ICTs to Strengthen Information Sharing Between Research and Extension
The urgency to meet the farmers’ information needs has triggered motivation to improve sharing of information between Research and Extension Systems in Uganda. Both NAADS and National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) look at ICTs as one option to create the infrastructure for improving interaction with private service providers, local governments, farmers and civil society organizations about farmer problems. This will be achieved through the proposed information and communication network that is being created courtesy of Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. The three institutions are collaborating with private sector partners to contribute to the information network through the Agricultural Research and Extension Network (ARENET) project.
The eighteen months project will be piloted at selected sites in Lira, Mbarara and Hoima District. ARENET shall use web technology to create space for interaction between extension agents in villages, researchers and apex centers of NARO and NAADS. ARENET learns from best experiences of VERCON, a similar information network that uses Internet to facilitate interactions. VERCON is being used in Egypt. It was developed with supervision from FAO. Last year, Ms. Alice Nakawa and Ms. Joyce Adupa, both information specialists from NAADS and NARO respectively visited Egypt to acquaint themselves with the operation of VERCON.
Activities to develop the information network are underway. Ms Sophie Treinen (Information Management Specialist from FAO, Rome) and the TCDC Consultant Dr. Kassem recently joined the local team in Uganda, to contribute to the analysis of institutional structures and processes that would support the network. Mr. Ashraf Hendam, FAO Consultant on ICTs has joined Mr. Alberto Troilo, another International consultant on institution development to work with the local team in developing the information, communication and knowledge management system. Mr. Ashraf Henden, a software developer, is here to supervise programming of the system. He was was part of the team that developed the VERCON system in Egypt. NAADS and NARO intend to take forward the framework of ARENET, based on the VERCON model, as a key information, communication and knowledge management system.
According to studies carried out in Uganda, the low productivity observed in Ugandan agriculture today is not only a consequence of a lack of relevant agricultural technologies, but also a lack of adequate interface between research, extension and farmers themselves. NARO and NAADS will actively seek to enter into partnerships with other stakeholders in the agriculture research and extension knowledge system to pilot the new linkage mechanisms to ensure that agricultural investments in research respond to farmer demands.
The network is timely in helping NARO to respond to the new changes that have been brought under the National Research Reform (NARS) process in terms of new institutional linkages and working with other research bodies and advisory services/technology transfer organizations such as Universities and private sector.
The proposed information, communication and knowledge management system will have six modules to facilitate information sharing between key players. The modules include:
Extension and documentation system; which will have a database of agricultural documentations; the Farmer problem and solution system, the News and event management system for daily updates of the agricultural community, Uganda agricultural e-community system (a forum), Registry and Monitoring and evaluation system.
