Presented as part of the seminar: Can mobile phones improve agricultural productivity, resilience and food security?
29th May 2012, 08.30 – 12.30
Hörsalen, Sida, Valhallavägen 199, Stockholm
Theresa Stanton, Zambia Country Manager, IICD
This presentation shares IICD’s experiences of working with agricultural institutions and farmers associations in Zambia for the last 10 years. We will focus in particular on an SMS-messaging platform for farmers launched in 2011 and developed with our technical and financial support, by the National Agricultural Information Service (NAIS) of Zambia. NAIS is mandated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MACO) to disseminate agricultural information through a variety of media (radio, television, newsletters) to all players in the sector, especially the rural communities. We also show the important role that partnerships play in strengthening and ultimately up-scaling programmes and activities. For example, a Memorandum of Understanding between IICD and the Ministry for Youth and Sport in Zambia resulted in the deployment of capacity building and ICT equipment to 10 of Zambia’s Youth Resource Centres. In addition, staff members of the Zambian Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI) built up their ICT capacities which enabled them to apply for and obtain a million-dollar research grant from an American foundation.
The associated presentation slides can be found under Related documents.