Hi Pierre, Fatima, and Abaguilar,

Yes radio program is costly.  To familiarize the cost of it as for the fact that some of us realized that radio is still relevant in conveying information and knowledge, let me add some few lines in this discussion that based on my experience when my organization was trying to implement our radio program for the migrants (seafarers and overseas contract workers) and their families, that was 2006, I got an idea that having a slot for radio program is a bit costly.  Although that radio program is not directly intended for the farmers, but for the families left behind of seafarers and overseas contract workers, somehow there is still an association and link with our discussion talking with the holistic perspective of agriculture for producing and harvesting, and from manufacturing and marketing.  The seafarers and overseas workers with their families belong to the category of workers and consumers in relation to agriculture in this level.

But what I am saying is the cost of radio program in the year 2006 was P10,000 pesos  ranging to US#240 -250 per thirty (30) minutes airing the program in Metro Manila.  I am not sure what would be the cost in the regional area.  Indeed it is still costly to implement radio program as a medium of information dissemination in the part of POs unless they own the radio station or we can go back to the principle of networking and linkages to public sector and affluent business sector.  As most of the cases, public sector and established private communication companies have the capacity to establish a radio station. 

Reading all your posts, I see that almost all good recommendations and proposals pertaining to the question "what should be the role of the public rector uptake Ict?" have already been specified:  However, I have few thoughts to add:

I think that public sector as they belong to the public leading groups and servants of society must primarily keep their duties and positions trustworthy and dependable based on the spirit of service to all people.  In appying this consciousness of service to the nation in the agricultural sector and ICT development, all the huge suggestions that mentioned in this forum I believe will be fulfilled.

I am sure that in the government position as public sector knows their role, functions, and works, even before public and private sectors remind them to do, revise, and create new policies of ICT's and agriculture, therefore it is important to keep the essence of calling to be public leaders and servants otherwise no matter how rightful policies and proposal for ICT and agriculture,  there would be an struggle to exist, develop, and sustain.

In addition, public sector has all the power and strength to establish, expand, advance, and produce ICT fully bloom once that there is enough budget, and it is the priority and need of the society. The authority, control, influence and supremacy are in their hands for the correct disposal of funds, support, approval, coordination, and collaboration to the private sectors in this case of ICT and agricuture.  They have a big role and I am sure that they know their tasks however it is also the duty of the concerned citizens (private sector) to execute their rights and contribute their obligations to make any project for instance on ICT for agriculture.

Things to be considered and to bear in mind that although separate identification and functions but one body for a common task and a communal goal to build a society for ICT and agriculture a better service of advancement for all, not only for individual but collectively.

Hi Pierre and all,

In my own experience working with a group of women in the rural area (wives of seafarers) I found out that age does not be the barrier of learning ICT.  At their age nearing and past 60's, still they are eager to learn and  discover the ICT's world.  When I organized a seminar on ICT they were being taught how to use ICT such as online communication (chatting, emailing, and text messaging from computer to cellular phone and from cellalur phone to computer), they were so happy and thankful.  

This category of women may not be materially poor, but they can be ICT's less fortunate and remain as "techno peasant" when they did not find the secret of learning it. So these group of women they are practicing what they learned until now; they are employing and enjoying the knowledge to use it in communication with their husbands working at sea on board ships.  These group of seafarers wives are usually some of them have own land and farm in the province, definitely they are the ones training their household and farm's workers to properly use the equipment otherwise they cannot exchange better communication.  So, I think there is gap in learning ICT when interest to be trained is present and when purpose and value of using it is also clear to them.

Hi John Rouse,

How about adding the cheapest printer in the first step of the adoptation process in your recommendations to make it more complete? In this sense talking of practicality and completeness, there is an assurance that you may have printed materials for output.

Yes Susan, I like your idea, if that vision comes to realization through the effort of organizations for budgeting financing ICT development once the need has been recognized.  It could be a big aid to step ahead from the challenges of employing and utilizing the ICT.

I would like to add that proper distribution of labors and functions as well as allocated budget also needs to be look upon and observed.  I think there will be no duplication of works from the point of view of public and private agencies in terms of responding to the social needs, let's say of our country when one organization or agency knows their specific concern, task, and interest and focuses and concentrates merely on its own field of interest and pursuit.  

However, here this is the time where partnerhip and collaboration must be applied while respecting each one's functions and endeavors.  Coordination and participation of many; of the whole community of all sectors are needed.  Plus the opinion that if local people are motivated and encouraged enough to recognize the value of ICT in the improvement of their lives, whether farming or fishing, again completion is easy to materialize.   

Yes Sansu and Anne, 

Your brief remarks are correct.  Based on my observations too, even in the rural areas (farmers or fishermen) most of them have cellular phones.  It is true their children especially those  who attained education or those who gained knowledge and experience from the works outside their place, as I mentioned in one of my previous posts are the ones who assist their parents to manage using cellular phones, even in the operation of computer.  I also witnessed that there are those farmers or non-farmers even at their old age still able to adjust in the use of ICT, in my recent adventure in one of the provinces in the Philippines, that area, farming and producing products, their means of communication majority are cellular phones since there is no land line server available yet on that place.

I appreciate those discussions that pertain to the whole concerns of building the society particularly those reports from pragmatic study regarding the use of mobile as a means for communication in the agricultural industry.  As well as those media actual practice nowadays of our product organizations in delivering messages to the farmers or fishers.  My creative mind inspires me to think not only the kind of mobile phone our beloved local farmers can afford, as nowadays advanced mobile phones can carry almost all the facets of communications, like radio and television can be integrated in the mobile phone, including calculator for accounting, address book for directory, space for organizing data and calendar of schedule, and the most appreciative is that its connection to Internet where anywhere and anytime information (sending, browsing, and receiving) is truly easy to access, we can even send attachment of documens or files.

While I agree that there are modern mobile phones which can carry, accommodate, and bank bigger and higher data memories, wherein we can send probably messages which contain 200 or even 500 words per text messaging, I am still doubting the capacity of mobile phones.  So, I can see that mobile phones are only good for simple communication and brief instruction although it is handy and advantagous in terms of speed and rapidity, sound practical in sending and receiving messages.  And we can keep up to 1000 text messages but my suspicion is that when we talk about mobile application for agricultural development, I reflect the other side of mobile application and usage with regards to  keeping and restoring files and data of information.  I believe in this situation we will be needing soft and hardware machines in order to process the data and to ensure needed volume files are kept secured.  Hence in this point mobile phones are still on the way to advance yet still limited in terms of sustaining quantity and volume of data of information.

In this way, speaking of managing a farm production, I think mobile phones are not sufficient, especially in today's world where everything must be computerized for both business and formal transactions, even official receipts or any kind of formal and legal writtien communications.  So print out materials are needed in order to be valid and acceptable and I am sure that soft and hardware machines and equipment are more relevant in terms of readability, clearness, quantity of restoring and keeping records, files, and data.

Reviewing to your posts, I have few lines to add:

To Yitzchak613 & Sansu,

Social mobilization and cooperation that you mentioned create a social action of sharing and solidarity especially towards those in need and less fortunate, those cannot afford purchasing technological tools for means of communication.

To Gigi,

Networking and linkages can minimize effort, time, and budget and yet obtain the goals of the tasks productively.

To Kelly, Fatima, & Arnel,

Empowering the farmers and human resources to learn and collaborate in the process of the realization of the projects, plans, and producing activities allows them to feel their belongingness to the organization, that they are part of it, at the same time motivating them to be reliable to practice the so-called "co-responsibiity" and become "co-producers and co-builders" for the actualization of the works.  And also they may feel that their worth and capacity are being valued.

Yes Arnel, like what some of us agree that we are now in the era of ICT's process of transition, ICT migration from analog to digital, how much more human being are also greatly affected of the movement and development of time, modernization and globalization.  Yes, the old generation according to Fr. Gigi is of his heartfelt concern for the proposal of a new paradigm shift with the new culture of ICT,  I also side in your opinion that using local language as medium of instruction or delivering information to the local is significant in order to be more effective in giving instruction and information.  This is not to underestimate the capacity of our fellows in adjusting languages, but as we can see most of our radio and television stations in the rural areas are adapting their own local languages, and I noticed this practice in some parts of the Philippines.  Yes, maybe in addition is to improve more the use of own language in the printed materials and news information publications in the local setting.  I appreciate your idea.   

Hi Gigi,

Greetings from Manila!

Thank you so much for enlightenment.  When I was formulating my earlier post concernning the online discussion on education in agriculture in view of ICT, along with the ideas of Yitzchak613 and mjborres22, I was indeed thinking of you.  I am pretty sure that there is an appropriate person among us from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) who can brightly address and support the opinion.  I am also reflecting Gigi, probably this is only my presumption, I am not really sure if I am correct, that not only BS-Agriculture Course nowadays has computer subject in the curriculum.  I think in today's time, almost all degrees and courses in any field of study in the undergraduate course has the basic computer subject and even in the lower level of education (elementary) has computer lesson in this present age of education in our country.  We can think of the "young generations" computer literate even teaching their old "folks" to use the computer and other high tech ICTs gadgets.  It is really very interesting.

Now, it is nice to know that higher education in our country is really exerting efforts, knowledge, initiatives, and programs to mold and nourish the mind of our young generations to the interest which could be applicable and useful to them this time and for the future as well so as to attend to their needs in line with the proper preparation to fully practice their degree someday whether for their own improvement or for the progress of our society.  Since the young generations are basically the future parts of the producer organizations, productive farmers, or potential consumers and products builders.  

Best Regards,

Sr. Eva