Harnessing ICT for Agriculture
Judy Payne, ICT Advisor for Agriculture
TITLE
OF
PRESENTATION
GOES
USAID Bureau for Food Security
23 November 2015
Date/Title/Additional Information
Photo Credit: Name/Organization
HERE
OUTLINE
1. What is ICT?
2. Prerequisites for using ICT?
3. How can ICT help?
4. Stages of ICT use
5. Digital Development Principles
6. A few examples
7. Discussion
1. WHAT IS ICT?
Information and communications technologies
• Cell phones–voice, text, data
• Radios–conventional, digital
• Digital cameras
• Videos (low-cost)
• TV
• GPS
• Internet access and presence
1. WHAT IS ICT?
Information and communications technologies
And combinations
• Radios–conventional, digital
Fast feedback loop – “voice of
• Digital cameras
the farmer”
• Cell phones–voice, text, data
• Videos (low-cost)
• TV
• GPS
• Internet access and presence
2. PREREQUISITES FOR USING ICT
Affordable access to telecom services
Access to power
Devices
Know our target users:
• Access to devices
• Language(s)
• Literacy level
Photo credit: GSMA Development Fund - mAgri Programme
3. HOW CAN ICT HELP?
Pain Points
How ICT can help
Poor access to quality extension
services
Wide range of apps combining phones,
radio, video; reaching millions of farmers
High transaction costs, little info for
Apps to speed, help buyers manage, reward
buyers working with 1000s of farmers 1000s of farmers; reduce transport and
transaction costs
Side selling frustrates buyers
Apps to speed payments by large buyers
Poor access to good market info,
inputs and weather info
Market info systems; much better weather
info; input demand aggregation
Poor access to affordable financial
services
m-Money/m-banking; savings options;
indexed insurance; apps to help banks
manage loans, increase re-payments;
warehouse receipts systems
Where do I buy inputs? Where do I
take crops to sell?
Simple apps to tell farmers where to go
3. AND SO MANY MORE WAYS…
• Remote monitoring (e.g., irrigation, soil conditions)
• Diagnosis, treatment support
• Traceability
• Farmer group management
• Track disease outbreaks
• Real time alerts
• Service scheduling
How can we harness digital tools to add precision to smallholder farming?
4. STAGES OF ICT USE
4.
STAGES
OF
ICT
USE
Innovation, experimentation
• Without pilots we wouldn’t know what is possible
Discordant proliferation
Scrutinize and consolidate
Integration and scale
From Alain Labrique, Johns Hopkins
5. PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL DESIGN
1. Design with the user
2. Understand the ecosystem
3. Design for scale
4. Build for sustainability
5. Be data driven
6. Use open data, open standards, open
source
7. Reuse and improve
8. Address privacy and security
9. Be collaborative
See: http://digitalprinciples.org/
5. PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL DESIGN
1. Design with the user
2. Understand the ecosystem
3. Design for scale
4. Build for sustainability
5. Be data driven
6. Use open data, open standards, open
source
7. Reuse and improve
8. Address privacy and security
9. Be collaborative
See: http://digitalprinciples.org/
DESIGN: PARTING SHOTS
Take principles seriously!
Do not assume IMPACT – MEASURE!
Do not assume COST EFFECTIVE
DO assume someone has your “wheel” or parts of it
Partially from Alain Labrique, JHU
6. A FEW EXAMPLES
• Use this
slide layout
bulleted lists
Most
USAID
AG for
projects
are already using some ICT.
and an image. Use Arial 18 pt font.
(but
are sustainable,
Use
this few
slide layout
for bulleted lists
and an image. Use Arial 18 pt font.
scalable)
Most not “packaged” as cool case studies.
• Use this slide layout for bulleted lists
Jury
still out on most.
and an image. Use Arial 18 pt font.
Use this slide layout for bulleted lists
Danger
of development “legends,” awardees.
and an image. Use Arial 18 pt font.
Large buyers using, paying for ICT tools.
SOME OF WHAT I’M WATCHING
• New Alliance for ICT Extension Challenge Fund grantees
• Integration with public extension services
• Reality TV and radio
• Digital financial services
• Actionable, accurate weather services
• Drones for field data
• IVR
• e-verification
Dunavant Cotton: Financial and Supply Chain
Where: Zambia
Problem: Side selling; no visibility of best producers
How it works: Agents pay farmers on the spot. Best producers tracked,
rewarded.
Who Pays: Large buyer (Dunavant)
Scale: 110,000 small farmers
Impact: Small farmers paid faster; rewarded for quality.
USAID PROFIT Project was the catalyst
Private company sees clear gains
Small farmers win too
Started to solve side selling, but led to other gains
14
Dunavant Cotton: Financial and Supply Chain
Where: Zambia
Zoona now 30+ strong
Problem: Side selling; no visibility of best producers
financial
transactions
poor farmers
HowFocus:
it works: Agents
pay farmers
on the spot. and
Best producers
tracked,
rewarded.
Worked with seed company (MRI) to offer up-front
Whodiscounts
Pays: Large buyer
(Dunavant)time on inputs delivered later
at harvest
Scale: 110,000 small farmers
Uses e-vouchers (could be m-money)
Impact: Small farmers paid faster; rewarded for quality.
Farmers buy more inputs, save
Seed company sells
more,
flow
USAID
PROFITimproves
Project wascash
the catalyst
Private company
sees clear
gains
(Also does government
AG voucher
program)
Small farmers win too
Started to solve side selling, but led to other gains
15
Digital Green: Farm Extension Services
Where: India, Ethiopia, Ghana…coming to Afghanistan
How it works: NGO helps farmers produce short videos showing improved
practices. Feedback loop via IVR (phone).
Who Pays: Donors, public extension services, some farmer associations
Scale: so far 660,000 farmers. 3970+ videos
Impact: 10x more cost effective than traditional approaches and adoption of
better practices increased 7 fold. Larger scale control trial now under way.
Uses low end video equipment well, involving farmers.
Builds in feedback loop from farmers.
Offers many tools on its website – analytics, much more
Assumes on-going subsidies available from gov’t, others.
Now integrating with IVR, radio in Ethiopia
www.digitalgreen.org
Farm Radio International: Participatory
Radio Campaigns
Where: Many sub-Saharan African countries and beyond
From www.farmradio.org
How it works: Better radio programming combined with mobile to get
feedback from farmers. SMS reminders pre-broadcast, voice based, call-outs,
call-ins, Internet access for radio stations : “active listening” (Gates
Foundation funding)
Scale: 4-5 month radio campaigns
Impact: Listenership, knowledge (70% vs. 18%) and adoption of better
practices (39% vs. 4%) significantly more than traditional radio
MP3 recording radios with solar/crank power
for playback options
Freedom Fone IVR software available for free
www.farmradio.org
Website has radio scripts, learning tools
Awaaz De: IVR+Voice Message Board
Where: India, Ethiopia, more
How it works: Regular IVR + Farmers can post questions; hear others
questions, experts answers, listen to archived radio programs. Can also
broadcast surveys or targeted voice messages. (Managers can access via the
web.) Can monitor usage.
Open source software platform available.
Scale: 6 Indian states; handling 100,000s of phone calls. Can be linked to
other services (radio, low cost video) and for managing DA’s themselves.
Impact: Farmers love hearing
other farmers’ questions
as well as experts’ responses.
Helps extend reach of extension agents
and their second tier experts
Farmers learn from each other and expert
Can be used for agents themselves
http://awaaz.de/
Integrating with digital green in Ethiopia
Maize, Rice Supply Chains: USAID’s
Projet Croissance Economique (PCE)
Where: Senegal
Problem: Large buyers and 10,000s of small farmers frustrated. Buyers needed more predictable
deliveries of high quality cereals + lower transport costs or would turn to importers. Small farmers
wanted better prices.
How it works: PCE taught farmers how supply chain and prices worked, got offer from Mill at great
farm gate price if quality criteria met. With this strong incentive, farmers organized better. Tracked
collected and shared key data.
App: Excel spreadsheet with data shared via Dropbox, tracking basic farm info including plot sizes
(GPS), actual sowing dates, varieties planted, harvest schedule. Lead farmers gather info on paper,
field advisor checks quality, keys in, shares. Mill (and PCE) monitors, uses data to schedule transport,
make payments.
Who Pays: PCE up front; on-going farm groups and mill pay own costs.
Scale: Eventually 100,000s small farmers
Impact: Small farmers get better prices and lower input costs. Big buyer gets quality needed, lower
transport costs + eventually can move into AG services too.
Photo from IRG: http://www.irgltd.com/Our_Work/Projects/Senegal/Highlight-Nerica.html
19
Maize, Rice Supply Chains: USAID’s
Projet Croissance Economique (PCE)
Where: Senegal
Problem: Large
buyers and company
10,000s of small farmers
Buyers needed more predictable
Private
seesfrustrated.
clear gains
deliveries of high quality cereals + lower transport costs or would turn to importers. Small farmers
wanted better Small
prices.
farmers win too
How it works: PCE taught farmers how supply chain and prices worked, got offer from Mill at great
becriteria
extended
tostrong
many
more
chains
farm gate priceCan
if quality
met. With this
incentive,
farmers
organized better. Tracked
collected and shared key data.
Application “frugal” – using existing tools
App: Excel spreadsheet with data shared via Dropbox, tracking basic farm info including plot sizes
(GPS), actual sowing
varieties
planted,Dev
harvestLab
schedule.
Lead farmers gather info on paper,
Justdates,
won
USAID
Award!
field advisor checks quality, keys in, shares. Mill (and PCE) monitors, uses data to schedule transport,
make payments.
Who Pays: PCE up front; on-going farm groups and mill pay own costs.
Scale: Eventually 100,000s small farmers
Impact: Small farmers get better prices and lower input costs. Big buyer gets quality needed, lower
transport costs + eventually can move into AG services too.
Photo from IRG: http://www.irgltd.com/Our_Work/Projects/Senegal/Highlight-Nerica.html
20
DISCUSSION
SEE AGRILINKS.ORG FOR
MORE ON ICT AND AG
JPAYNE@USAID.GOV