Reaching Out and Listening to Farmers: the Case of NAIS Internet

Based SMS Platform

Darlington Kahilu Agricultural Information Officer/Programme Producer

National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) Lusaka, Zambia

Email: dakahilu@yahoo.co.uk Abstract Farmers in Zambia, like elsewhere in Africa, are faced with problems of how to access timely and up-to-date technical agricultural information to help them improve their productivity. This is mainly due to, among other reasons, a lack of adequate frontline agricultural extension officers in farming communities, a poor flow of information to and from farmers, and inadequate communication between research institutions and extension services. With the increased use of information and communication tools such as mobile phones, it is now possible for farmers in rural and remote areas to be reached by mobile telephone and have access to up-to-date information at any given time. Therefore, in 2007, the National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) opted to use information and technology-based solutions to improve feedback to and from farmers in Zambia. This led to the development of an Internet-based platform, launched in 2011, that allows farmers to ask questions using Short Message Service (SMS) available on mobile telephones and receive answers within the shortest time possible.

1.0 Introduction

Farmers in Zambia with any agricultural question including issues to do with climate change can now receive quick answers via SMS from a new system developed by National Agricultural Information services. This approach allows farmers to use their mobile phones to send questions directly to the radio programme producers in the language they are conversant with and receive answers in real time.

The project, entitled “Strengthening the Agricultural Information Flow and Dissemination

System of the National Agricultural Information Services In Zambia (SAIFADIS)“ is a

collaborative project between the National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) and

the International Institute of Communication and Development (IICD). NAIS is

specialised agricultural information unit of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock

(MAL). The main role of NAIS is to support the extension services of the ministry

through the dissemination of agricultural information to all players in the agricultural

sector, particularly the rural communities.

NAIS is mandated to gather, process, package, store and disseminate information

through the use of radio, television, magazines, newspapers, newsletters, publications

and audio-visual teaching aids.

The NAIS, as part of agricultural extension service in Zambia, forms a link between the

researchers and the farmers. Innovations and findings coming from the researchers are

gathered, processed and disseminated to the farmers in a form that is easily

comprehended. Farmers’ concerns and the manner in which they adopt the

technologies are also relayed to the researchers, who in turn respond with appropriate

innovations. The project was therefore, introduced to NAIS in order to improve the

internal flow of information within NAIS and the external flow of agricultural information

between sources and the end-users. The approach adopted was to increase the

efficiency of NAIS, with the use of modern information and communication tools (word-

processing, email, Internet access, etc.) to gather, process, store, package and

disseminate information in order to increase farmers’ productivity.

The first phase of the project focused on four main areas, namely; (1) hardware, (2)

mainstreaming of the project activities within NAIS, (3) Information management, and

(4) Information sharing.

This paper highlights the implementation status during the first phase and describes

some of the main activities being undertaken from the year 2010 and beyond.

2.0 Background The agricultural sector generates an average of 23 percent, according to the Food and

Agricultural Organisation (FAO), of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is a major

source of livelihood for over 50% of the country’s population. Fifty percent of the

population depend on agricultural-related activities for income and food for their

livelihood (Ministry of Finance and National Planning, May 2002).

The sector absorbs about 67% of the labour force and remains the main source of

income and employment for most rural women who constitute 65% of the total rural

population (Ministry of finance and National Planning, May 2002; World Development

Report 2000/2001). However, it is estimated that only 14 % of total agricultural land is

currently being utilized. Zambia therefore, has the potential to expand agricultural

production given the vast resource endowment in terms of land, labour and water that

the country possesses. Of Zambia’s total land area of 75 million hectares, 58% is

classified as medium to high potential for agricultural production, with rainfall ranging

from 800 mm to 1400 mm annually.

Table 1: 2010/2011 Crop Forecast Survey Area, Production, Yield, Expected Estimates

Crops: National Small & Medium only Number of hh growing this crop

Area planted

(ha)

Area expected to

be harvested

(ha) Maize

1,274,846

1,311,530

1,058,510 Sorghum

48,139

25,867

21,479 Rice

64,272

33,995

27,496 Finger Millet

113,991

42,597

39,215 Sunflower

84,810

39,638

35,701 Groundnuts

654,585

223,298

208,452 Soyabeans

46,015

20,060

19,029 Seed Cotton

151,650

131,292

124,569 Irish Potatoes

4,143

938

901 Virginia Tobacco

9,087

7,496

7,421 Burley Tobacco

19,961

10,046

9,460 Mixed Beans

190,248

69,923

66,655 Bambara nuts

39,517

5,750

5,621 Cowpeas

8,214

1,942

1,853

Velvet Beans 164

63

63

Coffee 154

29

29

Sweet Potatoes 173,835

45,059

42,941

Other Crops 343

123

123

Paprika 313

81

81

Pineapple 135

64

64

Popcorn 5,357

3,275

2,954

Sugar Cane 288

99

99

Source: Ministry of Agriculture & Livestock and The Central Statistical Office

Despite its potential, the agricultural sector in Zambia has performed below

expectations. One of the factors that have been repeatedly mentioned as responsible

for this dismal performance has to do with the weak linkages between agricultural

researchers, extensionists and the farmers. This and other factors, have led to low

productivity, especially among small-scale farmers.

Extension and information service provision plays an important role in agricultural

development in any country. In recognition of this fact, the Zambian government has,

since independence in 1964, made an effort to establish an effective extension and

information system in the country. The overall objective of this information provision

service is to provide information to farmers so that they can make informed decisions

that will improve their production and productivity in order to reduce poverty through

income generation and food security (Ministry of Agriculture Food and Fisheries,

February 2001). Up until now, the extension-information provision has been done

through person-to-person (farmer-extension officer) contact and mass media. The

extension officers are the front line implementers of the extension system of Ministry of

Agriculture and Livestock (MAL) extension system. However, these officers are few on

the ground, over-stretched and often de-motivated. It is currently estimated that there is

an average of one officer to 1,000 farmers (National Agricultural Information Services,

September 2002). This, coupled with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, has led to radical

reductions in the already small number of person-to-person extension and information

services being offered. Notwithstanding situation, extension officers of the Department

of Agriculture remain a critical link in the information chain between researchers and

farmers.

3.0 Radio and broadcasting services for farmers in Zambia

Zambia has long track-record of providing agricultural information services through the

use of mass media such as radio and television broadcasts and printed materials

including newspapers, in parallel with the mainstream extension services it offers.

Broadcasting services of agricultural radio programs which target local small-scale

farmers were initiated as early as the mid-1960s with financial and technical assistance

from UNESCO. Radio listening groups called ‘Radio Farm Forum Groups” were set up

in rural communities all over the country and farmers were encouraged to listen to the

radio programs with the motto of ‘Listen, Discuss and Act”. Since then, the Zambian

Government has continued to produce agricultural radio programs through NAIS,

although direct assistance of the Government to the listening farmer groups, such as

free provision of radio sets and batteries, has largely been withdrawn. NAIS also

remains engaged in producing agricultural TV programs, publishing of magazines,

newsletters and posters to provide the farming communities as well as other

stakeholders with various kinds of agricultural information.

Figure 1: Basic Element/Components in an Agricultural Extension System

The current extension methodology, known as the Participatory Extension Approach

(PEA), is about the improvement of the information services to the people and the

extension officers in particular.

3.1 Organization of Radio Farm Forums:

To come-up with formidable farmer listening groups, National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) used group dynamics, where farmers were given the chance to decide and form a common interest group (radio listening). These groups were allowed to have a membership of between Ten (10) and Twenty Five (25) of men, women and youths. This number of membership was recommended to enhance good radio listening.

After forming a group, the members were democratically, allowed to chose their executive. The groups were given a radio set by the government, through which they would listen to agricultural programmes and other developmental programmes. The government also provided these groups with batteries on monthly basis. As the communities kept growing, creating more demand for such groups, NAIS officers had the mandate to form new ones in such communities.

The farmer groups were also allowed to propose and choose topics of their felt needs which they wanted to listen to on radio. In the same vein, the farmers were also allowed to discuss a topic of their choice and have it recorded for on-ward delivery to the NAIS HQ for broadcast, so as to allow other farmer groups listen and learn from them.

This worked on the principle of letting farmers listen and learn from their fellow farmers, whom they would easily identify themselves with, instead of listening agricultural specialists only.

3.2 How do Radio Farm Forums work?

The standard process works as follows: At Radio Farm Forum (RFF) level, farmers

gather and listen to agricultural technical information broadcasted via the radio. After the

broadcast, the RFF members discuss the topic which they have listened to and relate it

to their local situation. As a group, they ask each member how well he or she has

understood the broadcast.

After the discussions, farmers fill in a feedback report form, commonly referred to as a

Proceedings and Discussion Report. The main features of this form are: name of the

forum, district, province, date of broadcast, subject/topic of broadcast, main points

raised on the programme, questions raised by members on the subject of broadcast,

decisions taken by members on the subject, actions taken by members on previous

broadcasts, and members’ opinion about the quality of the programme.

After farmers have filled in the Proceedings and Discussion Report form, where

possible, it is handed over to the Camp Agricultural Extension Officer (CAEO) for

onward delivery to the District Agricultural Information Officer (DAIO) who then posts the

discussion report form to the Radio Programme Producer at national level.

Where the agricultural camp is not manned, the farmers have to post the discussion

report themselves or physically deliver the report to the District Agricultural Information

Officer (DAIO).

Once these various radio broadcasts are disseminate to the listening groups, NAIS relies on receiving feedback from the farmers to come up with new information products that answer the concerns of the farmers.

3.3 Drawbacks with the ‘old’ system

This system of communication proved to be time-consuming and costly on the part of

the farmers as in most cases it took more than two months for farmers to give feedback

on the questions that were asked during each broadcast or any other urgent problem

faced by the farmers.

Over the years, NAIS has been gathering agricultural information from different sources for onward delivery to the farming community. The department has also spent many years packaging the information in form of Radio and TV programmes and Print materials.

These information products have been made available to farmers and extension officers in the remote parts of the country. In the meantime, NAIS has continued to receive feed-back from farmers on the programmes aired.

Despite its mandate, NAIS encountered many difficulties in its efforts to efficiently collect and deliver agricultural information from original sources to the end users – information gathering is done by getting the responsible officers travel directly to the sources. Alternatively, information packages are passed on via third party in hard copy.

Information products such as audio cassettes, question and answer feedback forms, publications etc, have been delivered from districts to the Office Headquarters (HQ)

through ordinary postal services and members of staff travelling between the two points. However, these methods have proved costly and entail longer delivery periods.

Moreover, there has been no systemic storage and retrieval system set up for the information NAIS has gathered over these years. Nor has there has been any centralised information access point for farmers and other stakeholders such as extension offices in form of information resource centres.

All the above shortcomings within NAIS have resulted in farmers failing to receive the information they require at the right time and in the right format.

4.0 Establishment of the ICTs project in NAIS

Following the Siavonga Roundtable discussions in October 2002 in Zambia, the

National Agricultural Information Services (NAIS) came up with the idea of setting up

Farmer Information Centres. However, during discussions between NAIS and various

stakeholders, it was realised that though the setting up of information centres was

important, these would not be workable without NAIS headquarters information

coordination being;

a) Efficient- Reducing duplication of efforts by the sections under NAIS (Press and

Public Relations, Publications and Broadcasting) and;

b) Effective- Ensuring that agricultural messages are consistent and reinforcing

across sections under NAIS.

Furthermore, recent studies done by NAIS with the support from Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA), on its information services and programming have

indicated a clear need to strengthen information provision at district level.

Therefore it was agreed that the idea should move away from setting up rural

information centres to strengthening NAIS HQ and district level offices and staff, and

building on the existing NAIS and agricultural structures to ensure improved collection

and dissemination of required information to and from farmers and extension staff. This

entailed;

i) Streamlining the information flow among NAIS sections and other MAL

departments;

ii) Improving the coordination of information activities and;

iii) Enhancing the ability of NAIS to collect, process, and disseminate information

to and from farmers and other sector stakeholders;

Strengthening the ability of NAIS to provide information to the agricultural community,

especially extension workers and farmers, is important because agriculture is currently

the mainstay of the Zambian economy and its growth will in turn help in poverty

reduction.

4.1 Objectives

4.1.1 Development objective The development objective is to improve small-scale farmers’ livelihoods in agriculture

by improving the flow of information between researchers, extension providers, service

providers and farmers. This should lead to increased food production and crop exports,

which in turn will result in improved food security and higher agricultural incomes at

household level among the small-scale farmers.

Through the improved information flow within the NAIS and between the original

sources of information and the end users, the project will also contribute to two United

Nations Millennium Goals on poverty and the environment, namely:

On poverty, to reduce by 50% the number of the people whose income is less

than one dollar per day and consequently to reduce by 50% the number of

people who suffer from hunger by the year 2015

On the environment, to integrate the principles of sustainable development into

the country’s agricultural policies and programmes; the project will lead to

reduced processes of environmental degradation due to improved soil and water

management, safer use of pesticides and less indiscriminate cutting down of

trees.

4.2 Overall objectives The project objective is to improve information flow within the NAIS and the flow of

agricultural information between sources and end users by increasing the efficiency of

the NAIS to gather, process, store, package and disseminate information in order to

increase farmers’ productivity.

4.2.1 Specific objectives are: 1. Improve information flow within the NAIS

2. Strengthen linkages between agricultural researchers, extension officers, farmers

and other stakeholders;

3. Increase the capacity of the NAIS to collect, process, package, store and

disseminate agricultural information;

4. Increase capacity of the NAIS to publish in more accurate and appropriate

formats.

5.0 Achievements The achievements of the project during the pilot phase of implementation will now be

discussed within the context of the four main components;

5.1 Component 1: Hardware The project managed to procure and install all the ICT equipment. This equipment

include four desktop computers for the Head Office in Lusaka and three desktop

computers for the district offices in Kasama, along with two scanners, two Laser jet

printers, two digital recorders, two digital cameras, one LCD projector, one Modem,

software programmes and other accessories. The project also managed to install a

VSAT in Kasama. Additional computers have subsequently been procured by the NAIS

in order to ensure that each and every technical officer in the department has a work

station.

5.2 Component 2: Mainstreaming of Project Activities in NAIS A number of activities were undertaken in order to mainstream some of the project

activities within NAIS so that they become part and parcel of NAIS’ daily office routine.

In addition to the computers that were procured through the project, the NAIS has

continued procuring computers for its members of staff to the extent that every producer

has his/her own work-station. Focus group meetings and workshops were also held in

order to create awareness in NAIS and MAL of the benefits that ICTs can bring. A

number of training courses on the use of ICTs were also conducted to boost the skills of

NAIS staff. One very positive development is that the Ministry of Agriculture and

Livestock, through the NAIS, has now incorporated the cost the ICT equipment in its

annual budget. In addition, the NAIS project has also managed to set up an ICT

Steering Committee jointly with the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI).

5.3 Component 3: Information Management This component of the project aimed at improving the NAIS information management

system, particularly processing and re-packaging information coming from research

institutions and other sources so that it could be easily accessed and used by extension

officers and end users. The first step involved establishing formal linkages with some of

the key organizations in the sector, such as the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute

(ZARI), the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU), and the Swedish Cooperative

Centre (SCC), extension staff, CTA, WREN media, and others. The project also

improved information flows internally within NAIS, notably between NAIS office in

Lusaka and NAIS’ Kasama offices.

5.4 Component 4: Information Sharing The project tremendously improved NAIS’ information management system, particularly

in processing and re-packaging information coming from research and other sources to

extension and end-users by:

Establishment of formal linkages with the ZARI, Department of Veterinary and

Livestock Development (DVLD), ZNFU, SCC, Radio Mano (Kasama), extension

officers and four farmers’ groups in Kasama.

Managing to send and receive relevant information between the NAIS offices in

Kasama and Lusaka in form of Discussion reports, booklets, books and

electronic messages.

Creating a database and storing information using the Win SCP information

storage system.

On a quarterly basis, monitoring and evaluating project performance through

planning and review meetings in the project sites.

6.0 Activities that were not achieved Despite scoring all of the above achievements, the project fell short of successfully

attaining the following activities:

Capturing audio information from farmers and agricultural technology specialists

by the DAIO and information officers at HQ using audio recording machine for

localized transmission on Radio Mano, a community station in Kasama. This was

not successfully achieved partly because of the cost of airtime. However,

arrangements are underway to involve the local stakeholders in finding ways to

share the costs.

Timely responses to questions and feedback coming from farmers and other

stakeholders. The continued sending of discussion reports and the airing of radio

programmes from Lusaka made it difficult to quickly address the needs of the

farmers in the pilot area since the producers at HQ had to also satisfy the needs

of all the farmers.

Finding support to implement and maintain the project. This activity was not

adequately addressed in the sense that much as many policy-makers have been

convinced of the project’s potential and resources needed to implement it, no

single donor has expressed willingness to support and help maintain the project.

7.0 Constraints Although the project had greater achievements in meeting the objectives, a number

of constraints resulted in it not reaching some of its desired objectives. Some of

these constraints included:

Delays in procuring project equipment and implementation through the

sluggish government procurement system.

Slow and frequent breakdown of the internet connection in Lusaka and

Kasama.

Lack of experience within the NAIS and among Subject Matter Specialists in

the use of ICTs slowed down progress on improving information flow.

Omission of a budget line for the cost of production and broadcasting radio

programmes through the community radio station (Radio Mano) based in

Kasama.

8.0 Proposed Future activities The project has continued pursuing the same overall and specific objectives as stated

above. In addition to achieving most of the unfulfilled activities, the project has identified

the following issues that will require attention in the future:

Identify stakeholders in Kasama and other towns where community radio stations

exist who can support the production and broadcasting of agricultural

programmes on community radio stations.

Explore the possibility of using mobile phones in the create feedback mechanism

that would shorten the flow of information between farmers, extension workers

and researchers.

Improve the rural information centres in the four pilot areas of Kasama.

Improve the process of sending and receiving relevant information between

Kasama and Lusaka.

Increase on the number partners in the project.

Continue monitoring the performance and impact of the project, particularly how

it is helping to improve the livelihoods of the farmers in the pilot areas.

Provide computer and Internet connectivity to the Provincial Agricultural

Information Officer (PAIO) who is a supervisor to the DAIO so that he or she is

regularly updated about the project.

9.0 Justification for the extension of the project The reasons for the proposal to extend the funding period of the project are as follows:

(1) Smallholder farmers in the project area and the rest of the country are not getting

feedback on time.

(2) The number of smallholder farmers owning mobile phones in Zambia has

continued to grow over the years.

(3) The project has not adequately developed an information store tool. The current

one needs to be fully developed and supported by all officers who are still

learning how to use the facility.

(4) More awareness on the use of ICTs in NAIS and MAL needs to be created

through more seminars and brochures.

(5) Established formal linkages between ZARI, NAIS, Extension and Farmers

through which information has been exchanged for the benefit of the end users

needs to be strengthened.

(6) The internet slowness and subsequent breakdown in connectivity hampered the

project implementation.

(7) The project has finally developed an Internet based platform feedback

mechanism using the mobile phone that would improve the flow of information

between farmers, researchers, extension officers and NAIS.

(8) The project has embarked on the programmes of incorporating other

stakeholders through partnerships that would help support and maintain the

project in the future.

(9) The project has put in place modalities that would enable timely responses to

questions and feedback coming from the farmers and other stakeholders.

Through the use of ICTs, NAIS has been able to gather, process, package, store and disseminate information between research, extension officers, farmers and other stakeholders – thereby strengthening the linkages between them. Information products have continued to be collected and delivered online from the original sources to the end- users – both on time and in the appropriate formats.

Through this project, NAIS has ensured that agricultural information products are processed and stored using appropriate ICTs (for example, CD-ROM, Database, etc).

Using ICTs, NAIS members of staff are now be able to research for agricultural information technologies that are or may not be available locally.

10.0 Phase II of the project – SMS Internet Based Platform

In today’s world, information and communication technology (ICT) contributes to many

innovations. However, and perhaps more importantly, it challenges all of us to think out

of the box in order to come up with new, fast and effective ways to get hold of the

information we need to stabilize, and even enhance, our livelihoods. The SMS system

deployed by NAIS and developed by SMSize, with support from IICD, is an excellent

example of this. It is an eloquent solution to an age-old problem: namely, getting timely

and accurate information and advice to farmers and extension workers in the rural areas

in their own local languages.

As mentioned earlier, despite its potential, the agricultural sector in Zambia continues to

perform below expectations. One of the factors that has been repeatedly mentioned as

responsible for this dismal performance has been the weak linkages between

agricultural researchers, extension officers and farmers, as all the groups tend to

operate in relative isolation.

However, this could gradually become a thing of the past as Zambian farmers are now

starting to use their mobile phones to send questions about the day-to-day problems

they face in carrying out their farming activities to the relevant experts and in turn,

receive answers to their questions – in their own local languages - within the shortest

time possible. An undertaking which in the past, could take weeks, or might not be

realised at all.

10.1 The growth of Zambia’s mobile phone service

One sub sector that has grown by leaps and bounds is the mobile phone service. In the late 1990s when the cell phone ‘craze’ invaded Zambia, having a mobile phone was a sign of affluence and sophistication. Today, things have changed with almost every third person you meet on the street ‘brandishing’ a phone. Mobile phone subscribers currently number around 5 million (with Airtel Zambia, the country’s leading mobile provider accounting for 3 million. Airtel is a leading telecommunications mobile operator servicing over 50 million customers in 22 countries across the Middle East and Africa, creating the world’s first borderless mobile service (dubbed ‘One Network’) across two continents. The company operates in all the 72 districts of the country, a feat yet to be matched. MTN, the second largest mobile phone service provider (dubbed the fastest growing) is also a force to reckon with, currently expanding its network to rope in more subscribers while Zamtel in the recent past signed a multi-million dollar contract with ZTE of China to expand its GSM network. With financial and technical support from the International Institute of Communication

for Development (IICD), the department of National Agricultural Information Services

(NAIS) has developed an Internet-based platform where farmers are able to use mobile

phones and send questions on the most pressing problems they are faced with in their

farming activities to NAIS and receive appropriate answers within the shortest time

possible.

This SMsize platform allows farmers to send their questions on mobile phones in form

of SMS messages to the platform and receive answers to their questions.

The platform will be accessed by NAIS programme producers and agricultural

specialists and other identified stakeholders so as to give appropriate answers to the

farmers’ questions.

Now that the platform has been finalized and is operational, the system will help

improve the feedback system between farmers, programme producers and the

agricultural specialists in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock and other relevant

agricultural institutions in the country.

10.2 How the platform works

Using their mobile phones, farmers need to do the following: Go into the message pad and type NAIS, language code leave space, ask your question and send to 3009.

Apart from English, farmers will be able to use the service in all the seven major local languages namely Bemba, Kaonde, Lunda, Luvale, Lozi, Nyanja and Tonga.

The language codes are EN for English, BE for Bemba, KA for Kaonde, LU for Lunda, LV for Luvale, NY for Nyanja, LO for Lozi and TO for Tonga. Codes can be sent either in capital letters or small letters.

The system is currently only available to Airtel subscribers; however, the system will be available to all networks in due course.

Each SMS on the system costs 900 Zambian Kwacha (US$ 0.18) and this will reduce

the current expenses farmers are incurring to post or send their discussion report forms

for possible solutions to their farming problems.

However, this SMS cost of K900 is on the higher side and initiatives by the department have been made to request the Zambia Information and Communications Technology Authority (ZICTA) help waiver this rate by allocating NAIS with a short-code so as to enable more farmers have easy and cheaper access to the platform.

Figure 2: Screen shot of the SMS Platform Figure 3: Screen shot of the inbox of the platform

10.3 Piloting the SMS messaging platform

The platform has been tried out with farmers’ groups in Kasama district of Northern

Province of Zambia (pilot area) located about 900 Km from Lusaka.

Farmers were happy with the new platform and they see it as a tool that will help them

bridge the existing disconnect between them and agricultural experts.

The SMsize platform was in October 2011, introduced and demonstrated to the

Permanent Secretary and all the Directors in the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock.

The idea behind this demonstration was to create awareness and allow policy makers in

the ministry see how it works and so as to have management buy-in.

Management was excited with this system and the Permanent Secretary feels that the

system has been developed at the right time, as his Ministry is currently faced with a

serious challenge of having to deal with an extreme shortage of frontline extension

officers. The Ministry has therefore, promised to support the project by lobbing for

cheaper rates for farmers to send their SMSs, which are currently pegged at K900.00

(US$ 0.18); a high price which would prove unsustainable for farmers to continue

paying in the long term.

The combination of traditional and modern ICT in the NAIS project, specifically radio

and SMS messaging, makes for a compelling argument to use both these powerful

technologies. In so doing, it has served as an inspiring example for farmers and

extension workers throughout the country. The information requests that NAIS receives

from Zambia’s farmers enables the NAIS radio broadcasters to track and trace the

questions that are coming up regularly, and see clearly what is happening in agriculture

and rural development in different parts of the country at any fixed moment in time. This

is another added benefit of the NAIS SMS-messaging system. An added benefit is that

“frequently asked questions” can later be used to determine the themes of the radio

programmes that NAIS broadcasts, and ultimately contribute to agricultural research.

This ICT initiative illustrates how ICT can be easily adapted and fine-tuned to respond to

the needs of the farmer. Therefore, let us learn from NAIS’s experiences - from the

successes and challenges along the way - so that all of us who work in agriculture can

begin using ICT as a catalyst to achieve our own development goals in the agricultural

sector.

11.0 Government support is key.

Nevertheless, for systems like these to succeed and be sustained they need the support

of government. The Zambian government is therefore in the best position to take the

lead in this initiative and drive it forward. We have therefore request ZICTA to consider

waiving the fees for this particular programme so that information is no longer a cost

factor for the target groups; small-scale farmers.

The beauty of ICT is that it can assist in achieving development goals on an

unprecedented scale, quickly and cost-effectively. We therefore urge you to join us in

exploring ways in which ICT can further accelerate development in the agriculture

sector. It is our fervent hope that decision-makers and policy-makers will come to

realize the lasting benefits that ICT-enabled development can bring. Today we get a

glimpse of how ICT can be used – simply and effectively – to assist Zambia’s farmers.

12.0 Conclusion

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are a key input for economic

development and growth as they offer opportunities for national and global integration

while retaining the identity of our traditional societies.

In the agricultural sector, ICTs are beginning to increase the economic and social well-

being of some smallholder farmers, individuals and communities.

With the introduction and better use of ICTs in the agricultural and fisheries sectors, we

will enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and transparency of the public sector service

delivery.

Studies undertaken by the Ministry under the Department of National Agricultural

Information Services provide a useful framework for clustering ICTs interventions in the

agricultural sector in terms of their relationship with different aspects of the problem of

rural poverty, poor agricultural sector performance, low productivity and low farm

incomes.

As a sector, we call for enhanced public private partnership initiatives in promotion of

ICTs in all agricultural sub-sectors to address issues of improving knowledge flows and

policy environment in the sector.

This will increase the economic viability of farm enterprises by increasing profitable

market access and production efficiency, increasing the political empowerment and

social inclusion of rural communities.

Finally, I wish to reiterate that Zambia cannot afford to lag behind in the use of ICTs in agriculture. It is my sincere belief that the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock in Zambia will continue to support ICT initiatives aimed at facilitating growth in the agricultural sector.

Let us all work together to explore ITC uses in agriculture further and use it to bring us

closer to achieving food security, a greener economy, and economic success.

“Investment in agricultural ICTs, is investment in the country’s economy”.

References:

1. IICD, project proposal (2006) Strengthening the agricultural information flow and dissemination system of the national Agricultural Information Services in Zambia: The Hague.

2. Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (April 2004) Agriculture and Cooperatives final draft policy, Lusaka: Zambia.

3. Rural information services, (1986) Annual report, Ministry of and Water Development, Lusaka, Zambia.

4. Information and Communication Technologies Act No.15 of 2009 5. The Central Statistics Office of Zambia (2010) 6. Welcome to Zambia Agriculture Research Institute, Researching Soils,

Crops and Water in Zambia. http://www.zari.gov.zm

7. Millennium Development Goals http://www.developmentgoals.org/index.html

8. Clare O’Farrell, Pat Norrish and Nigel Scott, (1999) ICTs for Sustainable Livelihoods,

http://www.rdg.ac.uk/irdd

9. Simon Batchelor and Clare O’Farrell, (March 2009) Revisiting the “Magic Box” – Guiding principles for ICT interventions.

http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y5106e/y5106e05.htm

Contact Information:

Names: Darlington Kahilu

Organization: National Agricultural Information Services

Address: P.O. Box 50698, Lusaka, Zambia.

Tel: +260 211 250010 Mobile: +260 977 789723

Fax: +260 211 251007

Email: dakahilu@yahoo.co.uk or dakahilu@gmail.com