits. If they do not see revenue they will not invest in rural areas giving mobile coverage to the rural poor. So let's let farmers to make more profits with timely information, then they can afford to pay the call charges. Sameera