Transcript Grameen Technology Center APPLAB -Mobile Technology Innovation Communication Technologies as an Effective Tool for Dissemination of Information. “ The CKW Model “ Annette Bogere Grameen Foundation www.applab.org.

Grameen Technology Center
APPLAB -Mobile Technology Innovation
Communication Technologies as an Effective Tool for
Dissemination of Information.
“ The CKW Model “
Annette Bogere
Grameen Foundation
www.applab.org
Grameen Technology Center
APPLAB -Mobile Technology Innovation
• Grameen Over view
• The CKW model Existing Gaps in the Ag.
Sector
• Project Purpose
• Effectiveness of the
Mobile Phone
• Conclusion
Overview of Grameen Foundation (GF)
Our Mission: To enable the poor, especially the poorest, to
create a world without poverty
Microfinance
• Unleashed $145 million to create
800,000 microloans
• Aided 45 million people in 30 countries
350,000 MF
clients served on
open MIS
Headquarters: Washington, DC
Grameen Technology Center: Seattle, WA
Technology
• Village Phone in 7 countries with over
25,000 businesses
• 5 mobile applications w/heavy usage
Asia Offices: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Philippines
Africa Offices: Ghana
3
GF’s approach to fighting poverty
+
MICROFINANCE
TECHNOLOGY
= large scale impact
• Championing initiatives that reach the most
neglected groups
• Using technology to scale sustainable business
opportunities
• Empowering the poor to help themselves
© Grameen Foundation 2009
THE CKW MODEL
A distributed network of village-level
intermediaries equipped with mobile phones
and a suite of relevant applications to:
• Provide on-demand information to
smallholder farmers
• Collect data to a range of agricultural actors,
including government agencies, commercial
buyers, and research organizations.
5
THE CKW MODEL
Who is a Community Knowledge Worker(CKW)?
These are local intermediaries serving farmers
who lack basic access to up-to-date
information on best farming practices, market
conditions, pest and disease control, weather
forecasts, and a range of other issues.
6
The Community Knowledge Worker Model
Create a network of trusted intermediaries trained to use
mobile devices to disseminate information for the benefit of
the small-holder farmers and to collect data in rural
communities in a cost effective manner
Problem
Poor information flows result in
market inefficiencies, bordering
on “market failures,” that
significantly limit productivity
and revenue of smallholder
farmers
GF’s Approach
Anticipated Impact
A distributed network of CKWs
can effectively use mobile
devices to collect and
disseminate agricultural
information in a sustainable
and scalable manner to
improve the livelihoods of
small-holder farmers
- Improved access to
information will lead to uptake
of agricultural techniques and
improved market integration for
SHF
Why CKWs?
CKWs can overcome the “Last Kilometer Problem” and
increase the flow of information both into and out of rural
areas
- Data collected by CKWs will
enable Govt./NGOs to better
tailor their Ag outreach
Existing Gaps in the Ag. Sector
• High pressure on soil, requires effective
extension
• Poor infrastructures and high transportation
costs
• Lack of appropriate incentives and limited
monitoring capacity
8
Existing Gaps in the Ag. Sector cont’d
• Disconnect between researchers and farmers
• Lack of effective and affordable
communication systems
• Costly and infrequent data collection
• Poor data analysis mechanisms
9
Purpose of the Project
• Empower the small holder farmers improve
productivity and increase incomes:
• By responding to information
challenges/gaps which affect value chain
development.
• The mobile phone as the major medium of
information transmission.
10
Beneficiaries
• Community
Knowledge Workers
• Farmers
• Institutions
(Government researchers,
development partners,
Private companies etc)
11
How effective is the Mobile phone
We tested the concept in a pilot project for
over 18 months.
• 6000 surveys
• 14,000 interactions
with farmers
and farmer institutions
12
Increased Efficiency of Existing
Extension Efforts
• Improved breadth, depth, quality and
timeliness of information provided to farmers
due to digital nature and scalability of mobile
content
• Cost savings through provision of follow-up
contact and market information through
mobile phones and decreased travel needs
13
Increased Efficiency of Existing
Extension Efforts
• Ability to provide targeted information
designed to address specific needs
• Enhanced capability to educate farmers at the
time of their choosing through on-demand
content
• Ability to update information dynamically and
in real-time as situations evolve and farmer
feedback is received
14
Impact Realized as a Result of Data Collection
• Provides the opportunity to give feedback on
support programs provided
• Ability to express the “Voice of the Farmer” to
those working in the agriculture sector to
meet smallholder needs
• Provides accelerated response for disease
detection, expected crop yield and other
matters affecting farmers across the country
15
Information types
• Markets and Market prices
• Crops and animals
• Business directories
• Weather and seasonal patterns
• Customised information for partners
• Mobile Surveys
16
Conclusion
• With over 25% mobile phone penetration in Uganda,
we cant afford to ignore the role of mobile phones in
supporting the agricultural sector.
• The existing technology platforms support
development of smart applications that compliment
extension services while providing information to and
from.
• The Mobile phone is a great device but still needs the
support of an organised network as well as special
applications to disseminate and collect complex
information at the moment.
17
Thank you for
Listening
The End
18
BACKUPS
19
Examples of Grameen Deployments
20
Grameen in the press
“A banana farmer previously limited to waiting for a buyer truck to pass his farm
to sell the week’s harvest can now use a mobile-phone marketplace to publicize
the availability of his stock or to search for buyers who might be in the market
or have truck transport available to a larger market,” said Cantor. “They can also
compare going prices to gain more power in a negotiation. Teenagers too shy to
ask parents about causes and symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases can
research them privately and improve their own health outcomes. A farmer with
no money who needs a remedy for the pest attacking her primary crop can find
one that uses locally available materials, when they need it.”
- Thomas Friedman, New York Times, 8/15/2009
“That's the key feature of this approach to development: It takes
advantage of the technology already in people's hands and extends it to
the point where a simple device taps the power of the Internet.
-Bryan Wright, NPR’s All Tech Considered, 6/29/2009
21
Grameen in the press
“The Grameen Foundation, Google, and the South African cell phone company
MTN came together to launch a service that will provide farmers with local
weather forecasts and farming tips, along with other useful information like
health advice.”
“Innovations like these are a crucial piece of what must be a comprehensive
approach to agriculture, one that connects the tools developed in labs like this
to the fields where the farmers are every day, the markets where the crops are
bought and sold, the financial institutions where farmers access credit to invest
in new seeds, fertilizer, equipment, and the classrooms where they can learn to
grow more food with less labor and less water.”
-
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, speaking at
the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute, 8/5/2009
22
23