CTA
held a workshop under the auspices
of its Observatory on Information and Communication
Technologies (ICTs) for ACP agricultural and rural
development. This meeting entitled "ICTs
- transforming agricultural extension?"
convened ACP and EU experts in the field of ICT
policies and applications relevant to extension
for agricultural and rural development in ACP
countries.
Background
of the ICT Observatory
CTA's ICT Observatory was created in 1998 to study
and monitor suitable technologies for use in information
and communication management. The main objectives
of the Observatory are to:
-
identify
and indicate key ICT issues and strategies relevant
to ACP agricultural development and natural
resources management;
-
improve
the common pool of knowledge and expertise available
in this area;
-
identify relevant projects and expertise that
could assist in defining strategies; and
-
provide a mechanism for monitoring technical
developments which can benefit those working
in agriculture, rural development and natural
resources management.
Observatory
meetings have been held on an annual basis since
1999. The first meeting discussed the role of
the Observatory itself. In 2000, an ICT strategy
for CTA was developed, and the meeting in 2001
looked at technologies for wireless access to
the Internet via satellite. In 2002, CTA for the
first time chose a development topic as the focus
of the annual Observatory meeting: "Gender
and agriculture in the information society."
The 2003 Observatory meeting continued this trend
by looking at how ICTs can enhance the effectiveness
and efficiency of pro-poor agricultural extension.
Why
focus on agricultural extension?
Recent years have seen an increase in the use
of ICTs in almost all spheres of rural lives in
ACP countries, despite persisting problems of
access, connectivity, literacy, content, and costs.
This development of communications infrastructure,
especially in the area of telecommunications,
brings with it both opportunities and challenges.
Agricultural extension, which depends to a large
extent on information exchange between and among
farmers on the one hand, and a broad range of
other actors (see below) on the other hand, has
been identified as one area in which ICTs can
have a particularly significant impact. Extension
agents (whether public servants, private input
providers or NGO staff) as intermediaries between
farmers and other actors in the agricultural knowledge
and information system, are especially well-placed
to make use of ICTs to access expert knowledge
or other types of information - but in doing so,
they might contribute to making their own function
and jobs obsolete. In the context of changing
paradigms in agricultural extension, where linear
information flows are being replaced by pluralistic
information flows and new actors are emerging
to form "community information spaces",
farmers will become more and more able to access
any information they need on their own. This development
is enhanced by the growing availability and accessibility
of modern ICTs. The role of the traditional intermediary
is vanishing as all actors within the community
take on intermediating functions. This has profound
implications on the information products and services
required by the various actors, and on the capacities
and skills that these actors need in order to
bridge the communication gap for information sharing
and exchange between the different actors in the
agricultural knowledge and information system.
New
actors in agricultural extension - light work
or spoiled broth?
In the context of decentralization of government
structures and privatization of agricultural extension
services in many countries, along with changing
paradigms in agricultural extension itself (from
top-down to bottom-up and more diversity in service
providers), the number of actors has greatly increased,
to include the following:
-
Farmers
and their associations
-
-
-
Private
companies (input suppliers; brokers/traders;
operators of telecentres; etc.)
-
The
formal (government) extension system
-
National
agricultural research organisations
-
-
International
and northern research organisations
-
-
Think
tanks and networks at various levels
-
The
political environment (local, national, regional,
international governance structures, conventions,
treaties, etc.)
This
multitude of actors requires effective and efficient
information flows and communication between all
levels. Linear information flows that dominated
the traditional model of technology transfer from
the formal research system to the farmers by way
of the formal, government-owned extension system,
are being replaced by pluralistic information
flows between farmers as the demanders of services,
and various providers of these services. These
information flows can be enhanced through the
use of ICTs - but probably to a different extent
at different levels in the system, as different
actors have different kinds of information needs
and communication problems, and different access
to ICTs.
The
potential of ICTs for improving information flows
will vary greatly between different countries
and regions. A case-by-case analysis is necessary,
but there may be some common principles that can
be identified, and a common framework that can
be developed.
ICTs
in agricultural extension - a threat to the existing
system, or born out of necessity because there
is no longer any system?
In the context of structural adjustment, the State
has in many countries reduced its direct involvement
in agricultural services provision. Thus, ICTs
may be the only way in which farmers can find
answers to their questions. The trend towards
a greater use of ICTs would thus reflect a real
need for alternative sources of information, rather
than a technology-driven, donor-promoted development.
Giving farmers access to a variety of information
sources, which are accessible, affordable, relevant
and reliable is the ultimate aim of providing
agricultural information services.
Gender
issues - does minus times minus equal plus?
As discussed in last year's Observatory, access
to ICTs has an important gender dimension, and
women's access to ICTs is often constrained by
a range of social, cultural, and economic factors.
At the same time, agricultural extension has often
failed to reach women, despite the fact that they
are the main food producers in most ACP countries.
Will bringing ICTs and agricultural extension
together widen gender disparities in access to
agricultural information? Or does minus times
minus equal plus - do ICTs, in fact, have the
potential of overcoming some of the gender barriers
in agricultural extension by providing women with
a 'neutral' source of information, someone they
can talk to without any taboos or constraints?
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