Data out, knowledge in: - dumb and smart phones for research and extension delivery in smallholder farming systems

Data out, knowledge in - dumb and smart phones for research and extension delivery in smallholder farming systems

TechTalk for AgricultureSander MuilermanInternational Institute of Tropical Agriculture

A member of CGIAR consortium www.iita.org

An international non-profit R4D organization (1967) for the development of agriculture.

Mission to reduce producer and consumer risks, enhance crop quality and productivity, and generate wealth from agriculture.

R4D activities reach ~85% of national systems in Africa.

Partners include national and international institutes, NGOs, academia, and the private sector.

IITA

A member of CGIAR consortium

Part of the CGIAR consortiumGlobal research partnership unites 15 organizations engaged in research for sustainable development

www.iita.org


Proven low-tech technology Accepted and appropriate technology Clear scientific conventions on good practice Fail-safe even in the most remote areas Paper trail

However, several drawbacks:

Complex logistics, no corrections once printed, managing unexpected outcomes, data latency, minimal economies of scale, cost and HR for data entry, field management and data quality management…

Agricultural researchers like paper questionnaires


Digital surveys: answer the question on the screen


Skipping, conditionality, branching and live updates/corrections Use previous answers in new questions (or for calculations) Innovative mixed methods research (audio, photo, video…) No catastrophic data loss, no data latency, high reliability Easier field staff management, even with multiple surveys, and more

quality checks with data range & type enforcement Mobile phones today are accepted technology in rural areas, works on

any phone/tablet and is completely offline Instantly make data available also to stakeholders/Apps Anyone with a phone can collect data, ‘citizen enumerators’ Smart phones have more sensors (GPS, QR, barcodes, …) Often more cost efficient (less logistics and no data entry) Real-time and online (distant) management

Digital data collection tools enhance research process

General survey research: Mobenzi Researcher Control the research process via a Web Console Very simple to deploy Powerful set of tools Used for several

mixed-methods surveys in the most rural areas of Ghana

Examples of mobile data collection systems in IITA

A member of CGIAR consortium

Examples of mobile data collection systems in IITA Sustainable Tree Crops Programme – Côte d’Ivoire SMS training session reports SMS seed brokerage system SMS mass alert message

www.iita.org

Examples of mobile data collection systems in IITA Development of Commercial Farmer Information System Use of mobile data collection system Designed for traceability and certification of cocoa Management info for OLAM (large agrodealer) Sustainability info for cocoa certifiers and clients Research data on cocoa farming for IITA researchers Unique data, large sample Mutually beneficial


Examples of mobile data collection systems in IITA Complex household surveys:

Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing with Total control by researcher on a laptop computer Use of ruggedized tablets for data collection by enumerators Successfully used for several surveys in Nigeria


Examples: making data/knowledge work for farmers Community Knowledge Worker – Grameen Foundation

Development of banana and cocoa farming content for ‘last-mile extension delivery’ in Uganda and Ghana (and beyond).

An additional layer of extension delivery at the community level, makes basic extension information available 24/7 through smart phones. Designed to support national extension, it can be operated by local entrepreneurs as a ‘business-out-of-a-box’.


Examples: making data/ knowledge work for farmers DEWN (Tanzania) ‘Digital Early

Warning Network’ Farmer groups compiled and sent in

monthly disease reports on cassava mosaic disease and cassava brown streak disease using text messages on basic GSM phones.

DEWN has provided an innovative, informative, and relatively cheap means for involving communities in monitoring the health of their own crops.


Examples: making data/knowledge work for farmers Combining data collection and extension delivery:

CKW on banana diseases, with direct expert follow-up Mobile phones provide information on how to recognize and

control banana diseases (using CKW system) In exchange data was collected on demographics, awareness,

disease presence and GPS coordinates. If suspicious diseases reported a visit by research and extension

staff would follow (IITA/NARO) Highly efficient in terms of cost, HR and impact. 2991 surveys in 2 months 38 Community Knowledge Workers trained Awareness raised with 3000+ farmers

Scientific Animations Without Borders Creates and deploys educational animations on cell phones for

those who can’t read. On ‘SusdeViki’ site: 300+ educational materials related to agriculture and life sciences, marketplace literacy and women’s empowerment. Most of these materials are animated videos.

Examples: making data/knowledge work for farmers

How can we enhance the collaboration between Research for Development (R4D) and ICT4Ag? Combining data collection efforts? Development of content? Development of applications? How to partner? …

Lessons learned? Understand the need of the researcher and of the farmer Plan it well It is all about the quality of the intervention

& the appropriateness of the technology Mobile phone extension delivery has to be an add-on to other

farmer training and support.


THANK YOU

Technology

Data out, knowledge in: - dumb and smart phones for research and extension delivery in smallholder farming systems