The personal data provided on this form will be processed by DFID, and may be held on computerised
database and/or manual files. It will be used by DFID solely for the purposes of application review, and will not
be placed in the public domain without the prior permission of the applicant(s).
New and Emerging Technologies Research Competition: Phase 1
call for proposals
Email completed application to NET-RC@dfid.gov.uk
by 17.00 12th July 2010
Title of the Proposal
A model for developing ICT based services for Agriculture Extension
Details of Applicants
Organisation where the funding would be held
Organisation name
CAB International (CABI)
Address
CABI Head Office, Nosworthy Way, Wallingford, Oxfordshire, OX10 8DE
Country/region
England
Organisation website
www.cabi.org
Organisation type (Place  in relevant box. If other, please specify)
Government agency
NGO
Research body / think tank / university
Other (Intergovernmental Organisation)

Legal status
What is the organisation’s legal status (e.g. nationally
registered NGO)?
CABI is an international not-for-profit,
intergovernmental organization established by a
UN Treaty-level agreement among its member
countries, with its headquarters in the United
Kingdom
Is the organisation legally eligible to receive DFID funding?
yes
Primary contact details
First name
Elizabeth
Last name
Dodsworth
Designation
Global Director – Knowledge
Management
Telephone
01491 829473
Page 1 of 9
Address
E-mail
CABI Headquarters
Nosworthy Way
Wallingford
Oxfordshire
OX10 8DE
e.dodsworth@cabi.org
Signatory on contract (if different from above)
Last name
First name
Designation
Telephone
Address
E-mail
References
Please provide details of 2 referees that DFID
can approach for references (as needed).
Dr Aslam Gill, Commissioner Minor Crops, Ministry of Food &
Agriculture, B-Block, Pak Secretariat, Islamabad
Tel: 92-51-5957 762 , Cell: 92-334 5008 112, email:
aslamgill@hotmail.com
Mr Mohammad Iqbal, Chief Operating Officer, Pakistan
Horticulture Development & Export Company, 2nd floor, 126-Y
Commercial Area, Phase-III, DHA, Lahore.
Tel: 92-42-99232210- 7 lines, Cell: 92-300-2361 660. Email:
miqbal@phdeb.org.pk, www.phdeb.org.pk
CVs of participating individuals
Elizabeth Dodsworth: overall Quality Assurance of the project. She has 23 years in
Please attach CVs (each
information dissemination, publishing and editorial business, most recently directing and
no more than 3 pages) of
managing project and business development in CABI where she leads the CABI-wide
all individuals who may
Knowledge Management theme. She has experience of being the Project Executive for
work on this programme
large Knowledge Management projects covering rural knowledge systems through to
and outline their suitability.
access to research information. She brings her experience of being Chair of the Board
Please identify the principal of Governors of the International Food Information Service (IFIS), a registered charity
research contact for this
which produces databases and information products in food science and technology and
work.
a member of the Board of IAALD, the global association for agricultural information
scientists.
Mahrukh Siraj: Project Manager. She is experienced in management of projects and is
a certified PRINCEII practitioner. She has many years experience in IT and technology
management, and a special interest in applying ICTs for development. Of late she has
been involved in studying the use of ICTs for the improvement of agriculture.
Dr M R Shafique: several years experience at the senior most levels in the Punjab
Agriculture Department. He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge of the extension
system of the Punjab province and an insight into the pros and cons of the current
model.
Dr Kauser Khan: a qualified agricultural economist. He has been conducting training of
trainers using participatory methods. Has is also experienced in knowledge gap studies
of farmers for horticulture crops.
Akifa Ahmed and Ambreen Siddiqui: marketing and social research consultants
mainly involved in
• Social and Developmental Research;
Page 2 of 9
• Consumer Research;
• Qualitative Research.
These team members will provide an insight into the consumer behaviour in adoption of
new technologies, factors in taking decisions with regards to farm profitability, etc.
Z Ahmed: currently a Senior Lecturer at Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science
and Technology, Karachi, in the Computer Science Department. He is a teacher,
software engineer and researcher. His role is to support the research in developing
application definitions for the delivery the identified content in accordance with consumer
behaviour. He will be working closely with the team members involved in business
model definition and content definition.
Previous relevant experience
Please list details of
previous successful
research projects relevant
to this work area.
CABI’s previous relevant experience
DFID’s R4D web portal www.research4development.info
CABI leads a consortium which has developed this portal and its associated
communication functions for DFID. Part of the service delivers a current awareness
service through identifying research news items and broadcasting themed services
using RSS feeds. It has over 10,000 subscribers to around 100 themed alerts.
ICTs in India - Specialist Agricultural Q&A Service
CABI is focusing on setting up linkages with local service providers to provide specialist
Q&A services to up to five million farmers in 17 states. Working with IKSL, a commercial
joint venture offering products and services specifically designed for farmers over the
mobile network, the aim is to promote good agricultural practice and improve
productivity through better management of nutrients and pest problems in crop
production and animal husbandry. During the trial period the project will identify the skills
and expertise required, quantify demand for expert advisory and scientific backstopping;
define the operational requirements for running a knowledge management centre; and
explore further business opportunities.
ICTs in China – Making Research Findings Accessible
In China CABI aims to use ICTs to empower farmers in Western China by making
research findings more accessible to them. CABI is exploring the feasibility of delivering
rural knowledge services in earthquake-stricken areas in Sichuan Province.
Mechanisms of transforming scientific and technical information age into knowledge
services in these rural areas are being identified. Discussions with Ningxia Academy of
Agriculture and Forestry Sciences are taking place to select sites for a project proposal
on rural knowledge transfer facilitated by ICTs. The project aims to integrate the rural
knowledge delivery by ICTs with the Technical Task Force initiative, an innovative
mechanism of rural technology extension.
KAINet and AGRIS
The Kenya Agricultural Information Network (KAINet) is a forum to enable sharing of
information across the agricultural sector. CABI provides the technical backstopping for
the AGRIS project, to establish a pilot agricultural electronic repository. In Kenya this
focuses on the establishment of a pilot implementation of an agricultural electronic
repository as part of the Kenyan national science and technology information system in
relation to the Strategy for Revitalizing Agriculture.
Combating Hunger and Rural Poverty through Increasing Access to Knowledge:
Participation of IFAD in the Global Compendium Programme
This project focuses on the development and utilization of electronic knowledge
management tools relating to livestock, including aquaculture in Tanzania. The specific
objectives include transformation of scientific and technical information and local content
development; information exchange; developing training programmes and materials;
awareness raising; and impact assessment. With more courses planned and a network
of compendia users being built up, the programme is set to grow in content and
accessibility and play a role in the improvement of many poor people’s lives. The
processes for knowledge transformation and training and use of baseline knowledge
bases has been adopted.
SARNISSA
CABI is part of the consortium delivery an EU FP7 programme: The Sustainable
Aquaculture Research Network in Sub Saharan Africa (SARNISSA): the network now
numbers 1000 individuals; 42 African countries and 43 other countries. The network
supports academia and industry in sub-Saharan Africa share aquaculture information
with Europe and Asia. The bilingual (English and French) ‘wiki’ style website –
www.sarnissa.org contains articles, papers and reports by users, which are being
Page 3 of 9
validated, documented, stored and made available on the world wide web through the
Aquaculture Compendium adn trhough the SARNISSA wiki.
Global Plant Clinic
CABI’s Global Plant Clinic team and partners have established plant health clinics to
bring accurate, up-to-date information to farmers in developing countries, enabling them
to care for their crops in the most effective way. The clinics provide technical assistance
in identifying the causes of diseases on all crops, and work with extension agents,
agronomists, NGOs and farmer organisations. More than 80 locally run clinics have
been established in Bangladesh, Bolivia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, India,
Nepal, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Vietnam. Since 2001 the clinics
have been involved in the discovery of 41 plant diseases. These ‘new disease records’
are peer reviewed and published in international journals, helping researchers around
the world identify and keep a check on new and emerging diseases, their spread and
their effect on farmers' crops.
Sri Lanka Telecentre Pilot Project
CABI worked in partnership with Sarvodaya NGO and other Sri Lankan stakeholders in
a pilot project to evaluate the agricultural knowledge needs of poor farmers. Interviews
and surveys were carried out and it was recognised that Sri Lanka has an extensive
network of government and NGO managed telecentres which were not being fully
exploited. Partnerships between Sarvodaya, the University of Peradeniya, and the
Department of Agriculture led to workshops with stakeholders, including farmers,
focusing on rural knowledge systems, working methods, planning for sustainability,
measurement and evaluation. The aim of the project was to set up and run agriclinics in
ten villages, staffed by qualified agricultural scientists: with communication by mobile
phone networks and provision of backstopping electronic reference resources. This pilot
research activity is now sustained from local funding and a specialist service, Fusion,
has been established. See http://www.fusion.lk/?p=38.
Mobile Agricultural Information System Pilot Project in East Africa
CABI is coordinating the system development and pilot testing of the Mobile Agricultural
Information System (MAIS) pilot project. This focuses on implementation of a web-based
knowledge management system which uses web-access; email and mobile technologies
such as mobile phones and personal digital advisors to promote access to information
and sharing of knowledge among the Association for Strengthening Agricultural
Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA) network stakeholders who include
researchers; extension workers; agro-input suppliers; farmers and agro-industry
processors. The system which will be accessible to registered members only, is
currently being piloted with stakeholders of the Coffee Research Network of ASARECA
and the Regional Agricultural Information Network. The system is based on wireless
technologies and it has potential to serve users in remote areas of the East African
region and beyond.
Conflicts of interest
Please list any potential areas of conflict of interest
and how you intend to deal with these.
None
Understanding of the project brief
DFID’ s research strategy 2008-2013 aims at finding ways that new and emerging
Please state your
technologies can be implemented to directly reduce poverty. The main challenge lies in
understanding of the aims
the uptake of these technologies by the poor. These technologies need to be useful,
and objectives of this
safe and affordable in order to generate interest. The programme aims to identify the
programme and provide
challenges to the uptake of new technologies and identify appropriate solutions for
details of the specific
addressing these challenges. Information and Communication Technologies have been
research area you propose recognized as one of the platform technologies to achieve the above objectives.
to pursue. This should
include evidence of the
Agriculture is the mainstay of Pakistan’s economy and continues to be the single largest
demand for the research
sector employing 48.4% of the total workforce, contributing almost 24% to the GDP. The
from key stakeholders in
Provincial Agriculture Extension Department is the main source of information for
farmers on productivity issues. The Agriculture Extension Department is a huge
developing countries, an
enterprise with the Punjab province spending approximately £14.34 million in 2009. The
outline of how these
Government’s extension services do not reach poor farmers due to their small holdings,
stakeholders will be
geographical spread and low motivation of the extension staff in serving them.
involved in the research
and recognition of any risks
Agriculture faces key challenges such as stagnating yields, wide gaps in yield between
Page 4 of 9
associated with the
development of any
particular technology and
its use in a developing
country.
progressive farmers and average farmers etc. Research information exists that could
help increase productivity but the farmer is unable to use it. This is due to any or all of
the following factors; a) the farmer does not know about its existence, b) does not have
access to it, c) does not have the means to interpret it, and finally, d) cannot pay for a, b
&c combined.
(No more than 1000 words)
Investment in agriculture should be a priority as investment in this sector is four times
more effective than investment in any other sector in terms of its impact on poverty
alleviation (World Bank, WDR 2008).
This research proposal aims to test the hypothesis that using ICTs to provide actionable
information to the farmers on a timely basis and at a low cost increases their ability to
improve yields and thus their earning capacity.
CABI-South Asia will collaborate with the Department of Agriculture Extension and
Adoptive Research of the Government of Punjab, Department of Agricultural Information
Government of Punjab, Punjab Economic Research Institute. The pilot survey study
population will be centred around 20 villages in Punjab. The aims of the research
proposal are in line with the Mid-Term Development Framework, 2005-2010 and the
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper. The methods used to test the hypothesis include;
surveying farmer groups and supporting institutions in the use of enhanced agricultural
technology and identifying what specific knowledge is required for integrating production
and marketing and value addition activities.
This research proposal complements the existing Extension services by focussing on
discovering:
-
Specific knowledge requirements of the farmers.
Technologies that can be used to process and deliver this knowledge.
This research proposal recognises that mobile phones and mobile applications are
emerging as technologies that can reach the poorest of the poor. Major factors
contributing to this: the extremely competitive air time pricing structure in Pakistan
makes the mobile phone air time charges comparable with the land line charges. The
availability of second hand phones and low cost phones from China has made them
affordable. Almost the entire country is covered by at least one operator. The combined
tele-density of cellular phone, fixed land line and Wireless local loop is 63.4%, of which
the contribution of cell phone 59.8% (http://www.pta.gov.pk). The local IT industry is
providing world class solutions to the export industry and to the local government and
private sector. Thus human resources required for such operations is fairly developed
and cost effective.
Objectives:
To identify appropriate ICTs and relevant applications to improve the quality of
information to improve farmers’ access to information
To identify ways to make it affordable for users
Topics:
Background:
a) Desk review of the current ICT based initiatives in Agriculture Extension in
Pakistan, Bangladesh and Africa
Information/Knowledge:
b) Classification of information provided into different categories. The current mode
of delivery for each class of information.
c) Identify approaches being used to deliver each class of information: Reactivewhen farmer asks for it OR Proactive- it ‘provided’ by extension service. What is
the quality and cost of delivery?
d) Investigate, how and how much of the information [as classified above]
converted to knowledge. [Is the information given by extension service
(Agriculture officer/help line/etc) actionable or do the farmers need to
confer/consult with other people to understand it?] Do networking groups exist
and are they effective? Do the various extension modes encourage farmers to
play the role of info-mediary to fellow farmers?
Page 5 of 9
e) Assess the adoption rate by farmers of information provided by help lines as
compared to that provided by other sources?
Medium and applications:
f) Mobile phone applications or other technologies to deliver information.
g) The scope for using smart [java enabled] phones.
An ICT consultant (Zubair-Ahmed) will conduct this aspect of the research.
Behavioural Aspects:
h) Identify any social, cultural, gender barriers to adopting and using new
technologies. Marketing and Social research consultants A Ahmed and A
Siddiquie will conduct this part of the study.
Economics:
i)
Carry out cost comparison of using/developing the ICT based extension vs. the
traditional extension service.
j) Review private agriculture extension models (in Pakistan, Bangladesh & Africa)
and ones sponsored by governments and propose a) a cost effective method b)
find out if it the benefits derived from the proposed extension system make it
cost effective for the users of the extension service to pay for the services
directly.
k) Can the cell phone companies be convinced to sell phones as a package with
agricultural services & receive payments over a period of time? Can a group of
users own a phone and use the services.
Risks:
a) Change in government policies especially regarding call rates and
regulations regarding telephony industry.
b) IT industry regulations and tax structures are changed.
c) Political instability and security risks in the country.
How do you intend to
undertake the work
required? Please describe
the methodology that will
guide the research.
(No more than 500 words)
The work will be undertaken using both quantitative and qualitative research methods.
The overall direction and Quality Assurance of the research will be the guided by the
project executive Elizabeth Dodsworth.
The following broadly defines the different methods to be used:
Method
Desk study/
Literature
Review:
Survey/Focus
Groups using
semi- structured
questionnaires.
Use of Most
Significant
Change
Methodology
Work Packages
- Current ICT based extension services in
Pakistan, Bangladesh (Grameen
Foundation) and Africa. Their information
delivery and business models. Types of
information provided via these services
Knowledge needs of the farmers
- Behavioural Aspects: To gauge the
existing patterns of the farmers; a KAP
(Knowledge, attitude and Practice) study,
an assessment of the level of awareness
about new technologies (ICTs available in
the area & awareness of availability,
usage and effectiveness in target areas)
and sources of information, evaluation of
the influencing factors affecting farmer
decisions, any contribution of “Role
Models”, peer influence, networking, and
so on. An evaluation of how [loans, phone
bills etc) and how much (in
cash/kind/time) is spent on getting
information.
- Concept testing of different
communication strategies; aspects such
as: user preference for graphics, voice or
text, TV, DVDs, the prevalence and
uptake of mobile phones, their primary
usage, preference for menu based
Page 6 of 9
Responsibility
M Siraj
Dr. R. M Shafique,
Dr. M A Ali
DG-Extension Punjab
Dr. K Khan
M Siraj
A Ahmed
A Siddiqui
Z Ahmed
Dr. M A Ali
DG-Extension Punjab
-
Field Visits
-
Technology Desk
Review & review
of the knowledge
categories
identified
-
selection or to texting to a number for
particular information, voice messages,
text messages, multimedia messages etc.
Quality of service: TV reception & no of
channels available, various mobile phone
operators in the survey area.
Knowledge needs of the farmers in the
target areas.
Private and Government sponsored ICT
based extension services to document
the : Model for information flow, business
model i.e. how is it funded, Cost of
information delivery, information service
usage stats if any.
Proposal for appropriate application(s)
development along with the right delivery
platform for the knowledge categories
identified and the business model
developed.
Dr. K Khan, Dr. M A Ali
DG-Extension Punjab
Dr. R M Shafique,
M Siraj,
Dr. M A Ali
DG-Extension Punjab
M Siraj
Z Ahmed
K Khan
The questionnaires will be pre-tested and then administered on a full scale.
Outputs:
- Report giving a detailed review of the current ICT based extension systems,
their information flow model and business model.
- Baseline of knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards use of extensions
information and ICTs.
- Report categorizing the various types of information/knowledge required by the
farmers.
Proposed business model for the new system
- Report giving the behavioural preferences of the target users for the adoption of
newer technologies.
- Report giving descriptions of ICT based applications that can be made available
to the users. These descriptions will be developed taking into account the
finding of all of the above reports.
Describe how the outcomes
of the Phase 1 work will be
developed into a fuller
proposal for submission for
Phase 2. Provide brief
comments on what possible
activities phase 2 may
contain
(No more than 500 words)
The results of the phase I of the research will inform on knowledge products (content)
and the channel (technology) through which these could be delivered to the farming
community. The results will also propose a business model to make the delivery of these
knowledge products to the poor through the proposed channel viable.
The main output of the first phase will be a report of the research done to date and an
analysis of the findings. It is anticipated that the outcomes from Phase 1 will be
managed under the following headings to provide the framework for Phase 2 work.
Outputs Phase 1:
1) A thorough review of the current agricultural extension communication
processes and evaluation of the potential use of ICTs.
2) A baseline survey using Most Significant Change methodology to identify
current attitudes, behaviours experiences of a key group of farmers and
extension personnel.
3) Research findings documented on how farmers respond to current mechanisms
of extension communication and analysis of the potential for these farmers to
adopt and use ICTS, e.g., mobile phones and/or help-lines.
4) An understanding of the behaviours required to overcome any identified
constraints to the uptake of ICT based knowledge tools by the farming
community.
5) Definition of ICT applications required to deliver the identified knowledge
packages in synch with the proposed business model.
Phase II would involve scaling up the research and developing and prototyping a mobile
phone based extension service.
The main activities for phase II will be:
a) Identify key groups of farmers and run focus groups to establish a second
survey of behaviours, attitudes and experiences, to test whether the
stakeholders acknowledge any change in their behaviours since Phase 1 work.
b) Test the findings of Phase 1 and develop the prototype applications to deliver
Page 7 of 9
the identified knowledge packages.
c) Roll out these applications to the farmers and test usability and acceptance.
d) Work with extension services partners to identify most effective integration of
pay as you go extension services with traditional services.
e) Work with partners to test different business models and extension services
modes.
f) Identify the potential to scale up this research approach to other regions
Some of the outputs for Phase 2 will be:
a) A knowledge base of the identified knowledge packages.
b) Prototype Application(s)
c) Partnerships with data providers to keep databases up-to-date with the most
current data.
d) Training events for farmers in the use of new applications
e) A service that has been tested for effective delivery of extension services
information ready for uptake by local entrepreneurs.
f) A frame work which could be replicated in other regions.
Communications Plan and User Engagement
The potential users of the phase-I of the research will be the Agriculture Extension
System (Government and Private sector), Software development companies, Mobile
phone operators, Entrepreneurs, Universities.
During the phase I of the research all of these will be contacted in the information
gathering exercises. We will use a combination of telephone interviews, visits, simple
online survey tools, and stakeholder meetings to engage initial stakeholder interest. We
will compile monthly newsletter-style progress reports, , which will be disseminated
electronically and via other low-cost technologies where possible; we will investigate
offering text alerts as a means of messaging headline progress and activity.
Describe plans to engage
with potential users of the
research, to communicate
the results of the research
to such users, and the
potential value of the
research to users outside
the research community.
At the end of each significant stage, a report will be circulated and case studies and
lessons learned will be captured and compiled.
(No more than 500 words)
This research will be of value to other researchers as there is popular evidence that
improving the communication environment through access to mobile phones in rural
areas creates demand and use for SMS services. This research would add to a growing
body of evidence that indicates that access to information services delivered through
mobile phones changes behaviours that result in improved livelihoods. The findings of
the research will be published in peer-reviewed development and ICT journals.
The beneficiaries of phase II of the research will be the farmers and these form the main
target population for all the surveys. We will work with our partners to ensure that farmer
groups are convened and engaged in planning and designing the outputs so that they will
have some ownership of the final product. In phase-II a range of communication products
will be tailored to their needs, including posters, and radio communications of case
studies.
All the reports of this research will be available on the web as soon as they are produced,
including exposure through the CABI and R4D websites; the reports will be featured on
R4D (with accompanying news articles and blog features). CABI as the developer of R4D
for DFID will be well-placed to ensure that any news story produced is thoroughly
distributed through R4D alerts and feeds.
Price and contract information
Cost to DFID (inclusive of VAT) for
undertaking this work.
£48360
Please state exactly what is included in
the price.
Page 8 of 9
Staff costs
Name/Post Identifier
Daily Rate
(£GB)
No of
Days
Total Cost on
Grant (£GB)
Elizabeth Dodsworth
900
6
5400
Mahrukh Siraj
132
80
10560
Dr. M Rana Shafique
154
22
3388
Dr. Kauser Khan
132
66
8712
Total
Fund Heading
28060
Amount
(£GB)
% of total
Staff
28060
58%
Collaborator 1: Behavioural and Busniess
Survey, A Ahmed and A Siddiqui
10000
20.7%
Collaborator 2: ICT Consultant, Z Ahmed
2000
4%
Co-ordination costs with collaborators
1000
2%
500
1%
Smart phones
1000
2%
DSA & Subsist
1800
3.7%
Travel
4000
8.3%
Total
48360
Communication
Page 9 of 9