L3 Farmers Consultant Report

Consultant's report
Lifelong learning for farmers (L3Farmers)
A report and recommendations to the Commonwealth of Learning on open and distance lifelong learning for smallholder farmers and agricultural communities.

Prepared by:
Colin Latchem, Ajit Maru and Krishna Alluri
October 2004

 This report (link to the right) evidences a massive need to improve smallholders' knowledge and skills in the food production-market chain that cannot be met by conventional agricultural extension alone; but it can be met by employing open and distance learning/information and communications technologies (ICTs) and innovative extension methods. Acting on the recommendations, COL has offered to take the lead during 2004-2006 to develop a knowledge management system and collaborate with the strategic partners, in the three targeted regions, that have taken responsibility for developing an open learning network and co-ordinating and training local facilitators.

Executive Summary

The following report is based upon Commonwealth of Learning (COL) initiated online discussions, meetings at the second Pan-Commonwealth Forum on Open Learning in Durban, South Africa, and research by the authors into open and distance learning (ODL) and information and communication technology (ICT) for agricultural development in low-income countries.

It recommends a collaborative L3Farmers Project by the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and COL.

The report evidences a massive need to improve smallholders' knowledge and skills in the food production market chain in low-income countries. Such is the nature, scale and extent of this need that it cannot be met by conventional extension alone, but it can be met by employing ICT, ODL and innovatory extension methods.

COL is mandated to help develop institutional capacity, foster alliances and build exemplary models of ODL. It is already committed to collaborating with CGIAR, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other international and national agencies to develop ODL programmes in food security, environmental sustainability and poverty reduction. The report therefore recommends that COL and CGIAR collaborate in:

• Establishing strategic and working links with FAO, the premier UN agency concerned with food security
• Drawing world attention to the need for ODL and ICT for extension and championing and gaining long-term funding and support from international and other donors
• Providing the necessary expertise in instructional design, ICT and ODL and developing, adopting or adapting resources for new, improved and extended extension in low-income countries
• Developing an open learning network for collaborative participatory extension in conjunction with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES), universities, colleges, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and other public and private organisations interested in assisting farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and small island states
• Building on the concept of the CGIAR Learning Resource Centre (CGLRC) pilot to create a knowledge management system, a network of Web-based portals through which international and national public and private providers can share global and local experience in research and development in ODL for agricultural development
• Providing ODL and ICT-based training and support for:
  - managers and staff in research and development agencies whose policy-making, programme and service provision, etc., are critical to ODL extension in the targeted regions
  - extension workers, rural entrepreneurs who run telecentres, agri-clinics and community organisations, farmers and other facilitators in need of capacity-building in initiating, managing and evaluating extension using a mix of face-to-face and technology-based methods
• Adopting, adapting and developing ODL learning resources for direct use by smallholders
• Supporting regional extension initiatives in ODL and ICT
• Evaluating these initiatives in terms of their cost, take-up, impact and long-term benefits.

The proposed L3Farmers Project is ambitious in scale and scope and requires major funding. It is therefore recommended that COL and CGIAR approach international and bilateral funding agencies and the private sector for financial support. The project must ultimately be self-sustainable, so a business plan is also essential.

It is also recommended that the overall strategic priorities of the L3Farmers Project be the responsibility of an L3Farmers Project Advisory Board (comprising, for example, representatives of COL, CGIAR and NARES) and that there are also be sustaining partners (e.g., FAO and World Bank), strategic partners (e.g., governmental, NGO and commercial providers of learning resources and services who can contribute to the capital and recurrent costs), and local partners (e.g., government, local government, community agencies and local entrepreneurs willing to fund the project on the basis of the public good). Initially, one lead agency will be needed to develop the prototype and protocols for the knowledge management system and to collaborate with the strategic partners in the three targeted regions responsible for developing the open learning network and co-ordinating and training the local facilitators.

The report recommends that all of this work be carried out in 2004-2006. Four one-year action research projects are also recommended for 2004-2005: one to assess the take-up, impact, benefits and costs of two or three existing ODL/ICT applications in agricultural development; one to identify or develop and test and cost a prototype for the L3Farmers Project knowledge management system; one to develop a prototype online toolkit that can be used in conjunction with COL's existing ODL training resources, toolkits and guides to train local facilitators; and one to customise, apply, evaluate and cost existing agricultural research or training material into forms that will enable farmers to learn through ODL and self-study.

The full report is available as a Acrobat PDF download (click on the link to the right).