Title: Increasing the flow of data: GIS improves rainfall data collection and information services in West Africa
Authors: Aondover Tarhule, Zakari Saley-Bana, Peter J. Lamb
Source: ICT Update
Publisher: CTA Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU)
Date (published): December 2011
Date (accessed): 14/12/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Climate researchers have developed a system that uses GIS, computers, and the internet to improve rainfall data management and information delivery to farmers in West Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is highly dependent on rainfall. More than 90% of the land is used for farming, very little of which is irrigated. Despite this reliance on rainfall, there are relatively few monitoring stations in the region that gather the data that farmers need to plan their seasonal cultivation processes. Even in areas where rainfall data are collected, several weeks can pass before the information is processed and made available in a form that is useful to farmers.

To speed up and simplify the data collection and management procedures, a team of researchers from the University of Oklahoma has developed a geographic information system (GIS) that monitors rainfall and its seasonal patterns. Known as Rainwatch, the system can also automatically generate visual representations of the data that can be easily interpreted by interested parties, including farmers.
…

The current version of the system is mainly suited for use by national meteorological services, and organisations such as the African Centre of Meteorological Applications for Development (ACMAD) based in Niamey, Niger. These centres could rapidly process and share their analyses with the media, researchers, educational institutions and agricultural extension services.
There are already plans to expand the use of Rainwatch beyond Niger. Starting in 2010, the long-term plan is to develop it into a web-based application that would be available to anyone with internet access. It could then be used alongside other climate information initiatives, using radio or cell phones, for example, to deliver weather details to people in rural communities.
The researchers believe that Rainwatch can especially benefit national meteorological services by improving the automation of rainfall data collection and database management. The ability to produce easily interpreted charts and graphics increases the likelihood that the information is distributed to more people. These are critical features in reducing the time lag between collecting the data and delivering it to farmers, and providing it in a format to help them adapt to a changing climate."

Title: Mediating voices and communicating realities: Using information crowdsourcing tools, open data initiatives and digital media to support and protect the vulnerable and marginalised
Author: Evangelia Berdou
Pages: 83 pp.
Publisher: Institute of Development Studies
Date (published): 14/04/2011
Date (accessed): 06/09/2011
Type of information: research report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Increased access to the internet combined with the lowering cost of digital media, such geographical positioning systems and video cameras, are supporting a wave of social and technical innovations aiming to empower citizens in developing countries to access information and organise themselves to affect positive social change.

These developments have gained momentum in the last three years, through the use of 'open' information and communication technologies (ICTs), which include open source software programmes and digital data repositories that can be freely used and modified. These resources are seen to support new architectures of participation that are enabling citizens in the South to produce and access critical information for the lives and livelihoods in settings where formal development actors have failed to do so.

This collaborative research project provides a basis for critically evaluating these claims through a detailed case study of the Map Kibera project, a citizen mapping and media project, in Kibera, Nairobi and a examination of similar initiatives in Haiti, Peru and Georgia.

The research, which was supported by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), examines whether and how open ICT projects designed to support the poor can make a difference in their lives and livelihoods. In the context of the study the benefits of these initiatives are understood in connection with the actors and partnerships that drive their development, their governance arrangements, the provisions and capacities of community stakeholders for meaningful participation and for translating information into action.

The study also sought to facilitate learning between technologists involved in the design and implementation of these initiatives, researchers and development practitioners. This was based on recognition that this latest wave of innovations offers great opportunities for the development of practices that are informed by an in-depth understanding of technology, insights from participatory approaches to development and scholarly work on citizen action and mobilisation."

Title: Announcing Ushahidi v2.1 (Tunis)
Author Editor: Emmanuel Kala
Source: blog.ushahidi.com
Date (published): 09/08/2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Ushahidi, Inc. is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping.
Ushahidi (Swahili for "testimony" or "witness") created a website in the aftermath of Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential election (see 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis) that collected eyewitness reports of violence sent in by email and text-message and placed them on a Google map.[2]
The organization uses the concept of crowdsourcing for social activism and public accountability, serving as an initial model for what has been coined as 'activist mapping' - the combination of social activism, citizen journalism and geospatial information. Ushahidi offers products that enable local observers to submit reports using their mobile phones or the internet, while simultaneously creating a temporal and geospatial archive of events. See Wikipedia

"After months of hard work and the hard work of the community we are pleased to announce the release of version 2.1 (Tunis) of the Ushahidi platform
...
New Release Features:

Powerful Reports Filter
This is perhaps the most salient feature in this release and also one of the biggest asks that the community has been persistent about for quite sometime. The new faceted reports page allows a user to filter reports using one or a combination of the following parameters:
* Report Categories
* Date when reports were submitted
* Location radius e.g. x kilometers from a given point
* Channel via which the reports have been submitted (Web Form, SMS, Twitter or Email)
* Media contained in the reports e.g. photos, video or news source links
* Verification status (i.e. Verified and/or Unverified)
* Also bundled with the new reports page is an option to toggle between list view and map view..."

Title: Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW) 2010 Roundup
Author: Mary Schneider
Source: ICT-KM
Publisher: CGIAR
Date (published):
Date (accessed): 27/06/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
The 2nd Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW) opened earlier this month in Nairobi with a speech from Kenya’s Minister for Agriculture, Hon. Dr Sally Kosgei. Her thought-provoking address challenged researchers and GIS practitioners to ‘discuss steps towards the development of delivery mechanisms for making geospatial information accessible to poor smallholders in the villages across Sub-Saharan Africa,’ – a timely topic that was already high on the event’s agenda.

Title: Location, location, location: Geographic techies explore ways of navigating a better future
Author: Susan MacMillan
Source: ILRI News
Publisher: International Livestock Research Institute
Date (published): 16/06/2010
Date (accessed): 18/06/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
A group of some 80 international and developing-country experts in the use of geographical information systems (GIS), remote sensing and other high-tech tools developed in the field of what was once innocently called ‘geography’ met in Nairobi last week (8–12 June 2010) to see if they couldn’t, by working together better, speed work to reduce world poverty, hunger and environmental degradation. (Oddly, this gathering of people all about ‘location’ tend to use a forest of acronyms — GIS, ArcGIA, CSI, ESRI, ICT-KM, AGCommons, CIARD, CGMap – in which the casual visitor is likely to get lost.)

The participants at this meeting, called the ‘Africa Agricultural GIS Week’, aimed to find ways to offer more cohesive support to the international community that is working to help communities and nations climb out of poverty through sustainable agriculture.

Title: Kenya’s agriculture minister opens Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week
Author: Nadia Manning-Thomas
Source: ICT-KM
Publisher: CGIAR
Date (published): 11/06/2010
Date (accessed): 15/06/2010
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
Kenya’s agriculture minister opens Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week and calls for efforts to take geospatial information to the ‘last mile’

While addressing the 2nd Africa Agriculture Geospatial Week (AAGW) that opened this week at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) campus in Nairobi; Kenya’s Minister for Agriculture, Hon Dr Sally Kosgei, challenged researchers and GIS practitioners to ‘discuss steps towards the development of delivery mechanisms for making geospatial information accessible to poor smallholders in the villages across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Title: The Revolution Will Be Mapped
Author: Bob Burtman
Source: Miller-McCune.com
Publisher: Miller–McCune Inc.
Date (published): 28/12/2009
Date (accessed): 03/01/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
GIS mapping technology is helping underprivileged communities get better services — from education and transportation to health care and law enforcement — by showing exactly what discrimination looks like.

Title: Pastoralists picture land use
Authors: Massimiliano Rossi, Italo Rizzi
Source: ICT Update, Issue 52: December 2009
Publisher: CTA Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (ACP-EU)
Date (published): December 2009
Date (accessed): 09/12/2009
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
A team of researchers combine maps, satellite images and participatory mapping techniques to develop an accurate picture of land use among pastoralists in southern Ethiopia...In an effort to better understand changing land patterns and preserve indigenous knowledge, researchers are using participatory mapping techniques. Spatial visualization tools, such as three-dimensional modelling, rural appraisal community maps, printed maps and even screen-based computer planning exercises with communities, can help to give an overview of natural available resources and how they are shared among the various land users.

Title: Tools of the Trade
Author: Saurin Nanavati
Source: AGCommons
Publisher: AGCommons
Date (published): September 2009
Date (accessed): 28/09/2009
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
A collaboration between the Grameen Foundation, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Uganda’s National Agriculture Research Organization (NARO), MTN Public Access Uganda, Agcommons, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has resulted in a tested system for rural development organizations that have effective recommendations for remote farmers, but lack effective mechanisms for presenting them directly to rural communities and monitoring the uptake.

The system developed addresses this missing link by demonstrating how training a specialized corps of community–based information officers known as Community Knowledge Workers (or CKWs) in combination with a mobile-phone based geographic information system (GIS) can provide improved coordination between planning and field activities -- in order to more efficiently and effectively gather on-farm information, visually track extension activities, measure extension officers’ performance and more accurately monitor impact of extension activities on local agriculture production.