Title: Farming By Phone
Author: Isaiah Esipisu
Source: COP17 CLIMATE CHANGE DURBAN 2011
Date (published): 30/11/2011
Date (accessed): 06/12/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Francis Mburu used to keep indigenous cattle in Entasopia village in the semi- arid Kajiado region, 160 kilometres southwest of Nairobi. However, increasing temperatures and frequent droughts in Kenya have made this difficult in recent years.
But now, in an area that has never had electricity, where education is not a priority or sometimes not an option at all, residents of Entasopia are using a solar-powered internet facility to adapt to the changing climatic conditions.
The Nguruman community, largely composed of the Maasai ethnic group, now has access to an ICT facility locally known as Maarifa (“knowledge” in Swahili) Centre. Here they are able to access climate adaptation information via the internet, videos and books. The Arid Land Information Network (ALIN), in collaboration with the Kenyan government, founded the project.
According to Samuel Nzioka, the field officer for ALIN, most of the videos shown at the centre are practical lessons in local languages aimed at boosting the understanding of the concepts of climate change and adaptation, and basic dry-land farming knowledge..."

Title: Connected Agriculture : The role of mobile in driving efficiency and sustainability in the food and agriculture value chain
Pages: 42 pp.
Publisher: Vodafone
Date (published): 11/10/2011
Date (accessed): 17/11/2011
Type of information: report
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"Mobile communications can help to meet the challenge of feeding an estimated 9.2 billion people by 2050. The 12 specific opportunities explored in this study could increase agricultural income by around US$138 billion across 26 of Vodafone’s markets in 2020.

They could also cut carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 5 mega tonnes (Mt) in these markets and reduce freshwater withdrawals for agricultural irrigation by 6%, with significant savings in water-stressed regions. These benefits assume there will be around 549 million mobile connections to relevant services in 2020.

This report aims to stimulate the necessary engagement between mobile operators, governments, NGOs and businesses to realise these opportunities and explore others.
Benefits Mobile services can enable companies to

The opportunities studied here would improve the efficiency of the agriculture and food sectors as well as helping to raise the incomes of millions of poor farmers in developing countries. Increased efficiency is also expected to lead to fewer food losses – an important aspect of meeting the world’s growing demand for adequate and affordable supplies of nutritious food.

These mobile services enable companies to access and interact directly with different participants in the value chain, helping to build visibility of issues, capacity and quality. They will support company sustainability objectives, and in particular, progress towards the UN Millennium Development Goals by helping to reduce poverty, improve health and increase funding for education.

The greatest potential benefits can be generated by enabling mobile financial payments and mobile information provision, each delivering almost 40% of the total estimated increase in agricultural income.

Opportunities
Mobile telecommunications can connect farmers to markets, finance and education, making it possible to monitor resources and track products. This unlocks productivity potential while helping to manage the impacts of increased production, such as increased water use and greenhouse gas emissions.

This study focuses on 12 opportunities that deliver broad socio-economic and environmental benefits. They are grouped in four categories that were identified through stakeholder consultations as the most important.
…
Conclusion
The systems required to deliver these opportunities are both complex and fragmented and, as such, need the collective support of key stakeholders across the agricultural supply chain. Mobile network operators are well-positioned to act as a catalyst for action. They have the technology, the distribution channels and the customer relationships to drive these initiatives forward. However, NGOs, private enterprises and governments must agree to contribute their knowledge and expertise in order to ensure the delivery of the benefits to their full potential.

Critical success factors include the development of local relationships and understanding, testing solutions and a sympathetic regulatory environment. Consolidating these elements will help to ensure that the content and methods of delivery are tailored to both markets and crop types, optimising the value for farmers. Governments will also benefit through improved data collection and efficient, secure methods of subsidy distribution and other transactions. Pilot projects will provide an opportunity to test the technology, explore delivery partnerships, and create new business models for the rural poor and other underserved groups, such as women farmers. A regulatory environment that supports these innovations, in terms of both the technology and the required business models, will be essential.

The potential multiplier effects of the social and economic benefits that these opportunities could deliver will reach well beyond the immediate value chain. For example, improved agricultural income can reduce pressure on social support systems. It is clearly in the interest of all stakeholders to work together to ensure success."

Title: ICT in Agriculture, the e-Sourcebook
Source: www.e-agriculture.org
Publisher: The World Bank Group
Date (published): November 2011
Date (accessed): 09/11/2011
Type of information: website
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML and pdf)
Abstract:
"Realizing the profound potential of information and communication technologies in developing country agriculture, the Agriculture and Rural Development Department (ARD) of the World Bank in collaboration with infoDev (part of the World Bank Group) embarked in an effort to explore and capture the expanding knowledge and use of ICT tools in agrarian livelihoods. In November 2011, the World Bank released an electronic Sourcebook (e-Sourcebook) to initiate further (and better) investment in this sector. Called “ICT in Agriculture”, the e-Sourcebook provides practitioners within and outside of the World Bank Group with lessons learned, guiding principles, and hundreds of examples and case studies on applying information and communication technologies in poor agriculture.

The e-Sourcebook and website was made possible through theCreating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program and generous funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Authors, reviewers, and other experts in agriculture and information and communication technology (ICT) contributed to the content, and also framed the long-term discussion on using information and communication devices in poor rural areas. This discussion—which motivates this website—is critical to understanding the impacts of ICT on agriculture and smallholder livelihoods. It is also critical to creating sustainable interventions as well as business models that will support the martialing forward of agriculture projects and investments that use ICT.

The website is managed by a collaborative group in ARD and infoDev. Intending to engage with other practitioners, the website offers opportunities for interaction with other interested persons—public and private—working in agriculture and/or ICT. Please explore the website and contribute to it where requested. Innovative applications, media, and updates on on-going projects are only some of the features this site hosts.

The e-Sourcebook is provided fully and freely on this website. Fifteen modules touch on a wide spectrum of sub-fields in agriculture, including risk management, gender, forest governance, and farmers organizations. The Introduction (Module 1) introduces users to the ‘ICT in agriculture’ topic, offering key themes throughout the sourcebook as well as more details on how to use it.

Each module is stand-alone in format, providing users with the advantage of selecting the module or modules closest to their interest or work. The modules are delivered both in html and pdf format. The pdf format can be downloaded and printed. The full book can also be downloaded. In this version, hyperlinks between modules are included to promote cross-referencing throughout the Sourcebook.

If you have any further questions on the e-Sourcebook or website, please contact us. Please also note that the sourcebook is not available in print."

Title: Public library in Chile links farmers to knowledge with ICT
Pages: 2 pp.
Publisher: EIFL’s Public Library Innovation Programme (PLIP)
Date (published): 28/07/2011
Date (accessed): 09/11/2011
Type of information: Impact Case Study
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"EIFL’s Public Library Innovation Programme (PLIP) supports libraries to implement community development projects. In May 2010 PLIP supported with a grant the ‘Communicating Farmers’ service of the Panguipulli Public Library in Chile. Already after one year, the project booked remarkable results.

Farmers were not coming to the library
The Roads to the rural areas around Panguipulli (Chile) are poor and the climate is harsh. As a result, farming communities have lived in isolation with limited access to information about modern farming methods. Farmers were not coming to the library, and Panguipulli Public Library wanted to reach out to them. They saw a solution in ICT, including the Internet, radio and mobile phones.

Mobile laboratory with ICT travelling the Andes
With EIFL-PLIP support, the library equipped a mobile laboratory with ICT and travelled to the peaks and valleys of the Andes mountains to reach remote farming communities.

The library trained 201 farmers, mostly women, in online research and social networking skills. They also connected farmers to an online market, increased the library’s stocks of books and journals on agriculture, and hosted lectures on farming methods.

The library, working with partner agencies, also reached the farmers through local radio. Fifteen programmes on different farming topics were broadcast on a community radio station. In addition, the new service is testing the effectiveness of using mobile phones to reach farmers with news and information.

Strong platform to serve farmers
Future support for the project will come from the Municipality of Panguipulli, local government agriculture support agencies and non-governmental organizations. Panguipulli Public Library has built a strong platform to serve farmers.
via e-agriculture"

Title: In African agriculture, information is power
Author: Ken Banks
Source: News Watch
Publisher: National Geographic
Date (published): 05/09/2011
Date (accessed): 07/09/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"You don’t have to spend long in many African agricultural markets to realise the need for better information. Farmers lack prices, traders need transport and new contacts, projects and governments need a better way to reach out to people, businesses lack real-time updates on their stock and the value of their harvests. The list goes on.

In this installment of Mobile Message, Sarah Bartlett – Director of Communications and Research at Esoko - explains how African technology is being used to power agricultural markets across Africa, filling an ‘information void’ for local farmers in the process.

Mobile Message is a series of blog posts about how mobile phones are being used throughout the world to improve, enrich, and empower billions of lives."

Title: Rural Youth in Kenya, and the Impact of ICTs
Author: Chris Mwangi
Source: GBI Portal
Publisher: USAID
Date (published): 12/08/2011
Date (accessed): 07/09/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"We would be missing the full significance of ICTs if we do not see them as an integral part in the efforts to improve the everyday life of rural folk in Kenya. Mobile technology being the key mode of communication in the country has contributed greatly to local youth livelihoods. Using mobile phones, the youth have able to access knowledge and information which are vital aspects for improving agricultural development by increasing agricultural yields and marketing.

With accessibility of mobile phone networks throughout the country, services such as Safaricom’s mobile money transfer (M-Pesa), mobile money banking (M Kesho) and information on agricultural produce markets have created job opportunities for the youth as the number of agents increase."

Title: Amid Kenya’s Food Crisis, Radio Educates Farmers
Author: Dinfin Mulupi
Source: AudienceScapes
Date (published): 18/07/2011
Date (accessed): 07/09/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"At a time when Kenya is struggling to feed its population following severe droughts, radio programs are educating listeners on better farming techniques in a bid to improve food security.

Kenya is on the brink of possibly one of its worst droughts in 60 years, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Aid groups have issued their largest-ever appeal for food aid for parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia.
The food shortage resulting from this year’s drought is not uncommon in Kenya, although this year it is particularly severe. For decades, Kenya has suffered frequent acute food shortages. Paradoxically, it is believed that close to 80 percent of the population engages in farming. While Kenya’s food shortages are caused by a complex set of circumstances – drought, high global food prices, political instability -- the poor farming techniques practiced by Kenya’s majority small holder farmers have been singled out as a major factor.
To remedy this problem, some radio stations in Kenya are broadcasting programs to educate farmers about successful agricultural techniques. The goal is to promote food security for the region by helping small holder farmers increase their yield."

Title: African Cashew Initiative: Cooperation to Use ICT for the Benefit of Cashew Growers
Source: ict4d Newsletter
Publisher: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH
Date (published): July 2011
Date (accessed): 10/08/2011
Type of information: short notice
Language: English
On-line access: yes (pdf)
Abstract:
"We recently published, in collaboration with our colleagues from the African Cashew Initiative, a short paper “Virtual Cooperatives: ICT for African Cashew Farmers” on a development partnership with SAP Research in Ghana.
The development partnership utilizes Information and Communication Technologies to provide the means to enhance the productivity of Cashew farmers, to strengthen farmer cooperatives, and to enable them to do collaborative business with the established economy in a transparent and sustainable way.
To learn more, you can download the paper here or visit the website of the African Cashew Initiative. Also, Deutsche Welle, the German international TV channel, has produced a short video about the pilot of the project in Brong Ahafo, Ghana."
via https://twitter.com/#!/ictdev

Title: Agricultural Information, the Global Food Crisis, and Effective Use
Author: Michael Gurstein
Source: Gurstein's Community Informatics
Date (published): 25/07/2011
Date (accessed): 25/07/2011
Type of information: blog post
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Community Informatics colleague Ajit Maru, in a posting on the Community Informatics Research elist suggests some disturbing questions concerning the relationship between “Information Access” and “effective use” and its possible links to the rising food crisis globally.
He comments on the increasing shift of governments to making agricultural information available primarily in electronic form via the web or through mobile access. This is inevitably linked to declining support for the provision of agricultural information through the more traditional face to face connections of agricultural extension...
...
To add to these very important comments… There is currently an overwhelming pre-occupation of donors and those concerned with ICTs and development with “mobiles for development” that is with additional means for the infrastructure for “accessing” information. However, there would appear to be little or no related concern (or resources) for ensuring that the pre-conditions for ensuring the effective use of this information particularly by rural small-holders—that the information to overwhelmingly non- or only marginally literate end users is in the multiple languages of the end users, is accessible on devices available to end users a, provides sufficient information context to be usable by end user, is structured in such a way as to enable necessary collaborative action by small-holders and so on."

Title: Africa's mobile economic revolution
Author: Killian Fox
Source: The Observer
Publisher: The Guardian
Date (published): 24/07/2011
Date (accessed): 24/07/2011
Type of information: article
Language: English
On-line access: yes (HTML)
Abstract:
"Half of Africa's one billion population has a mobile phone – and not just for talking. The power of telephony is forging a new enterprise culture, from banking to agriculture to healthcare

Earlier this month, on a short bus ride through the centre of Kampala, I decided to carry out an informal survey. Passing through the Ugandan capital's colourful and chaotic streets, I would attempt to count the signs of the use of mobile phones in evidence around me. These included phone shops and kiosks, street-corner airtime vendors and giant billboard ads, as well as people actually using their mobile phones: a girl in school uniform writing a text message as she hurried along the street, a businessman calmly making a call from the back of a motorcycle taxi swerving through heavy rush-hour traffic. Not only were half of the passengers on my bus occupied with their handsets, our driver was too, thumbing at his keypad as he ferried us to our final destination. After five minutes, I lost count and retired with a sore neck. There was more evidence here than I could put a number on.

My survey underlined a simple fact: Africa has experienced an incredible boom in mobile phone use over the past decade. In 1998, there were fewer than four million mobiles on the continent. Today, there are more than 500 million. In Uganda alone, 10 million people, or about 30% of the population, own a mobile phone, and that number is growing rapidly every year. For Ugandans, these ubiquitous devices are more than just a handy way of communicating on the fly: they are a way of life.

It may seem unlikely, given its track record in technological development, but Africa is at the centre of a mobile revolution. In the west, we have been adapting mobile phones to be more like our computers: the smartphone could be described as a PC for your pocket. In Africa, where a billion people use only 4% of the world's electricity, many cannot afford to charge a computer, let alone buy one. This has led phone users and developers to be more resourceful, and African mobiles are being used to do things that the developed world is only now beginning to pick up on."