ICTs and Value Chains in ACP countries Chris Addison, Senior Programme Coordinator KM

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1 ICTs and Value Chains in ACP countries Chris Addison, Senior Programme Coordinator KM World Summit for Information Society Geneva March 2012

2 Eat Caribbean Radio and web 2.0 tools connect Caribbean farmers and agribusinesses Roderick St Clair talks to farmers, extension officers, exporters, buyers and financiers on air. The talks aim to show how value chains can meet the requirements of buyers and link these buyers to farmers, while also discussing challenges and success stories. The project also uses social media, including Facebook. Using social media should help to attract a bigger audience from outside the Caribbean. Caribbean: Grenada

3 Web alliance for Regreening in Africa A voice-based system delivers market information to farmers in West Africa Web alliance for Regreening in Africa is a global networked community involving computer scientists, farmers, local radio stations and ICT entrepreneurs. The philosophy of W4RA is to build an open web platform based on voice services that will empower men and women in remote rural areas of Africa. Where people can create, access and share their knowledge even if they cannot read or write. West Africa: Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana

4 Farmer s Information Centre A multi-purpose ICT centre in Nigeria connects farmers and researchers As a result the farmers had access to loans to buy the new seed types They could get information on growing the crops from extension officers and from the multi-purpose centre. The input provider could sell products to help improve productivity. After harvest, the transporters took the maize to the miller for processing, and the miller sold the product on to the poultry industry. West Africa: Nigeria

5 A smart fishing suite Mobile apps give a boost to the Trinidad and Tobago fish market. GFNF is an interactive application that links individuals who have fish for sale with those who want to purchase fish. A compass, GPS tracking and an SOS alert are included in the mfisheries App. In an emergency, the SOS Alert sends pre-defined text messages and a call to the Trinidad and Tobago coastguard. Caribbean: Trinidad and Tobago

6 The value of mobile phones for agricultural value chains Bjorn Furuholt, Edmund Matotay EJISDC (2011) 48, 7, 1-16 THE DEVELOPMENTAL CONTRIBUTION FROM MOBILE PHONES ACROSS THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE CHAIN IN RURAL AFRICA

7 What kind of information do Tanzanian farmers use mobile phones for? fertilisers, seed types, prices, weather preservative chemicals, crop stocks and prices from the markets,road situation, transport costs. Organise extra labour from distant farms Arrange to borrow or buy equipment East Africa: Tanzania

8 How can farmers use the information to improve the efficiency of the value chain? Save travel time to look for the best seeds and to get advice from extension Organise extra labour from distant farms Talk to local transport owners to negotiate cost and availability. Arrange to borrow or buy equipment East Africa: Tanzania

9 How have these improvements changed the way farmers work? Ability to communicate with extension officers and agrovets in real time. Doubled yields and improved quality Contact with agricultural experts and gives them direct access to market information. Reduce some of the risk and be more proactive. Better access to market information higher incomes and improved livelihoods. East Africa: Tanzania

10 What needs to be done to improve information services? Need for cell phone companies to establish a wider, affordable and effective service offering instant market prices and additional, relevant market information. Need to develop the existing money transfer systems using cell phones in order to make the service more reliable and affordable in rural areas where banking services are limited.

11 CTA contribution

12 Activities Providing information on ICTs and Value chains ICTupdate, Agritrade Spore and online. Promoting exchange of best practices across ACP Strategic Alliances including African Union, Farmer s organisations Identifying research gaps on ICTs and value chains with potential partners

13 Encouraging young entrepreneurs Identification and promotion of young entrepreneurs through the CTA and NEPAD essay competition on ICT and agriculture (ARDYIS) YoBloCo awards: competition for young bloggers

14 Capacity building across ACP

15 Value Chains Conference 6-9 Nov Addis Ababa Ethiopia

16 Further Information Value Chain Conference - makingtheconnection.cta.int ICTupdate ictupdate.cta.int