Adoption of Web24Dev tools in e-extension project in Kenya

Speaker: Stephen Kibet Rono,Information Management Officer, AIRC

State Department of Agriculture, MOALF, Kenya.

Agricultural Information Resource Centre

About : AIRC

• AIRC is a division in the state department of Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MOAL&F)

• Our Mandate:• Acquiring, repackaging and

disseminating of agricultural information using different platforms.

AIRC Conferencing charges (1USD = KSH 85)

AIRC conference facilities

Item USD

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Bed breakfast $19

Day meals (lunch and 2 teas) $12

½ Board (bed, dinner and breakfast) $26.5

Boarding only (no meals)

Single occupancy (per head) $14

Double occupancy (per head) $ 12

Hire of seminar room/day

Big (upto 35-50 pax) $35

Small (12 pax) $24

Dining hall $82

Hire of equipment

LCD projector $ 48

LCD and laptop $ 94

The agriculture sector in Kenya

Fact file:

• Agriculture is the mainstay of the Kenyan economy, contributing 2 % of the GDP directly and another 27 % indirectly annually.

• The sector accounts for 65 % of the country’s total exports and provides more than 60% of informal employment in the rural areas.

• In the Kenya vision 2030 It is expected to deliver an annual economic growth rate of 10%

Agricultural Extension Service in Kenya

Cont.

• The agricultural sector extension service plays a vital role in the sharing of knowledge, technologies, agricultural information and linking the farmer to other actors in the economy.

• The main challenge facing extension services is the low staff: farmer ratio.

• The public extension service adapted the demand driven, common interest groups (CIG) approach.

Use of ICT in Agriculture – e-extension approach

Mitigation:

• The MOA has embraced the use of e-extension to provide a platform to efficiently and effectively share agricultural information to the stakeholders in the sector.

• E-Extension will involve use of mobile phone platform (e.g bulk SMS services) and the internet (e.g Web24dev and social media) – as a way of communicating with stakeholders.

• Creation of Partnership with other stakeholders in development of content, capacity

Embracing new technology and innovations

E-Agriculture apps

• Precision Agriculture– Use ICT to obtain more precise information

about agricultural resources and planning

• E-Commerce– Use the internet to access information on

commodity prices, inputs etc and undertake web-based transactions.

• Agricultural Information Exchange and Communication - E-Extension– Efficient/effective delivery of agricultural

information and knowledge services.

Application of E-Extension tools

Challenges

• Inadequate staff/farmer access to ICT infrastructure and facilities

• Absence of appropriate skills among extension staff, farmers and other stakeholders in agriculture

• Inadequate presence and use of online agricultural repositories

• Lack of adequate/accessible local extension content in appropriate digital format

Five key drivers on the use of ICT in agriculture

Drivers of ICT in Agriculture

1. Low-cost and pervasive connectivity,

2. Availability of Adaptable and more affordable ICT tools,

3. Advances in data storage and exchange,

4. Innovative business models (e.g. MPESA and other partnerships)

5. The democratization of information, including the open access movement and social media.

Mobile and internet usage in Kenya (source CCK 2013)

Mobile and internet usage in Kenya

– Mobile phone subscribers = over 30 million, – Mobile penetration = 77%.– Access to internet services = 41.6 % – Internet subscriptions 9.6 million– Estimated number of internet users 16.4

million • The increased demand for data/internet services

enhanced by increased access via mobile phones (which is the most preferred medium for accessing social media by the youthful population).

Bandwidth utilization – source:CCK 2013

Existing Internet Bandwidth potential

• There are Five Major international internet bandwidth providers namely SEACOM, TEAMS, EASSY, LION2 and VSAT

• Total bandwidth capacity = 921,319 Mbps • Actual utilisation = about a third - (33.4%) or 307,307

Mbps • Substantial bandwidth capacity is yet to be exploited.• Investment in the data/internet market has risen from

Ksh 830 million to over Ksh. 26 billion in 2011.• The growth in international bandwidth indicates the

increased demand for data services as witnessed in the growth of internet usage in the country.

(Source CCK 2013)

Application of ICT4Ag in Kenya

Opportunities

• Use of bulk SMS and the internet by the Over-stretched extension staff to reach more farmers.

• Packages can be designed to be highly interactive and captivating- with photos, videos, illustrations etc.

• Improved ability to search, access & share knowledge and skills on farming technologies

• Reduced costs on extension and training and optimized use of resources

• Enhanced management of programs and projects using open source tools.

End of part 1

The e-Extension Project

Part 2

Objectives, Outputs and activities.

About the e-Extension project

• Project title: “E-Extension Project for Enhanced Agricultural productivity and Food Security”

• Implementation Period: 2013 - 2016 Financial Year

• Overall objective: is “to improve extension service delivery through cheap and effective transmission of agricultural information and technology across the value chain”.

• Has 3 main outputs

Equip Information desks with ICT facilities and equipment for internet and mobile Access

Output No. 1

• Provision of the following tools/capacity– Shock proof Laptop computers – USB 3G Modem and data bundle– Smartphone with airtime– Training of trainers on application of

ICT in agriculture extension.

Staff Trained on application of E- Extension at county, Sub County and Ward Level.

Output 2

• The e-extension curriculum

1. Module 1: E-Extension In Agriculture Concept

2. Module 2: Introduction to ICT Management

3. Module 3: Smart Phone Use And Management

4. Module 4: Web24dev In Agriculture

5. Module 5: Information Management Resource Kit (IMARK)

6. Module 6: Accessing Online E Resources AGORA, OARE, others

7. Module 8: Agricultural Information Platforms

8. Module 9: Information Security

Farmers trained through e extension

Output 3

Application of ICT4Ag in agricultural extension – Information sourcing and packaging from e

resources.– Information dissemination to farmers by use

of short text message and email– Responding to e mails, calls and short text

messages from farmers. – Farmers training on accessing information

from e-extension platforms

Activities: Output 1

E-extension project

1. Equip Information desks with ICT facilities and equipment for internet Access

2. Training of field officers on operation and Maintenance of ICT facilities and equipment.

Activities: Output 2

1. Develop training curriculum and Manual for e extension

2. Conduct training of trainers workshops3. Train County Staff on e- extension4. Train Sub County Staff on e-extension5. Train Ward Staff on e- extension

Activities ; output 3 (including indicators)

Cont.

1. Information sourcing and packaging from e resources - 6,000 information products per year

2. Information dissemination to farmers by use of short text message - 600,000 farmers per year

3.  Information dissemination to farmers by use of e mail - 60,000 farmers per year

4.  Responding to e mails, calls and short text messages from farmers. 60,000 responses per year

5.  Farmers training on accessing information from e-extension platforms - 60,000 farmers per year

Summary of other indicators

Objectively verifiable indicators

GOALS:• Increased Agricultural Productivity by 2%• Increased Farm income by 0.5%• Increased extension coverage 20%

OUTPUTS:• 1450 Information desks equipped • 3,000 Extension Staff trained • 720,000 farmers per year

E-extension curriculum & manual developed:

Achievements of e-extension as at 6/2013

• Was developed by AIRC and the extension division of the MOA

• Development of the manual relied on skills acquired during web 2.0 learning opportunities organized by CTA at AIRC and Moi University.

• Manual was Pre-tested in staff training workshops

Staff training and capacity development

Cont

• 67 frontline extension officers trained in the months of April and June 2013.

• After the training the pax were issued with a total of 600 shock-proof Mecer laptops and smart phones.

TOT workshop on web24dev undertaken

Cont.

• Objective: To develop the skills of e-extension training unit to facilitate in the training and backstopping of frontline staff on web24Dev in agriculture.

• Achievements: A total of 23 staff drawn from the MOA HQ, KEPHIS, ASDSP and AIRC were trained on web 2.0 TOT on 10th to 14th June 2013 by a team from Moi University supported by CTA.

• Facilitation cost was met by the GOK.

wayforward

Conclusion

• The majority of farmers in Kenya now have mobile phones or access to internet which means that the e-extension project can provide them with:– Information using text messages, blogs

and for those with smart phones – information on the Internet.

– Extension staff will reach large numbers of farmers using bulk SMS.

– Farmers will communicate directly with extension staff.

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

.End of Presentation