The document discusses the modernization of extension and advisory services in value chain development, emphasizing the role of ICT tools in agriculture, such as e-learning and e-business applications. It highlights the importance of targeting the poorest populations, training cooperative members, and developing marketing strategies for various crops. Additionally, it covers the necessity of resolving production issues and creating supportive policies to enhance agricultural livelihoods and market access.

1. Modernizing Extension and Advisory Services
Value Chain Development and
the Role of ICT
Dai Peters
Catholic Relief Services
EDC Conference
Enhancing Development
Effectiveness through
Cooperative Agribusiness
Addis Ababa,
September 1-3, 2014

2. Value Chain Development and
the Role of ICT
Dai Peters
Agriculture and Livelihood Programs
CRS

3. Complementing the Workshop
In the framework of horizontal and vertical
integration for value chain development
• Cooperatives well covered by experts
• Excellent presentation and discussion on FSA
and SACCO for finances
• ICT: introduction of array of apps, but less on
the use of these tools
• Absence of production aspects of the value
chain development

4. Discussion topics in this presentation
• Question about whether Cooperatives target the
poorest and how to identify this segment of
population.
• Production aspects of the value chain
development
• ICT tools development and application
• Capacity building based on Nico’s summary
– In addition to mobilization, also members need
training on bookkeeping, by laws, management,
governance, leadership, organization design for
cooperative health.
• Highlight the importance of DETAILS

5. Population targeting

6. Agriculture and Livelihood Continuum
CRS Pathway to Prosperity
Livelihood continuum
Growth through income
Agriculture continuum
Engaging market with production
Livelihood continuum
Capacity building
Agriculture continuum
Production from seed
Livelihood continuum
Resilience and food security
Agriculture continuum
Seed acquisition and DiNAR

7. Group formations
Marketing groups
Production
group
SILC
group
Better off—ready
to engage markets
Less poor—ready to build
capacity for all aspects related
to production & markets
Poorest—recovering with small MF scheme

8. Pre-production and production and
beyond

9. Upland only Upland with lowland Upland with
flooded
lowland
Semi-arid Arid Arid Semi-arid
# season
production
Rainy season
only
Rainy season
only
Rainy and
dry seasons
Rainy and
dry seasons
Rainy season
and dry
season
Most
important
upland crops
1. Maize
2. Pigeon
pea
3. Groundn
ut
4. Cowpea
1. Sorghum
2. Millet
3. Groundn
ut
4. Sesame
1. Sorghum
2. Millet
3. Maize
4. Cotton
1. Maize
2. Pigeon P
3. G’ nut
4. Cowpea
1. Maize
2. Cotton
3. Sorghum
4. Millet
Lowland
crop
None None Green
maize,
vegetables
Green
maize,
vegetables
Rice, green
maize, SP,
vegetables
Cash crops Groundnut
Pigeon pea
Sesame,
Cotton
Cotton,
vegetable
Groundnut,
Pigeon pea,
Vegetables
Rice, cotton,
vegetable,
sesame
The first step—overall assessment

10. Select products for value chain development
Upland only Upland with lowland Upland with
flooded
lowland
Semi-arid Arid Arid Semi-arid
Targeted VC 1. Pig
2. Expandin
g SP &
cassava
1. Sesame
2. Short-season
P
pea
1. Vegetabl
es
2. Sesame
3. Short-season
P
pea
1. Vegetabl
es
2. Groundn
ut
1. Rice
2. Vegetable
3. Short season
P pea
Land
availability
Idle land
available
Idle land
available
All land fully
cultivated
All land fully
cultivated
All land fully
cultivated
Strategy for
each system
Expansion Expansion Intensification
Re-allocation
Overall
strategies
 Storage
 Intercropping
 Overall agricultural production
o Re-allocation of fertilizer use in arid zones
o Crop-animal-manure application

11. Characteristics that bear implications for
the sweetpotato variety requirements
# yrs. SP
as cash
crop
Ways SP
are
consumed
Market
access
Variety
requirements
Current
varieties
Yield
(metric
tons/ha)
Nigeria < 10 Fried
(60%)
Boiled
(40%)
Four major
cities plus
the local
markets
Long shelf life
(2-3 weeks)
due to long
chain
Sweet taste
2 target
national
markets
I Avg: 6.8*
II Avg: 3.7
III Avg: 3.6
Ghana 5-10 Fried
(80%)
Boiled
(20%)
Spread out
around
the
country
Medium
shelf life (1-2
wks)
Fry well
Bright color
Diverse
varieties
with no
champio
n
North Avg: 7.2
South Avg:
14.1
Burkin
a Faso
15 Boiled
(70%)
Fried
(30%)
A few
particular
provinces
High DMC
Sweet taste
2 target
national
markets
Avg: 19.5

12. Cassava gari processing from various varieties
Otada Efoyo Emichi
Wonono
Agric
(TMS30572) Wonono Onweto Wonono
Agric
(NR8082)
1Truck :
#basin 14 13 13 10 10 7
1.15 ton : #
kg gari 532 494 494 380 380 266
Conversion
rate (%) 44 41 41 32 32 22

13. Akpu processing from various varieties
Varieties Akpu
Banada
Agric Dangbu
Akpu yield
(bag/akundu) 75 75 60 50
Akpu price (n/bag) 1,100 1,100 1,100 1,100
Apu income (n/akundu) 82,500 82,570 66,000 55,000
Apu income (n/ha) 528,000 528,000 422,400 352,000

14. Current sweetpotato seed System
Number of
seasons
HH maintain
nurseries in
dry season
(%)
HH buy
seed (%)
Seed cost (usd/ha)
Nigeria 2 seasons is
common
Occasionally
3 seasons
I: 7
II: 45
III: 50
I: 93
II: 35
III: 60
From neighbor: Avg:
25.8
Range: 6.5 – 45.2
From market: Avg:
45.2
Range: 20-200
Ghana 1 season in
north
2-3 season
in south
South: 41
North: 35
South: 48
North: 35
Avg: 55.5
Range: 30 - 200
Burkina
Faso
Mainly 1
season
83 63 Avg: 53.5
Full cost: up to 400

15. Issues surrounding value chain to be resolved
As a cash crop As a nutritional crop As livestock feed
Policy 1. Conduct annual survey of
sweetpotato production
2. Establish infrastructure
(e.g., collection centers)
to facilitate marketing
1. Link with school
feeding program
2. Foster national
campaign of feeding
OFSP to address
vitamin A deficiency
1. Promote and allocate
funds for crop feed
research and
development
Breeding 1. Undertake germplasm
collection and
morphological study of
the existing varieties
2. Pursue participatory
breeding to involve the
collectors and fryers to
identify marketable and
high-yielding varieties
1. Promote high DMC
or high yielding OFSP
1. Select for dual-purpose—
total
biomass from roots
and vines, if such
interest exists
Seed system 1. Multiply and sell seed of
improved varieties for
market via existing seed
suppliers
2. Develop ways to assist
more farmers to maintain
seed during the dry
season
1. Multiply and sell
OFSP varieties via
existing seed
suppliers
2. Make OFSP seed
available to northern
farmers to sell to
Burkina Faso
1. Multiply and sell seed
of dual-purpose
varieties for market
via existing seed
suppliers

16. Issues surrounding value chain to be resolved
Production
improveme
nt
1. Organize fertilizer
trials
2. Explore ways to
decrease ridging
labor
3. Experiment on
overall best ICM
practices
1. Organize
fertilizer trials
Same
2. Same
1. Organize fertilizer trials to determine
the most appropriate practices to
obtain the highest volume of vine &
root biomass for livestock nutrition
2. Same
3. Same
Post-harvest
1. Develop harvest
methods
2. Assess post-harvest
loss
3. Experiment with
fresh root storage
methods for one
to two months
1. Introduce
cooking and
eating
practices
appropriate
1. Experiment with various vine silage
treatments (also with roots), should
interest exist, for the times when fresh
root prices are too low to sell
2. Design feeding trials with silage
3. Experiment with holistic systems of
crop feed and soil maintenance with
intensified animal manure application
Marketing 1. Link northern
producers with
southern markets
2. Establish local
collection centers
1. Launch
awareness
campaigns
2. Link OFSP to
school feeding
programs

17. Capacity building and ICT tools

18. Farmbook Suite Overview
• Three ICT tools currently available
1. e-Learning
2. e-Business
3. e-Valuate (Map and Track)
• All functions on Android platforms
• Integrated data from all three Apps, stored
and analyzed in the cloud
• Real time data and analysis displayed on
dashboard maps and viewed by managers

19. Farmbook Suite Tools
1. e-Learning
– SMART Skills: the network of skills farmers need to
organize themselves to manage resources, to increase
production, and effectively engage with markets.
– Five skills organized in nine courses
• bookkeeping, by laws, management, governance, leadership,
organization design
• 1. Group management, 2. Financial management, 3. NRM, 4.
Access to technology, 5. Market engagement
– e-Learning platform functions online and offline
– Taught from master trainer to field agents to farmer
groups
– Learning management System (LMS)

20. Distance Learning
Marketing basics

21. Monitoring Distance Learning

22. Farmbook Suite Tools
2. e-Business
– Business planning tool that field agents use to
enable farmers to develop customized business
plans with details about their costs, revenues,
sales and profits
– Reports can be printed and shared with farmers
22

23. Creating a Business Plan
The next step after you have registered the Nafaka farmer group is to meet with the
group to discuss their plans for the crop they want to produce for marketing. Use
Farmbook to guide the group through the steps to create a viable business plan.
Click here to start!
23

24. Enter Narrative Information
24

25. Example Data Set
25

26. View Local Reports
Local Reports are viewed on Farmbook Client by field agents. After creating a business
plan with a profitability assessment, you should generate the local reports and print
them out to be handed over to the Mshika farmer group so they can see their data.
Click here to start!
26

27. Farmbook Reports in Cloud

28. Farmbook Suite Tools
2. e-Valuate
– Map and Track the real time service deliveries by
field agents
– Promotes accountability and transparency
– Enables supervisors and managers to link service
delivery and training with beneficiary group
performance and results
– A monitoring and evaluation tool
– To be adopted by
28

29. Great Lakes
Cassava Initiative
• Location of 1,116,651
farmers
• Location of 3023 farmer
groups
• Click on for data
– By year
– By M&E points

30. Pipeline Tool development
• Under testing
– Farmer feedback system: evaluate the most
effective and efficient tools to solicit farmer
feedback on extension services
– Complement Map&Track service delivery tracking
and monitory and evaluation
30

31. Pipeline ICT Tools for e-Extension
• Initiative design stage
– Automated extension payment calculated based
on service delivery and farmer satisfaction , to
complement M&T and farmer feedback
– Linking e-Business with following associated
services, in collaboration with Equity Group
Foundation
• Credit application
• Multiple and timed fund release
• e-Voucher linked to inputs providers
• Market information
31

32. This presentation was given:
By Dai Peters, CRS, on behalf of MEAS
EDC Conference,
September 1-3, 2014
In Addis Ababa

33. Terms of Use:
© Dai Peters and MEAS project. This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Users are free:
• to Share — to copy, distribute and transmit the work
• to Remix — to adapt the work
Under the following conditions:
• Attribution — Users must attribute the work to the author(s)/institution
(but not in any way that suggests that the authors/ institution endorse the user or the
user’s use of the work).

34. 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.
www.meas-extension.org