Information and Communications Technology

Our goal through the MEAS project is to address constraints in improving the effectiveness of pluralistic extension systems.
Click this link for practical tips on using ICT in extension, checklists for evaluating ICT tools.

The information provided is structured along the lines of the "ICT Matrix" that maps Extension Functions with ICT options. Click on the image to see the matrix in detail.

Follow the links below to access ICT options, key principles, and case studies either from the perspective of the Extension Function it supports or from the type of ICT used.

We make no claim on comprehensiveness nor do we endorse any particular tool.

The MEAS ICT Matrix

MEAS is supporting partner organization Catholic Relief Services in developing and rolling out of Farmbook.

Low-Cost Video for AG Extension – Webinar, Toolkit and Workshops from USAID Project: DigitalGreen (www.digitalgreen.org ) and others have pioneered an approach to producing, distributing and getting good feedback related to very low-cost videos for AG extension work. Our USAID FTF projects have shown a strong interest in this approach so the USAID FACET Project will have a webinar on May 2nd at 13:30 GMT (930am EDT) on the topic plus will introduce a related, practical toolkit for projects to use. (The toolkit will be available on www.ICTforAG.org after the webinar.) In May and June, the FACET team will be providing workshops for our project teams in Kenya, Mozambique and Ghana. If you want more info or have interest in a workshop, contact: facet@fhi360.org .

Potential Impact of ICT in key AG sectors in Africa: eTransform Africa, a collaboration between the World Bank Group, the African Development Bank, and the African Union released a study in February 2012, Agriculture Sector Study: Sector Assessment and opportunities for ICT on how ICT has "the potential to change fundamental business models in the key agriculture sectors". You'll find more on ICT and livestock traceability in Nambia, ICT and irrigation in Egypt and it even highlights our USAID/Gates mFarmer Initiative (www.gsma.com/mfarmer ) (although fails to mention we are funding it along with Gates).

Cheaper Smart Phones and Tablets: Prices are steadily dropping on smart phones but they are still out of reach for most of smallholder farmers. As they drop, using them because a more practical option for lead farmers, cooperatives and extension workers themselves so it is still good to track them. We’ve heard about one smart phone for about $65 from Spice called the Mi-270 http://india-mobilewatch.blogspot.com/2012/01/spice-mi-270-prices-slashed.html . Nokia has released their relatively low priced one too, the Lumia 710, and here’s a low priced tablet ($58) : http://www.akashtablet.com. Let me know if you know of anyone using these in the field!

Deloitte (2012): E-Transform Africa. Sector Assessment and Opportunities for ICT. (http://etransformafrica.org/sites/default/files/Complete-Report-Agriculture_1.pdf )

Also see slide deck: http://etransformafrica.org/sector/agriculture

http://hbr.org/2010/07/innovations-holy-grail/ar/1

Extension Functions

Linking farmers to markets
Raise (general) awareness of opportunities
Provide technical information; demonstrate, or train
Diagnose problems and recommend solutions
Respond to follow up questions raised by clients
Provide mass advisories
Facilitate access to credit and inputs
Assist with business planning
Conduct surveys, enumerations, or for monitoring and evaluation
Knowledge management

Information and Communication Options

Click to Download an Excel Spreadsheet with over 200 ICT tools useful for agricultural extension and rural development in general.

The Information and Communication Technologies for Agriculture e-Sourcebook "is designed to support development practitioners exploring, designing, implementing, and investing in information and communication technology (ICT)-enabled agriculture interventions. The book is a compilation of resources related to 14 agricultural subsectors. Each module covers the challenges, lessons learned, and enabling factors associated with using ICT to improve smallholder livelihoods in these subsectors. Over 200 examples and case studies from five regions are presented in the text.

Available at: http://bit.ly/ICTinAg