Strategic Planning for using ICT in Extension
5th Conference on ICT4D, Accra, Ghana
Md Shahid Uddin Akbar
Chief Executive Officer
Bangladesh Institute of ICT Development (BIID)
MEAS Project
Framework of the presentation
Strategic Components
Understanding the need
Analyzing Existing ICT & Extension
Trends and Examples
Myths and realities
Setting objectives & Approach
And Future (Expected) Scenario
Use of new technologies
Assessing the Capacity
Missing links
Service development & delivery
Initiatives
Evaluation and development
Understanding the Need (Demand Analysis)
Awareness and
Willingness
Social Behavior,
Gender, Crops,
Environment,
Priorities, etc.
Information
Flows and
Institutes
Farmer
Trust,
Acceptability
and Credibility
Incentives &
Business Model
Technical Status
and Readiness
Analyzing Existing ICT & Extension
And Expected Future Scenario (Supply Analysis)
Mapping existing services, providers & roles
Understand the success factors & causes of failure
Identify the incentives (Business Case)
Capacity of extension dept. & research institutes
Quality and validation of content
Expected
Future
Scenario
•
•
•
•
Need based & trust worthy quality content
Packaging (Tool, low cost, access & availability)
Market driven and branded services
Policy and environment friendliness
Assessing the Capacity
Service Providers
• Institutional : Policy & Resources of Government, Research
organizations, NGO’s, Private Sectors to adopt new
technology
• HR : Awareness, Willingness and Understanding
Service Recipients
• Farmers: Access, Awareness, Benefits/Results, Skills
• Extension : Access to technology, Awareness, Skills,
Marketing, Demonstration, Incentives
Policy And Regulatory Environment
Service Development and Delivery
Localization and customization
Validation of content and quality
Update mechanism and incentives
User-friendliness of service delivery (Cost & Technology)
Demonstration of Impact and Sharing Success Cases
Feedback Mechanism and Development
Learning Exchange by The Farmers
e-Krishok member farmers from different parts of Bangladesh visit places and share
their experiences of usage of ICT and its benefits
Evaluation and Development
Process
Services
Were the steps
properly followed?
How beneficial it is?
How did it work?
Usage friendliness
Take measures to
improve the steps
Measuring the impacts
Myth vs Reality
Farmers
are not
‘smart’
ICT can
solve
everything
ICT is
for the
‘Elites’
Important
1. ICT is only a ‘tool’ and can become an effective enabler
2. Farmers have access to new technology
3. Focusing more on services not in ‘technology’
Setting objectives and Approach
Project Driven Initiatives
Business Case is not the Priority Rather achieving no.s
Financial
and Social
(Partially)
Sustainability
Replication
and Scaling
Up
Innovation
(Fancy but
not doable)
Ownership
(Till the
Project life)
Market driven approach led by private sector
can be a solution to address these issues
e-Krishok: An ICT enabled service
• BIID has been facilitating proper
usage of the first and only (as of
now) private sector driven provision
info bank (www.ekrishok.com) of
agriculture related information and
knowledge.
• Based on the experiences of
piloting in 10 locations in 2008, BIID
is now expanding the service as ‘eKrishok’ nationwide to induce trial
of agricultural extension and market
linkage service.
• BIID now introduced short code
16250 to offer voice & SMS service
Mobilizing
and
awareness
building
- Recognition of
info-centres
as
source of Info and
advice
- Trial of services by
member farmers
Problem
specific
consultation
- A critical mass of
benefited farmers
Backend support services like
content, promotion, marketing
e-Krishok: An initiative of BIID
Inclusive Business Concept
(Service & technology adoption, Scaling up)
Innovation, Strategy and Business Model
(Envisioning the future market of ICT in Agriculture)
Using new Technologies
•
•
•
•
Mobile Phones – Voice, Transaction
VAS (Call Centre, SMS)
ICT enabled Shared Access Points
Internet
– Web : Contents
– Social Media : Face Book, Twitter, YouTube
– Communication : Email
• Community / FM Radio
• Television
Missing Links
Missing Links
1. Supply driven approach
2. Lack of integrated and coordinated initiative
3. Gap in understanding local dynamics and social
behavior
4. Respect and partnership among relevant
stakeholders
5. Relationship between farmers and service
providers (Input, Market and Extension)
6. Flow of information between field and research
USAID’s Work in ICT and Extension
mFarmer: USAID/Gates/GSMA)
• Four challenge grantees to reach 2M farmers
• Learning, TA, toolkit
• www.gsma.com/mfarmer
FACET – ICT and AG
• Learning: briefing papers, webinars, toolkit
• Short term TA
• Workshops
• www.ICTforAG.org
MEAS - Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services
• Synthesizes lessons learned on extension
• Disseminates training materials and good practice
• Assists in analysis and design of extension investments
• www.meas-extension.org
Thank You
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Disclaimer
This presentation was made possible by the generous support of the
American people through the United States Agency for International
Development, USAID. The contents are the responsibility of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the
United States Government.
Consortium Partners
SAFE
MEAS
This is a Leader with an Associate (LWA)
Project funded by
Goal:
to help transform and modernize
extension and advisory systems, so
they can play a key role in both
increasing farm incomes and
enhancing the livelihoods of the
rural poor, especially farm women.
Project Objectives:
to define and disseminate good
extension management strategies that
will help establish efficient, effective
and financially sustainable extension
and advisory service systems in
selected developing countries.