The team in Ethiopia has traveled to: The Rift Valley Meki, Wonji, and Adama (CRS) Debre Zeit (IPMS) Ziway (Rift Valley Children and Women’s Development - RCWD) Tigray Region Mekelle (TAMPA, Nyala, DECSI, REST) Adiha (REST and Oxfam America) Jimma (coffee area) JICA Oromia Coffee Union
The point:Farmers in Meki / Wonji might benefit from the tales in Ziway:How did they organize / make decisions / encourage savings within the community?How has community savings helped them?How are they negotiating with EthioFlora (if, in fact, there is something to learn)?
Micro-Insurance DetailsSwiss RE is the re-insurerRequires a premium 22% of what they want to insureMost farmers insured several hundred birrCould enroll by paying labor (PSNP) or through cashPayout determined by rain level (using satellites and automatic rain gauges)Major education initiativeChance games with diceDrama (acting out scenarios)200 households in the community signed up
Training approaches:Husband and wife training. If one passes away, the other one knows about both skill setsTwo minds are better than oneUsually, the man decided whether or not to make the investment, but if he doesn’t know what his wife does, he might not invest.Training DAs and farmers togetherTraining only women in:Sericulture (silk production)Dairy (women usually tend to the cows)Farmer Skill Development: give a farmer an intervention for a year – if they like it, they can buy it for themselves in the future.Melkassa Research: Regarding fruits and vegetables, we first brought farmers to Melkassa. Then, Melkassa came and trained farmers on their own land.
Training approaches:Husband and wife training. If one passes away, the other one knows about both skill setsTwo minds are better than oneUsually, the man decided whether or not to make the investment, but if he doesn’t know what his wife does, he might not invest.Training DAs and farmers togetherTraining only women in:Sericulture (silk production)Dairy (women usually tend to the cows)Farmer Skill Development: give a farmer an intervention for a year – if they like it, they can buy it for themselves in the future.Melkassa Research: Regarding fruits and vegetables, we first brought farmers to Melkassa. Then, Melkassa came and trained farmers on their own land.
Location: TAMPA Office (Mekelle) – Tigray Agricultural Marketing Promotion AgencyInteviewee: KirosTikueMebrahtu (General Manager) +251-344-405029 +251-344-405030 +251-344-405268mebkir@hotmail.comhttp://www.agrimartg.orgDate: 7/22/2009Rough TranscriptTAMPA started an information system three years ago (2006). It’s better than any other system in the country. We also want a National grid. We use the FAO data (produced by the UN). Our system is based upon their Agrimar database software, as is the data format.We discussed the system with the different partners in the region and tried to avoid any duplication. We established 13 market collection stations, and trained 36 data collectors. We have standardized data collection around each commodity, in terms of quality parameters. We collect information on crops and vegetables – weekly – and produce the most up-to-date information in the region. We have four means of disseminating this information: (1) Through our website (though there is a lag in how often this gets updated). (2) Through a bi-weekly bulletin that is distributed to woreda centers, the chamber of commerce, and companies.(3) Local radio: regional (once a week it gets announced over the air) – after the weekly market, it gets announced after the market. Radio programs are very important to farmers.(4) Notice board in each peasant association. TAMPA’s also thinking of putting them in schools.Currently, they don’t do prices for livestock information – they also send prices through “woreda net” or through the telephone.Q: How did you choose which markets to cover?A: Well, we tried to select markets which were representative of each type of market – one or two zones, as well as some terminal markets (lik the ones in Mekelle and Amora). We cover botht he lowlands and the highlands.We take samples of each quality level and train the agents so that we all come to a common understanding. Purity isn’t really an issue in the local markets (more an issue for export). We take 5 prices and then average them.Since sesame gets exported, there’s both a local price and an export price.We also try to provide forecast information, and read different external reports and enter relevant information into the system.Q: Who uses the website?A: Mainly researchers, exporters, and woredas. Also, the site has helped farmers find alternative buyers and importers, because the world now know about them.Q: How has this helped the farmers?A: We want to change the culture of the farmers – we want them to use information as an input to make a decision. It’s very important for their decisions and for their bargaining power. It could also have indirect benefits – a farmer could choose to sell his product in a market that’s buying it for a higher price – could justify the truck / transport costs.We want to reduce the costs of data collection and time. People aren’t ready to pay for this kind of price collection service – not enough value seen yet. Perhaps in the future.Q: What is your biggest challenge?A: Our system doesn’t include livestock prices because we can’t standardize the information. We need some additional support and expertise. There is a project called LINCS for livestock, sponsored by USAID, in the Somali region.In Tigray, there are over 3 million cattle, but we need expertise. We don’t know that our current database schema could accommodate cattle.On local radio: we pay 88,000 birr per year to have prices announced once a week for 10 minutes. It would be nice for each locality to have it’s own radio station – something that would stretc for 10-15 kms. Would be more at the grass roots level.
Broadcasts market prices using electronic boards Warehouses scattered throughout the country – can keep your goods until your broker is able to sell it. Prices can only move by a certain # of percentage points per day Organized buying and selling for large volumes, but it also sets a benchmark price You may not have a broker, but you could sell it on the local market and have a reference point
Production Traceability Tool Certification (such as that provided by the Rainforest Alliance) can add up to a 25% premium on sale price of a commodity.Requires the ability to trace produce to the farmer, and know basic farmer attributes (how much land s/he owns and other basic facts).Some of this information already collected and submitted to the ministry of Agriculture.ICT Intervention:Collection: data (quantity produced, farmer who produced it, basic attributes about the farmer) could be entered into a small handheld form (or PC form)Transmission: over the network, by Flash Drive, or by paper formStorage: data kept in a central database (hosted by the cooperative union)Corresponding grain from farmer could be labeled as it’s given to the primary cooperative.Could also provide a quality feedback mechanism – ACOS could flag producers by shipment, which could be traced to the individual farm.
Production Traceability Tool Collection: data (quantity produced, farmer who produced it, basic attributes about the farmer) could be entered into a small handheld form (or PC form)Transmission: over the network, by Flash Drive, or by paper formStorage: data kept in a central database (hosted by the cooperative union)
Production Traceability Tool Corresponding grain from farmer could be labeled as it’s given to the primary cooperative.Could also provide a quality feedback mechanism – ACOS could flag producers by shipment, which could be traced to the individual farm.
Deployed with over 2,000 farmers• 30% reduction in inspection time• 71% reduction in evaluation time• $4000 yearly savings for cooperative• Feedback from farmers used to informdecision-making and governance• Service contract and interest from coops
Overview of Initial Ag-ICT Trip to Ethiopia - Presentation Transcript
Exploring ICT’s potential to help smallholder farmersEthiopia
Project Goals Introduction Funded by the Gates Foundation Looking for high-impact ways to apply ICT to small-holder agriculture to improve farmer livelihoods
What We Did Introduction Our team:
Traveled
Observed
Interviewed
Brainstormed
Ethiopia Interesting Facts Introduction The only country in Africa that was never colonized Lucy, Salem, Arc of the Covenant Second most populated country in Africa Ongoing war with Eritrea History of famine and civil war Conflict between the Communist party, “The Derg,” and the Democratic Liberation Front, 1974 to 1991 Tigray people currently in power Half Christian, half Muslim Has the greatest water reserves in Africa
Ethiopian Agriculture Overview People Over 80% of Ethiopians are farmers The majority of them are barely at subsistence Government has organized farmers into cooperatives and unions Land No land ownership: land use rights 4% of arable land is irrigated Crops Teff, wheat and maize are the most common crops Coffee and oilseeds (sesame) are most valuable exports Other high-value crops are fruits (oranges, bananas) and vegetables (tomatoes, onions, green beans)
Ethiopian Agriculture Government Regions Generally broken down by language and ethnicity 5 major languages but 50-80 total Woredas Most farmer programs are managed at district level Kabele Villages or Peasant Associations are the level at which extension, coops and Farmer Training Centers are organized Many are large enough to be split into sub-villages
Ethiopian Agriculture Culture Challenges Trust Bad experiences with gov programs (esp during Communism) and even some NGOs have created a culture of distrust Relevance Many “best practices” are not properly contextualized for specific areas Farmers need to see that it will help them before buying in Inertia Many farmers have been working the land for generations and don’t understand why they need to change Access Many farmers don’t have access to improved seed and fertilizer, or don’t have access to finance to purchase them Stability One bad year can cause a farmer to slip into poverty Few programs to help them get out – become aid dependent
ICT in Ethiopia Introduction Sporadic electricity nation-wide Government monopoly of communications infrastructure Cell phones Even when full coverage, network often busy / non-responsive SMS turned off for 2 years during last election Certain websites blocked (Skype, Blogspot) CDMA just introduced Data Network Extremely slow, even in the capital city on a good day Quality and quantity of cables very poor / sparse Radio permits CB Radio permits difficult to obtain Radio broadcasting expensive (national and regional radio – not much local radio) Woreda NET Ubiquitous use of flash drives
Case Studies Learning from what already exists
Case Study #1 Irrigation Cooperative Rift Valley Children and Women Development
Case Study #1 Irrigation Cooperative Actions Irrigation Infrastructure Developed RCWD initially funded canals, pumps Land redistribution process Supported extension activities Facilitated green bean market linkages (EthioFlora) Encouraged household to save individually Helped start a revolving fund 10% of farmer proceeds re-invested for all maintenance Results Food secure, able to buy oxen, iron roofs, improved community spirit
Case Study #1 Irrigation Cooperative Challenges Required significant initial capital investment Perceived lack of bargaining power with single buyer Takeaways Immediately establishing that the coop is financially responsible for community infrastructure Significant effort needed to: build coop skills and convince them to pool resources convince farmers to change growing practices
Case Study #2 Micro-Insurance REST, Oxfam America, DECSI, Nyala
Case Study #2 Micro-Insurance Actions Initial investment (irrigation infrastructure developed) Oxfam America funded river diversion project Land redistribution process Agricultural Extension Heavy use of demonstration plots Community nursery REST “tissue culture” facility Risk minimization Crop diversification (fruit, vegetables, and teff) Micro-Insurance (Nyala) DECSI Financing Fertilizer and Input supplies
Case Study #2 Micro-Insurance Challenges Irrigation Cooperative Capacity No community fund, no consensus on pooling resources Other farmers at the periphery could potentially benefit Micro-insurance Educating farmers about insurance; managing risk Takeaways Even in drought-prone areas, farmers can protect themselves Establishing understanding of community savings is critical
Case Study #2 Micro-Insurance Micro-Insurance Details Swiss RE is the re-insurer Requires a premium 22% of what they want to insure Most farmers insured several hundred birr of their crop Could enroll by paying labor (PSNP) or through cash Payout determined through rain level Major education initiative Chance games Drama (acting out scenarios) 200 farmers signed up
Case Study #3 Farmer Field School JICA
Case Study #3 Farmer Field School Actions WaBuBs (Walda Bulchiinsa Bosonaa)“Forest Management Association” Participatory Forest Management Organic / fair trade certification Management training Farmer Field Schools Learn by doing / experimentation DA or “graduated farmer” teacher Mandatory attendance Meet once a week for 3-4 hours Learn by doing
Case Study #3 Farmer Field School Results Motivated farmers All farmers take what they learn and apply it to their homesteads Challenges Difficult for FFSs to learn from one another FFS exchanges are extremely popular, but only happen once a year Decentralization makes monitoring hard
Case Study #3 Farmer Field School Takeaways Importance of: Taking ownership of the curriculum Learning experimentation and troubleshooting Farmers learn by doing Farmers are responsive to being taught by one another
Case Study #4 Oromia Coffee Union Jimma
Actions Single-product focus Building market leverage through high-volume transactions Certification to earn a premium price Engage in value-added services (washing, packaging) Sell directly to exporters “Triple Payout” Results Dividend payments Community Infrastructure projects Sufficient revenue to re-invest in business and community Case Study #4 Oromia Coffee Union
Challenges Organizational capacity of cooperatives varies according to: Leadership / business savvy Planning Reporting Traceability needed to ensure continued certification Case Study #4 Oromia Coffee Union
Takeaways Large-volume unions build market leverage and give higher premiums to farmers Community savings can lead to further income increases in the future through investment Major incentives exist that entice farmers to join Open Questions Can this success be replicated for other cash crops? Case Study #4 Oromia Coffee Union
Case Study #5 IPMS ILRI, CEDA
Actions (4 Pillars) Knowledge Management IPMS Knowledge Portal Regional and local “Knowledge Centers” Agricultural training materials TV & DVD players PC & phone line / CDMA-based modem Knowledge exchanges – farmer field days, field trips, etc. Experimentation with training curriculums to farmers Capacity Building Training and short courses for DAs Innovation & Commodity Development Production techniques Market linkage Research Case Study #5 IPMS
Results Still being evaluated, but preliminary feedback: DVDs and “farmer field days” are wildly popular DAs interviewed reported using Internet – connectivity surprisingly fast using CDMA Challenges Computer literacy Access to electricity Network Case Study #5 IPMS
Takeaways Farmers learn from each other’s successes It is possible to have supplementary ICT at the FTC level Could be an initial platform for enhanced 2-way communication Case Study #5 IPMS
Case Study #6 Catholic Relief Services Meki and Wonji
Case Study #5 Catholic Relief Services ActionsCRS uses an integrated approach Education Food Security Extension Work Provision of Improved Seeds Fertilizer Health Promoting Savings & Credit groups through Metamamen Supplementing traditional extension and coop/union system
Results Access to new seeds and fertilizer Improved farming techniques Challenges Will investment in Haricot bean value chain improve farmers’ livelihoods? Limited access to finance Water supply issues Under-developed irrigation Organizational Capacity Case Study #6 Catholic Relief Services
Takeaways Organizing Coops focused on high-value crops can improve farmer livelihoods Creating a new value chain is very difficult and costly Need proper incentives to achieve quality improvements Access to finance and water are critical for any program Case Study #6 Catholic Relief Services
Case Study #7 Market Prices TAMPA and the Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX)
Case Study #7 Market Prices TAMPA - Tigray
Case Study #7 Market Prices ECX
Challenges, Strengths, and knowledge sharing Summarizing Field Observations
Summary Challenges Communication
Limited infrastructure
Lack of two-way communication
Organizational Capacity
Leadership capacity of cooperatives, unions, and farmer groups
Farmer participation
Summary Field Observations Strengths Challenges
Integrated development approach
Building organizational capacity
Forging market linkages
CRS
Access to credit / financing
Capacity of coops / unions
RCWD
Organizational capacity
Incentives for participation
Community savings and investing
Market linkages
Reliance on single buyer
Quality control
REST Micro-Insurance
High-value crop production
Access to household loans
Financial protection
Community decision-making ability
Little community investment
JICA FFS
Strong education program
Farmer ownership of curriculum
Emphasis on experimentation
Short-term pilot
Dependence on government
Oromia Coffee Union
Well organized union and coops
Emphasis on value-add services
Substantial community investing
May only be possible with Coffee
Scaling and management training
IPMS
Advanced ICT infrastructure
Centralization of knowledge
Farmer to farmer connections
Short-term pilot
Heavy investment requirements
ICT impact is mostly at DA level
Challenges Address Organizational Capacity
Question
Adiha Tabia River Diversion Project (REST & Oxfam America)
How do we convince members of the cooperative to save collectively to invest in community infrastructure?
Answer
Haleku Melka TessoIrrigation Cooperative (RCWD)
Members have agreed (by consensus) to give 10% of their profits back to the cooperative!
Challenges Address Financing
Question
Farmers in Meki and Wonji (CRS)
How do we provide a buffer for our farmers when drought is endemic to our area?
Answer
Adiha River Diversion Project (REST & Oxfam America)
Invest in crop insurance based on rainfall measurements.
Challenges Address Agriculture Techniques
Question
Farmer Field Schools – Jimma
How do I build a “modern”beehive with local materials?
Answer
IPMS – Gondar
We’ve already produced a photo essay / case study outlining how to do this!
Challenges Address Sales & Marketing
Question
Haleku Melka Tesso Irrigation Cooperative
How do we organize into a like-minded cooperative union to get higher prices?
Answer
Oromia Coffee Union
We engage in value-add services and export directly to International buyers!
Ideas for ICT in Ethiopia Education platform and streamlining finance
ICT Ideas Overview Potential Ideas Farmer-to-farmer knowledge sharing using multimedia for things like agricultural practices how financing works how community savings works how value-added services work Expanding access to micro-finance using handheld devices to enhance: Efficiency in coverage Data entry & reporting Transparency
ICT Ideas Overview Potential Ideas Enhancing field-to-office and office-to-field communication using structured communication tools using synchronization software. Example: Field collects GPS coordinates, photos, and data about drinking water Data is saved in a standard format (using some software) and put onto a USB thumb drive (automatically) Thumb drive is driven to headquarters, synchronized with the central GIS repository (automatically) Everyone has access to the data -- if every field office did this, large, integrated databases could be compiled relatively easily
Farmer to Farmer Video Sharing A grassroots peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing network
Knowledge Sharing Lessons Learned Farmers learn best from other farmers Farmers are risk averse Farmers believe demonstrations Farmer, empowered by experts, are ultimately the most effective teachers Farmers are capable and eager to learn when they perceive information as relevant
Agricultural Extension New agricultural practices improving productivity Moving beyond subsistence farming Business Exploring market linkage opportunities Certification Value-added post-harvest techniques Insurance and risk-minimization Organizational Capacity Conflict resolution Allocating community resources Financing Knowledge Sharing Existing Innovations
What if there were a way to easily empower model farmers to be teachers? What if farmers in one village could quickly benefit from innovations in a similarly-situated village? What if newfound knowledge could quickly be put into action using information on how to obtain inputs and finance? Knowledge Sharing Developing a Tool
Digital Green A Story from India Supplementing agricultural extension using DVDs Participatory content production DAs followed template and film: Farmers demonstrating techniques Farmers giving testimonials Footage shipped to regional video editor Footage edited, annotated, indexed, and submitted to central repository Photo taken from http://www.digitalgreen.org, courtesy of Rajesh Veeraraghavan
Disseminating Content DVDs mailed from central repository to target field schools DVDs are publically screened with minimally trained mediator (3x / week) Relevant input supplies are made available for purchase DVD content coordinated according to seasonal relevance Results / Effectiveness 10 times more effective (per dollar spent) than traditional extension (according to their data and assumptions). Digital Green A Story from India
Applying Digital Green in Ethiopia Videos (farmer to farmer) Photos and audio Audio (broadcast over radio) Digital Green Applying it to Ethiopia
Handhelds for MFIs Increasing access to financing through digital forms
Addressed Challenges
Proposal Field Agent Handheld device with interactive forms requiring minimal training Questions to determine loan packages that are available for individual farmer Collect enough data to process loan application Field Agent can quickly process dozens of farmers
Proposal Internal Processing
Impact Coverage Eliminate DA involvement Each agent could cover ~10 sub-villages per week Monthly contact with every sub-village 1 branch with 5 agents can cover 200 sub-villages
Impact Efficiency Low cost field agents given large potential coverage area Reduced data entry time, labor and errors Improved tracking and reporting
Impact Capital Raising
Traceability Tool for Certification
Certification can add up to a 25% premium on the sale price of a commodity Could entice greater participation in coop / union value chain Requires the ability to trace produce to the farmer, no basic farmer attributes (land owned, amount earned, assets, etc.) Much of this information is already collected by the DA Traceability Tool Introduction
Traceability Tool Proposal Collection Data, such as quantity produced, farmer who produced it, basic farmer attributes, could be entered into a small handheld or PC form. Transmission Data could be transmitted to central repository over the network, by flash drive, or by paper form Storage Data could be kept in a central database (hosted by the cooperative union)
Traceability Tool Proposal Corresponding grain from the farmer could be labeled as it is given to the primary cooperative Could also provide a quality feedback mechanism – ACOS could flag producers by shipment, which could be traced to the individual farmer.
Traceability Tool Success in Mexico Internal inspection and traceability system evaluated in coffee cooperative in Mexico (UC Berkeley project – Digital ICS). Results: Deployed with over 2,000 farmers 30% reduction in inspection time 71% reduction in evaluation time $4,000 yearly savings for cooperatives Feedback from farmers used to inform decision-making and governance
Structured Two-Way Communication
Architecture FTC Communication Network File Transfer
New content files added
New FTC files uploaded
Server Software
Content Repository files
Training materials
Accessing inputs
Stories
Database
Synchronize
Client Software
Arrange views
Select content
Input data
Synchronize
Could be used for information dissemination Training materials for crop diversification Farmers group organizational tools Or structured communication Request for farm inputs (packages) MFI Application Form Farmer asset data tracking Modules FTC Communication Network
The same modules could be packaged in different ways… Farmer View Graphics, visualizations, and photos MP3s & recordings of radio broadcasts Videos “How to” training materials DA View Training materials Forms / Worksheets Views of the Information FTC Communication Network
Narrative View FTC Communication Network Rift Valley Water Cooperative
Telling a Story FTC Communication Network
Questions? Thank you to CRS, Oxfam America, REST, RCWD, IPMS, JICA, IDE, Oromia Coffee Union, and everyone else for helping us learn and giving us perspective
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