Highlights of Innovative Practices / Eclairages sur des pratiques innovantes
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National experiences/ Expériences nationalesChair and rapporteur : Tomaz BARTOL (University Ljubljana) | ||||||||||
Congruency, accuracy and agreement among researchers, extension workers and farmers on the role of ICTs in Nigeria’s agricultural development University of Nigeria, Nigeria;
The study determined the congruency, accuracy and agreement among researchers, extension workers and farmers on the role of information communication technologies (ICTs) in Nigeria’s agricultural development. A structured interview schedule was used to collect data from a randomly selected sample of 110 respondents, made up of researchers, public extension professionals and farmers. Statistical analysis was accomplished by mean scores, percentages, Spearman’s correlation and T-test. The study reveals that the researchers, extension workers and farmers had favourable perceptions of the role of ICTs in agricultural development. The results of the analysis indicate that the researchers were more congruent (r=0.839, p_=0.0007) and accurate (0.429, p_=0.05), than extension workers in assessing farmers’ perception of the role of ICTs in agriculture. Also the mean responses of the researchers and farmers as regards the role of ICTs in agriculture were significantly different for 3 out of 17 roles while the extension workers perceptions were significantly different for 6 out of 17 roles. These findings suggest a low level of agreement between extension workers and farmers than between researchers and farmers, indicating that researchers and farmers had a higher co-orientation in their perceptions regarding the role of ICTs in Nigeria’s agricultural development. The results further show that major constraints to the use of ICT in Nigeria agriculture included lack of sufficiently trained computer personnel, erratic power supply, poor finance, lack of internet access in the rural areas and high cost of ICT soft wares. The study recommends an integrated interactive involvement of researchers, extension workers and farmers on ICT related issues in order to improve their knowledge and co-orientation of the role of ICTs in agriculture.
Building Information Systems and Rural Development in Egypt: The Learned Lessons Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt;
Egypt has started its modern decimal census systems as a base for its national information systems since the nineteenth century. The first recorded census was in 1882. Meanwhile, the modern central socio-economic development planning has been established in the socialist era during the late fifties and early sixties of the last century. Data needed for central planning were collected by a central authority until the emergence of the new needs for specific oriented sectoral information systems under the globalization and the more liberal market system. The paper portrays the several initiatives launched since the eighties of the last century to establish different information systems. It explores mainly three of these systems. The main one is related to the socio-economic development in general while the others are rather related to specific sectors. The first one is a multi-sectoral at the national level known as the Egypt's Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center (IDSC) and the other two are sectoral systems for agriculture and rural development. The paper investigates the rationale behind the initiatives to establish these systems, the national and global contexts of their establishment, the linkages among them, and the actual functioning of these systems against the initial rationales. * Professor of Rural Sociology and Senior Advisor, Center for Rural Development Researches & Studies (CRDRS), Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt (mohnawar@gmail.com)
Agricultural Scitech Network Information Resources reorganization and sharing in China 1Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China, Peoples Republic of; 2China Agricultural University, PR China; 3The Library of Standards, China National Institute of Standardization;
Reorganization of Scitech network information resources and development of information infrastructure have brought a great change in China’s Scitech information sharing. It integrated not only information resources, but also systems, human resources and funds. High quality services and effective sharing of the resources are the main goals of the reform. The paper describes briefly the principles and aims of the integration of the agricultural related networks and services. The reorganization of the national and provincial network information resource sharing platforms have been introduced. The services of the sharing platforms have been also provided.
Beyond agricultural information access – shared learning experiences in Solomon Islands Information Works, Australia;
Solomon Islands is a small country in the western Pacific emerging from a long period of civil unrest and political upheaval. As with other sectors of civil society and industry, there is a strong need to rebuild a viable commercial farming sector as well as ensure that the livelihood and well-being of people in the rural areas, largely subsistence farmers, is also enhanced. To that end, a national agricultural information network has been established which brings togther a diverse range of organizations with a shared objective, that of improving access to and use of agricultural information. At the core of the information network is an information system comprising a range of bibliographic and other information databases. This builds on the success of a similar venture in neighbouring Papua New Guinea. However, the Solomons’ initiative seeks both to disseminate information more widely and effectively, as well as incorporating a social knowledge networking dimension which renders it unique in the Pacific region. The network is underpinned by an appreciation that there are many and varied ways in which information can be transformed into knowledge. This includes innovative information and communication technologies such as community radio, distance learning centres and farmer information networks. At the heart of social knowledge networking is not just sharing of experiences and knowledge, but learning.
Analysis of traditional information dissemination and communication method among rural farmers. Evidence from traditional communities in Nigeria. Joseph Ayo Babalola University (JABU), Ikeji-Arakeji, Nigeria Not attending Governments have been largely responsible for research and the provision of extension services in Nigeria. The emphasis has been on the transfer of technology, paying little attention to farmer development and communication needs. Recently, the high output of agricultural research has led to a large pool of new agricultural technologies, which are yet to be disseminated to farmers, particularly those in the core rural areas. Therefore this study examined development and information needs of the resource poor and the strategy adopted to meet these needs, using ‘town crier’ as a case study. The study identified two states in south west Nigeria, based on literature/past studies, where this concept has been adopted. A focused group discussion technique and interview schedule was adopted for data collection. The study identified 141 ‘town criers’ across the study areas through the help of key informants. Results shown that all 'town criers' are male, average age of 55.54 years and all have post-secondary education. 'Town crier' primarily source of information is from the traditional-head. Main information disseminated by the 'town crier’ bothers on security of the town and community development and projects. The study concluded that this channel rarely meets the information needs of the people, as the study revealed that only 20% of such information meets these needs. Past studies have documented that information/communication channels in Nigeria such as extension institutions have collapsed and there is no effective communication channels in the country again. The small number of extension officers that exists, only congregate at the urban towns, leaving behind those in the rural areas. Thus, 'town criers' in this regard can be used effectively to fill this gap and can also be trained on basic extension work.
An investigation into the impact of ICTs in the provision of agricultural information to small-scale farmers in Harare, Zimbabwe Harare Polytechnic, Zimbabwe Not attending (attente accord pour publication papier) This paper will investigate the provision of agricultural information to small scale farmers in Zimbabwe. It will seek to find out the methods and means of disseminating agricultural information to small-scale farmers in Harare. It will also describe how Information and Communication Technology has impacted on the dissemination of agricultural information. It will also explain how ICTs are impacting on agricultural production among small scale farmers in Zimbabwe. The paper will explain the extent to which information provision is utilized in promoting dissemination of agricultural information to small-scale farmers. The paper will also highlight and explain the challenges that farmers are facing with regards to access to agricultural information and consider how the digital divide affects information dissemination considering the challenges of connectivity in emerging economies. The paper will also highlight the current ICT-driven projects that are in place to facilitate access to agricultural information to farmers and also seek to explain the roles of libraries, schools, and agricultural research extension (AREX) services in providing agricultural information. The paper will explain the contributions of libraries and schools towards sustaining agriculture. It will also explain the use of alternative media like radio, television and podcasting to disseminate agricultural information. The writer will also explain the challenges of using such media to communicate agricultural information to small-scale farmers and try to find out the information services available to rural farmers in Zimbabwe and the extent to which these services are driven by Information and Communication Technology. The writer will also try to explain how the agricultural systems in place can contribute towards the development of agriculture. The paper will also seek to explain the benefits of using agricultural information services to add value to small-scale farming.
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Agropolis International publication - ISBN 978-2-909613-03-1
IAALD2010 Web Site : iaald2010.agropolis.fr - Contact : iaald2010@agropolis.fr
