The impact of ICT-enabled extension campaign on farmers’ knowledge and management of fall armyworm in Uganda

A recent paper reports on a study where three complementary ICT-based extension methods – interactive radio, mobile SMS messages and village-based video screenings where used to enhance farmer’s knowledge and management of Fall Armyworm (FAW) in western Uganda.

The findings show how complementary ICT-based extension campaigns hold a great potential to improve farmers knowledge and management of invasive species such as FAW.

About the paper

In this study, the researchers combined the following methods interactive radio, mobile SMS messages and village-based video screenings, which was never used before in a single study.

The research questions addressed in this study included;

1. What factors influence participation in the ICT-mediated extension campaign on FAW?;
2. Does participation in the campaign enhance farmers’ knowledge on how to identify, monitor and manage FAW?;
3. What is the impact of the campaign on the adoption of agricultural technologies and practices for the management of FAW?;
4. Does exposure to multiple ICT-enabled campaign channels result in larger gains (in terms of knowledge and management of FAW) than exposure to only one channel?; and
5. To what extent are there differential effects of the three ICT-enabled extension approaches used in the FAW campaign?

The study surveyed maize farmers in western Uganda and using various selection-on-observables estimators, the researchers found that there is consistent evidence that participation in the ICT-based extension campaigns significantly increases farmers’ knowledge about FAW and stimulates the adoption of agricultural technologies and practices for the management of the pest.

The results also showed a differential outcomes between the three channels. For example, radio proved most effective in achieving widespread coverage; and while the observed impacts on FAW knowledge and management appear to be considerably driven by video, greater gains are achieved when it is complemented by radio.

Lessons learnt

The following lessons were explicitly identified

• ICT-based extension campaigns hold great potential to improve farmers’ knowledge on how to identify, monitor and manage the pest, which, in turn, can trigger the adoption of complementary management strategies.
• In a low-literacy population, ICT applications that allow both verbal and visual communication (such as village-based video screenings) should be prioritized when an array of channels are being considered.
• Compared with the other two methods, the results generally point to a weak to no impact of SMS relative to the other two campaign channels. The SMS campaign under study relied mostly on push-based messages, which has the risk of being seen as spam.
• Future implementations of mobile–based extension campaigns in similar environments should consider alternative models such as pull SMS and voice-based services, coupled with a better understanding of the local settings.

Quick brief on Fall Armyworm

The Fall Armyworm (FAW) scourge has ravaged agricultural crops and vegetation in most part of the world in the global south.

FAW was first detected in Central and Western Africa in early 2016 and has quickly spread across virtually all of Sub-Saharan Africa and recently reached Yemen and India.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, partners and member countries have reacted to the FAW challenge.

An integral part of FAO’s sustainable management programme for FAW in Africa is the FAW Monitoring and Early Warning System (FAMEWS) that consists of a mobile app for data collection and a global platform for mapping the current situation.  Source FAO