ICTworks by Inveneo

Enriching rural coffee farmers with educational videos via iPads

Getting the right information to farmers, when and where they need it, in a form (language and tone) they understand and can easily access is as vital to the success of the agriculture sector as the right type of soil, adequate water, sunlight and any other input. For this primary reason, I endorse BIID's call for information to be considered as an input in agriculture. It holds true beyond the Bangladeshi context.

It is mind-boggling to me that so few countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Pacific, where agriculture remains a key employer and contributor to national income, have created an enabling environment for the growth of agriculture infomediaries. The value of agricultural infomediaries is that gathering agriculture data and providing credible and efficient information services is vital at every stage along the value chain.

The reality is, in much the same way the global economy is driven by knowledge, enterprising agriculturists, consumers and others in the sector now depend on high quality, reliable and efficient information systems built around new technologies, well trained and knowledgeable people. So information is not just a key input for a farmer, informing him of what additives to use, when to plant, where to plant and what is more marketable to plant, it sustains the entire sector.

Are you excited about ICT4Ag and in Washington DC? Then RSVP for Enriching rural coffee farmers with iPads, a Technology Salon on September 15th

Researchers, farmers, middlemen, retailers and consumers need infomediaries as they do not have ready access to agricultural data. So, infomediaries function as ‘translators’, who capture, synthesize and repackage data for different groups within the sector. The rising demand for value added services, combined with a paucity of agricultural data, underscores the strong demand for agricultural infomediary services. In fact, Mobile-based agricultural support and market research is among the most attractive growth sectors in places like Kenya. There's also potential elsewhere as ICT infrastructure strengthens. The high rate of mobile phone ownership among farmers across developing countries with large agriculture sectors shows how palpable these opportunities are.

The livelihood of farmers have been hampered by ad hoc marketing systems and broader issues of information asymmetries for centuries. Poor communication between producers and buyers results in inadequate planning, and ultimately an unstable market environment.

Inadequate and inefficient information is bad for the sector.... let's fix that! Recognizing its key role as an input is a key step.

On May 3rd 2011, 'Take Back the Tech!' and 'Communication is your Right!' host a global action day called 'World Freedom Day' to "defend our right to freely access, use, engage and share information and opinions and become our own media through information and communication technologies (ICT)."

How to get involved?

1) JOIN US ON TWITTER! DATE: MAY 3RD

Use hashtags: #3may #takebackthetech #commright

Join our conversation on Twitter on May 3 about the potential, risks and challenges we face exercising our right to communicate. We will also focus on women’s voices and experiences and how we can collectively work to make sure women’s right to communicate is respected.

2) POST YOUR DEMANDS

Create a speech bubble using a piece of cardboard or paper. Write down your demands in terms of your right to communicate. For example: "Accessing info about sexual health is my right"; "Having private conversations is my right"; "Freedom from censorship is my right" etc.
Include our action hashtags in your speech bubble (#3may, #takebackthetech, #commright or all three)
Take a picture of the speech bubble in different spaces to claim that space. For example, on your computer, by the sidewalk, or a picture of yourself holding it up.
Post it! Help create a collective demand by adding your picture to the gallery. You can post your picture on this site, using Twitpic, on TBTT's facebook page or email it to: ideasATtakebackthetechDOTnet.
3) CREATE A VIDEO!

We are encouraging women and girls all over the world to share their message by creating a video. Communication Is Your Right! empowers people to create videos about what messages are being suppressed and offers a platform for women to share their messages. Here is how you can submit your videos:

http://www.communicationisyourright.org/article_19_videos_digital_media/

When we talk of ICT, we often focus just on computers. I know I am guilty of this many times, even though I'm a strong proponent of FM radio too.

So its great to have this reminder from Linda Raftree in ICT4D in Uganda – "ICT" does not equal "computers"

“We initially thought that when you talk of ICT you refer to the computer guys only, but our minds have now been opened further on the topic. We’ve learned that ‘ICT’ does not equal ‘computers’. Instead, the term ICT encompasses any technology tool that enables information flow and communication.” (participant)

This always seems to come up in these trainings – people realize that thinking about and using ICTs is not something that is limited to technicians, geeks, network specialists, programmers, the IT Department, etc. Demystifying this term is so important in order to get people interested and to open up to thinking about how ICTs can support their every day work.

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In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, like the earthquake in Haiti, the need to communicate is immense. From the search for loved ones, to coordination of humanitarian relief, to simple messages of "I'm alive," between family members.

In fact, Secretary Clinton mentioned the three highest proprieties for the US government efforts will be communications, electricity, and transportation.

But much of the telecom infrastructure in and around Port-au-Prince was severely damaged or destroyed by the earthquake. And the resulting information vacuum is hampering vital emergency relief operations and recovery efforts.

Into this gap, several ICT solutions are arriving:

• Ushahidi's crisis mapping is identifying places of need
• The Inventorisation Wiki and Sahana are coordinating relief efforts online
• Inveneo will be bringing Internet connectivity to local NGOs

Establishing networks like these are a cornerstone of good disaster relief, and will support additional ICT infrastructure and facilitate long-term ICT capacity building and reconstruction. Yet the task is not easy.

Just to send two staff and equipment, Inveneo worked through the weekend to prepare:

Learn more about Inveneo's response, by subscribing to their RSS, Twitter, or Facebook feeds.

1. Keep an Open Mind on What is "ICT"

All too often, we get so caught up in what is shiny, flashy, and new, we come to think of just computers, Internet or mobile phones as the full gamut of information and communication technologies.

We forget that other, older technologies like radio and TV not only have a greater reach, they already have an installed user base that doesn't need new equipment or training to benefit from increased knowledge via ICT.

2. Keep an Open Mind on What is "Access"

I remember talking with a community organization which was adamant that they needed a cybercafe to provide access to ICT for their beneficiaries who would be denied the knowledge of the Internet any other way. But when I asked how many beneficiaries had email addresses, they said "oh almost all of them."

So don't think for a minute that a motivated person cannot get access to ICT. As one Development Marketplace 2009 (DM2009) finalist remarked:

For a chance at $200,000 and a trip to Washington DC, I did what it took to get email. I even explored email over HF radio!

3. ICT Isn't the Only Communication System

For all the attention we give ICT's as the world's greatest communication system, there is one network that is way more effective. One that marketing companies value above all others: word of mouth. Yes, ICT's can amplify the message, but nothing compares to someone you know, in your physical proximity sharing information with you. Face to face communication has the highest bit rate - just look at how much is spent on business travel.

At the same time, don't forget analog systems. One DM2009 finalist is mixing satellite images, GPS, and water bottles and church bells as a mudslide early warning system. Why? Because in rural Philippines, church bells are faster than any Facebook or Twitter alert.

4. Major Barriers to ICT Still Exist

Regardless of these workarounds to the question, there are still high barriers to ICT access in the developing world. Organizations like Inveneo are doing our best to reduce these barriers through technology and capacity building, but our work is the easy part.

Time and time again, we relearn that the real barrier to ICT access and adoption is not technological, its cultural, societal, personal, across all organizations, be they business, nonprofit or government. Its people, not technology.

This is a synopsis of my remarks at the recent Development Marketplace 2009 (DM2009) workshop on "Innovative Approaches and Technologies for Effective and Timely Knowledge Sharing for Climate Adaptation"