The role of ICTs in dissemination of information on Ecological Organic

Agriculture

Hudson Wereh

Project Assist; Biovision Farmer Communication Programme

Stakeholder Inception Planning Workshop17-18 MAY, 2012 Kakamega, Kenya

ICT (Information & Communication Technology /Technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and etc, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning.

What is ICT?

Over the last 10 - 15 years, ICT has changed the way the world works, plays, communicates and shops. Many of these changes are seen the world over, some are restricted to more advanced countries.

These changes have been so pervasive that it is hard to remember what the world was like without them.

The Nairobi declaration on agricultural extension & advisory services, Nov 2011

The need for enhanced use of ICT both old and new, and engagement of the media in expanding the reach and impact of extension and advisory services.

Relevant entry points for ICT

•Enhancing Agricultural Production•Improving Markets•Building Farmer Capacities

Enhancing Agricultural Production• Intervention; Increasing efficiency,

productivity and sustainability of small scale farms.

• How; information about pest and disease control, especially early warning systems, new varieties, new ways to optimize production and regulations for quality control

Improving Markets

• Intervention; better of markets resulting from informed decisions about future crops and commodities and best time and place to sell and buy goods

• up-to-date market information on; prices for commodities, inputs and consumer trends

Capacity Building• Strengthen capacities and better representation

of their constituencies when negotiating input and output prices, land claims, resource rights and infrastructure projects.

• Reduce social isolation, widen the perspective of local communities in terms of national or global developments, open up new business opportunities and allow easier contact with friends and relatives

ICT in the context of FCP

• The Biovision Farmer Communication Programme has already embraced and integrated the use of ICT in its projects.

Infonet-Biovision

Interfaces to mobile phones and call centres – ASK TOF

Print: The Organic Farmer (TOF)

Radio: TOF Radio

Started in 2008, TOF radio is a weekly radio show broadcasted on the national Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

(KBC) Kiswahili… Service (every Thursday from 8.15 to 8.30 pm)

Radio Milele (every Tuesday from 8.30 to 8.45 pm).

Farmer learning resource centres / i-TOF Centres:

This consists of rural based centres managed by TOF and infonet community information workers equipped with facilitation skills to train farmers and also to enable… them to access information through multimedia equipment, particularly desktop computers and OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) and other ICTs.

Conditions for a conducive enabling environment

• Need for relevant agricultural Information.• Timely information in relevant formats –

language, print, softcopy etc• Institution and human capacity to link rural

communities• Connectivity

There is currently a revolution in the ICT industry that is

dramatically changing the way people understand and use ICT

tools.

It is going to be an entire paradigm shift.

It’s up to us to decide how we want to use these advances to

improve our lives.

The opportunity is there. Are we going to take it?

Thank you