Lifelong Learning for Farmers is a COL initiative aimed at giving farmers easier access to the information and knowledge that could improve their livelihoods. Officially launched in December 2004 in two rural areas in South India, the programme already has many successes to celebrate.
The need for an initiative like Lifelong Learning for Farmers stems from a simple problem: the wealth of information resulting from agricultural research and development fails to travel the last mile to where it is most needed, the villages of the developing world. In India, there is one agricultural extension worker for every 1,150 farmers. Add in "landless labourers" and each extension worker has the impossible task of serving 2,500 people.
COL has been exploring whether technology can help scale up extension services. Many villages in India are equipped with information and communications technologies (ICT) kiosks as a result of governmental or commercial initiatives. Since each kiosk provides its village with Internet and telephone connections, the possibility exists for these kiosks to provide useful information and bridge that last mile to the individual farmer. However, the impact of the kiosks has been limited by the top-down manner in which they were originally introduced. By simply conveying knowledge on new agricultural technologies from researcher to farmer, this system ignored the experience and innovation that farmers had to offer.
The four partners
Lifelong Learning for Farmers introduced a different model. Farmers were encouraged to form an association and create their own vision of development for their village. This could be acquiring better livestock, growing new crops or improving the way they market their produce. Those ideas often generate simple questions - How do I identify a good cow? How do I keep wild boars off my land when they are a protected species? How can I get my produce to market in good condition?
The next step is to get those with information to work together to answer these questions. In Tamil Nadu, India, COL helped to create a consortium that included:
- Tamil Nadu Agricultural University,
- Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences
University,
- Tamil Nadu Open University,
- Anna University (for technology inputs), and
- University of Madras (for social science inputs).
ICT kiosks are used to link the farmers to this consortium. Farmers are prepared to pay for useful information, such as very local weather forecasts. The commercial kiosk operator and franchisee, usually a local youth, become a stakeholder in the project with an interest in providing information that helps to make the initiative sustainable.
In Tamil Nadu, the ICT kiosks are set up by n-Logue, a company that developed with the Indian Institute of Technology Chennai, a technology called Wireless in Local Loop. Each village kiosk has a Pentium computer with digital camera, uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and printers. n-Logue provides an Intranet portal, videoconferencing facilities and some generic content, but the local franchisee has to develop local content in response to demand.
The fourth partner in this project is the commercial banks. The banks in India are being encouraged by the government to increase rural lending. Currently there is very little lending from the banks to the rural economy because of high transaction costs and low loan repayment rates. The Lifelong Learning for Farmers model offers ways to overcome these hurdles. Information provided through ICT kiosks improves the knowledge and capability of farmers. This, in turn, improves productivity, return on investment and repayment of loans, which also enlarges the market for bank credit for small farmers and landless labourers.
The State Bank of India links credit to a contract farming system, putting the associations in contact with potential buyers it has identified. Once an association and a buyer reach a trade agreement that defines price and quality, the bank gives credit to the association and its members. The advantages of scale and a direct link to the buyers create an efficient marketing system and reduce price spread.
A better cow
An example of how the system works is a farmers' association that decided improving dairy production was their best route to better prosperity. Their key question to the information providers was, "How do I distinguish a good milk cow from a poor milk cow?" The education specialists developed a checklist with diagrams. Women from a nearby village who are familiar with web programming made it into an instructional sequence on the computer in the ICT kiosk.
The bank loaned money to the farmers to improve their dairy cows and linked the farmers with a dairy company from a nearby town, which agreed to buy a guaranteed quantity of milk and take it to market provided that the farmers met certain quality standards.
Already farmers are reporting benefits from this programme. While the average yield of milk per cow is six to seven litres a day, the cows bought through the Lifelong Learning for Farmers programme are yielding between eight and 10 litres a day. These incremental improvements can have a huge overall impact.
Assessing the impact
Just 18 months after it was launched as a pilot project in four villages, Lifelong Learning for Farmers is working well. The bank has made loans of about $US 200,000 to 120 villages, with approximately the same amount in the works for 100 more villagers. Another 300 people are preparing loan applications. This is in a region where one of the villages had previously been blacklisted by the banks because of a poor loan repayment record.
About 60% of the farmers involved are women. In the past, buying a cow was traditionally the men's responsibility; they would buy it and then hand it over to the women to care for it. Lifelong Learning for Farmers has taught both women and men how to select and purchase a healthy cow, how to insure a cow and how to claim insurance if the cow dies. When a woman recovered the insured amount after her cow died, her fellow villagers were amazed. Insurance was a new concept for them.
Some 500 villagers regularly attend the ICT-based learning sessions. Initially the communities were hesitant to use the Internet, but once they started to hear local voices and see familiar faces, they relaxed and lost their fear of the technology.
In addition to the cow-buying module, learning materials have also been developed about topics such as managing a dairy shed, nutrition management in dairy, quality milk production, agricultural techniques and biofertiliser production. Already, 12 CDs, four newsletters and six Internet/intranet presentations have been completed.
Lifelong Learning for Farmers is changing the lives of many people, according to Dr. Patrick Spaven, a U.K.-based professional external evaluator who recently completed a case study about the programme for COL. His report includes these reflections:
"For anyone who met the stakeholders and visited the villages...it would be difficult to come away without a very positive impression. The optimism and excitement among the stakeholders was palpable. This even included hard-nosed banking officials. The interests of all the stakeholders are being addressed and the mutual awareness of this among the consortium members underpins their confidence in the project."
Self-replication is the ultimate goal
One of the goals of Lifelong Learning for Farmers is that its success spawns replication in other villages and regions. Three neighbouring villages in Tamil Nadu have formed associations for implementing the model, with minimal help from Lifelong Learning for Farmers. A local cooperative-model non-governmental organisation (NGO) with 5,000 women has asked to join the process.
It is important to recognise that this is development without donors. COL has spent less than $US80,000, mostly on local consultancies. All other resources have come from routine local sources, notably the loans from the bank to the farmers.
COL is building on the encouraging experience of Lifelong Learning for Farmers to develop the programme in other regions of the Commonwealth, starting with West Africa.
Lifelong Learning for Farmers demonstrates COL's ability to mobilise people and organisations and make effective use of ICTs to facilitate learning for development.
Online registration is now available for COL's fourth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning (PCF4), taking place in Ocho Rios, Jamaica from 30 October to 3 November 2006. Organisers have ensured that registration and accommodation costs have been kept to a minimum. Funds are also available to subsidise attendance by many who would not otherwise have the opportunity. By matching requests, organisers can also help you economise by booking double occupancy in rooms.
When registering for PCF4, delegates can opt for a "registration plus accommodation" package, which incorporates all-inclusive accommodation at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort, or a "registration only" package (where delegates make their own accommodation arrangements). "Early-bird" registration rates close on 31 August 2006, but spaces and preferential room-rates are limited, so you are advised to register as early as possible. Generally, rooms will be assigned on first-come, first-served basis, and priority will be given to delegates from Commonwealth countries.
Over 300 abstracts/paper proposals have been submitted for the conference, all addressing the theme/sub-themes: "Achieving Development Goals: Innovation, Learning, Collaboration and Foundations".
Keynote speakers include Sir John Daniel, President and CEO of COL; Mr. Winston A. Cox, Alternate Executive Director for the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago, Inter-American Development Bank and former Deputy Secretary-General (Development Co-operation), Commonwealth Secretariat; and Dr. Sugata Mitra, Senior Vice President (R&D), NIIT Limited, India - the "hole in the wall" guy!
PCF4 is being organised and hosted jointly by COL and the University of the West Indies' Distance Education Centre (UWIDEC), in co-operation with the Caribbean Association for Distance and Open Learning; the Jamaican Association for Distance and Open Learning; the Trinidad & Tobago Distance Learning Association; and the Office of Continuing Education and Distance Learning at the University of Technology, Jamaica.
For more information, see the PCF4 insert included with this newsletter. To receive a poster promoting PCF4, contact us at
info@col.org.
Further information and online registration: www.col.org/pcf4
COL is hosting four e-mail-based virtual conferences that will be held in July, August, September and October 2006 as a lead-up to the fourth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning. The discussions are open to all and there is no cost to participate. The three-week long conferences will be moderated by the leaders for the four sub-themes - Innovation, Learning, Collaboration and Foundations - and will help to jump-start discussions at the Forum itself. The first, "Foundations", will take place from Monday, 10 July to Friday, 28 July 2006. Further information on how to participate will be available on COL's website and sent to those on COL's e-mailing list closer to the time of the conferences.
www.col.org/virtualconferences
COL's three-year planning and fiscal period ends on 30 June. During 2003-2006, COL was pleased to welcome Kiribati, Sierra Leone and Tuvalu as first-time donor governments, as well as returning donors Pakistan, Bangladesh, St. Lucia, Ghana and St. Kitts & Nevis who had not contributed for some years. COL was also delighted to receive increased contributions from two of its major donors: Canada and India.
"As a small organisation whose core operations have been entirely funded by voluntary pledges from Commonwealth countries, it is important to have the backing of the large number of member states that are developing nations," said Sir John Daniel, President of COL. "We are cautiously optimistic that even more than the 33 member governments currently providing support will become steadfast supporters over the next three-year period."
In its next Three-year Plan (2006-2009), COL aims to increase contributions from both member governments and non-governmental donors.
New Zealand has already pledged, pending annual budgetary processes, to significantly increase its funding contribution for 2006/07 to NZ$670,000 (from NZ$370,000) and once again for 2007/08 to NZ$800,000. Such strong endorsement of COL's work is extremely good news and encourages us to re-double our efforts, notably in serving the island countries of the Pacific as well as in other Commonwealth member states.
COL's six major donors are Canada, India, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
Course content for the Virtual University of Small States of the Commonwealth (VUSSC) will be collaboratively developed in small states rather than being downloaded from other countries. This was one of the decisions made at a VUSSC planning meeting in Singapore from 10-13 April 2006.
Funded by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Government of Singapore and COL, the VUSSC meeting brought together representatives of government and educational institutions from 22 Commonwealth countries. Meeting participants agreed on an approach to developing course content that will include two intensive work sessions later this year hosted by small states of the Commonwealth with strength in particular subject areas. These sessions will bring together people with course content and skills to share in order to create open educational resources (OERs) that can then be used by small states of the Commonwealth.
These course materials and methodologies applied will be presented at the fourth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning from 30 October to 3 November 2006 in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. The VUSSC group will also meet again in conjunction with PCF4.
The VUSSC continues to actively look for funds to support course development. Development agencies and others that are interested in pursuing this social investment opportunity are encouraged to contact Mr. Paul West, COL Knowledge Manager and Education Specialist.
Dr. Willie Clarke-Okah, Counsellor and Head of Development Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada in Jamaica, will join COL on 1 September 2006 as Education Specialist, Higher Education and Policy Development. He has been associated with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) for over 25 years and comes with an extensive background in international development and education. His most recent assignments include the development of a country basic education strategy for CIDA in Tanzania and the development of a strategic orientation for the Agency to facilitate the launching of a new bilateral programme in Nigeria. Dr. Clarke-Okah was adviser to CIDA in its support of the African Virtual University project led by the World Bank and other open and distance learning projects in India and the South Pacific. His role at COL will be to co-ordinate programme initiatives related to policy development and distance higher education.
COL's new Three-year Plan for 2006-2009 was presented to the COL Board of Governors for approval in May. This follows an extensive planning process that included environmental scans from all parts of the Commonwealth, extensive consultations with stakeholders and review by COL's Board.
Titled "Learning for Development", the new Three-year Plan reflects COL's essential purpose: to help developing countries increase access to learning by using distance education and other scaleable technologies. It sharpens the focus of COL's work by breaking the international development agenda into three broad sectors: education, learning for livelihoods and human environment. In each sector, in light of the needs of individual countries, COL will use partnerships to develop policies, systems, and/or models and materials.
"This Plan will enable COL to do more to foster Learning for Development than could normally be expected in view of its modest resources," explained Rod Tyrer, COL Programme Director and leader of the planning initiative. "We intend to focus on powerful models for scaling up learning that can be transferred from country to country, helping governments and institutions to maximise the contribution of learning to development."
Following approval by COL's Board, the new Three-year Plan will be presented at the 16th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) in Cape Town, South Africa in December 2006 for endorsement by the Ministers and to receive funding pledges. The fourth Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open
Learning, being held in Jamaica in October/November 2006, will also consider the plan and its implementation.
www.col.org/3yp0609
COL is currently seeking qualified
professionals for the following vacancies in January 2007:
- Education Specialist -
Basic Education based in Vancouver, Canada and
- Director, Commonwealth
Education Media Centre for Asia based in New Delhi, India.
Please visit our website at www.col.org/opportunities for full details.
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