Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3 Farmers) demonstrates COL's ability to partner with communities and organisations, and make effective use of ICTs to facilitate learning for development. COL's L3 Farmers programme helps rural communities find appropriate technology-based open and distance education to improve their livelihoods.
The programme is a response to a critical need: the wealth of information resulting from agricultural research and development often fails to travel the last mile to the villages of the developing world where it is most needed. While governments face challenges in funding adequate agricultural extension, globalisation is creating increasing competition for poor rural farmers.
Lifelong Learning for Farmers addresses these issues by empowering vulnerable rural women and their families to:
- gain knowledge,
- create their own self-directed learning process,
- organise themselves to solve problems of marketing their products and food security,
- improve their living conditions, and
- increase their freedoms and independence from government support.
The programme involves four key partners:
1) Farmers. Rural farmers form an association and create their own vision of development for their village.
2) Learning institutions. A consortium of learning institutions brings together expertise in agriculture, veterinary science, open learning and technology, serving as an information resource for farmers.
3) Information and communications technologies (ICT) kiosks. These commercial ICT kiosks link the farmers to this consortium and also provide other useful information such as weather forecasts. The centres facilitate the transfer of information from scientific and research institutions to rural farmers.
4) Banks. Commercial banks are encouraged to provide loans to farmers who have increased their knowledge, capacity and productivity thanks to information from the consortium and ICT kiosks.
Lifelong Learning for Farmers was introduced as a pilot project in four villages in southern India in 2004. The success of this initiative led to the launch of Lifelong Learning for Farmers in Sri Lanka in 2007. The programme is also being adapted and introduced in Jamaica, Kenya, Mauritius and Papua New Guinea.