Question 1 for discussion Monday 17 Nov.

Hi everyone, I may be a bit biased, considering I am working at Farm Radio International, but my experience shows that mobile phones may be a perfect way to tie into already viable and solidified forms of technology. People often see ICT's as being new cutting edge devices such as using 3G networks and Telecentres. However, the reality is that in many rural areas living on the edge of subsistence, mobile phones may have poor or non-existent signals (although this is changing rapidly) and perhaps even more likely, the cost to operate a phone in this context is simply too expensive. Farmers value communication but often see voice calls (using valuable minutes) as too cost prohibitive. SMS is clearly a great alternative but even that has drawbacks given its text-based format (targeting only those that are literate. We have been exploring ways that radio (a form of ICT that is by far the most wide-spread at least in Sub-Saharan Africa) can link with mobile phones. Imagine a farmer listening to a rural radio program then sending questions and input through their mobile phone. This could be done through a "call back" number where the farmer calls a number, hangs up, then the number calls them back (therefore zero cost to the farmer) It could be from the radio station offering farming information through an automated system. I could go on and on.... Anyway, what I see mobile phones as right now is a bridging technology between existing and time-proven technologies such as radio. What does everyone else think? Mark Leclair (Farm Radio International, Ottawa Canada)

[quote=Khalid Khan]Could someone please tell us about the monetary aspects and implementation methodology of their existing programs i.e. - who implemented the program? - do farmers purchase the equipment from their own resources and is this done individually or as a group? - is there any subsidy? - is there an initial training program and is this conducted by the private or public sector? - is the program commercially oriented and sustainable? - has any impact assessment been carried out from a development point of view?[/quote] Khalid, when we run the [url=http://www.syngentafoundation.org/projects_programs_ficom.htm]FICOM project[/url] in Uganda, we tackled the equipment ownership by introducing them as a business opportunity. The MTN Village Phones that were essential for facilitating farmer access to information and the markets were preceded by basic business training to enable them survive as viable businesses. This led to more phone ownership by local farmer groups and individuals who saw pockets of opportunity for spreading the technology locally.

Hello all, Harsha, great points about using existing technology and not over-complicating the process. This is why [url=www.applab.org]AppLab[/url] has chosen to distribute information over pure SMS (no fancy frontend or anything at all). The magic is on the backend which has both relevant content (as determined by the local communities) and highly effective search abilities. Systems like [url=http://www.lifelines-india.net/]LifeLines[/url], [url=http://aaqua.persistent.co.in/aaqua/forum/index]aAquaa[/url] or [url=http://www.digitalgreen.org/]DigitalGreen[/url] all demonstrate that fairly simple, readily available technology is sufficient if the right content is being provided. So to answer your question, Luca, our applications don't need distribution since they really amount to sending appropriate queries to specific shortcodes. Héléne Martin [email protected]

I think this project by Farm Africa is a well thought out example of how mobile phones can support rural livelihoods. In this case they describe[url=http://www.farmafrica.org.uk/documents/212.PDF] the role of telephony in delivering community-based decentralised animal health services in Mwingi and Kitui Districts, Kenya[/url]. Mobile phones are used to link key participants in a community based decentralized animal health system. I know of this from a very convincing presentation. I do not know about how this activity is actually working now in practice now but would be very interested to hear more if anyone else does know.

Pam Is it possible for you to provide more details about the eExtension programme. How is it orgainsed eg via private or government. Who determines content, Do farmers sign up to exchange information, Is there a central processing point etc. In Trinidad and Tobago we are interested in establishing a similar programme. Can you provide a link to more information Pauline

The mobile phone has indeed evolved dramatically, and is expected to continue morphing into "a device that has it all". We see technological improvements in mobile phones happen at a very fast pace, finding their way in many new models that surface in the market for the buyers' delight. Of course, the manufacturers and sellers are delighted too :-). The sad part is :-(, the potential socio-economic impact that the technology can bring to the communities (especially those in the underdeveloped and developing countries) is not tapped to the fullest, or maybe just 50% of it. Users are more pre-occupied with the gadgets and technological enhancements, and not so much with the productive uses of those enhancements for poor communities. The companies that profit most from these products should be encouraged to invest more of their money to community centers, like telecentres, that make use of ICT and collaborate with ICT users as well for community development. With that, we might be able to see an increase in the annual economic growth rate in underdeveloped and developing countries that is much more dramatic than the 1.2 percentage points mentioned in the study of the Deloitte Consulting Firm.

[u]Bridging the Digital Divide[/u] http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/09/09/robert.conway/

Hello All, I work at the NAtional Agricultural Research Organisation - NARO in the Directorate of Quality Assurance in charge of MIS. I also teach at Nkumba University in the department of Computing and Information Technology. In addition to what Grace said, farmers in Uganda - that that are literate, use mobile phones to find out market prices of agricultural produce so that they can decide where to sell. Those who do not know how to read and write at least have been taught what to do to make a call (cram work). They can call for veterinary services. Those who are very literate and posses Internet-ready mobile phones, access Internet for various agricultural related information. But certainly a lot is desired. For the rural people to use the technology well, it is recommended that better applications are developed for example video and audio.

Helene, you and I are on the same page. I am not attempting to underestimate the intellectual capabilities of rural farmers, but the fact is to make a farmer start using e-enabled information services, we must ensure that the process is gradual. We may not be able to reduce his transaction costs by a significant amount at the start with only sms, but that would be the start.